Henri Jokiharju is an intriguing sixth defenseman for the Boston Bruins. The ideal blue-liner on a team stacked with talent on the backend would generally be a steady, reliable presence. He wouldn't do much to add to the offense, leaving that to Mason Lohrei, Charlie McAvoy, and Hampus Lindholm, but he also wouldn't get the team into trouble on the defensive end. For Marco Sturm, Jokiharju is the complete opposite of that description.
Look no further than Thursday night against the Chicago Blackhawks, where Jokiharju was involved in every even-strength regulation goal. He was put into some less-than-ideal situations after Lindholm left in the first period with an injury, so some of the defensive issues could've been because he was playing his weak side. However, it still doesn't look great to be on the ice for all three goals against with different defense partners.
Jokiharju made up for it by excelling in possession in the offensive zone and being on the ice for both of the Bruins' even-strength goals. He didn't factor in much in Casey Mittelstadt's goal to open the scoring, but it was his ability to get the puck down low through traffic that eventually led to Tanner Jeannot's tying goal in the second period.
That will be Jokiharju's strength this season for the Bruins. He brings a sneaky offensive presence alongside Nikita Zadorov, who should be focusing more on the defensive side of the puck, and gives all three pairings the ability to add offense from the back-end.
Sturm will need to see Jokiharju give Zadorov some more support in the defensive zone, as the big man's occasional defensive turnovers are made worse when Jokiharju isn't there to cover for him. When they are attacking or defending in transition, they look great, but extended defensive zone coverage leads to blown assignments and costly turnovers.
It might not always be pretty, but when Jokiharju is on the ice, something is happening, good or bad.