Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov have been turning heads for the Boston Bruins since the first day of training camp. Minten quickly became a favorite of new head coach Marco Sturm, as evidenced by his raving about the rookie in the media. Still, Sturm has also been giving Khusnutdinov plenty of chances to break out. So far, it's been clear that the head coach has a keen eye.
Minten has been one of the most surprising rookies in the league once you get past the Calder Trophy favorites. He has just 25 points in 52 games, but he has been stepping up for the team in big moments while mostly playing a third-line role. Most thought the third line was his ceiling, but there's reason to believe the center is going to be much more than that.
Khusnutdinov's strength has been his ability to fit in anywhere in the lineup. Lately, he has been playing on the opposite wing of David Pastrnak and excelling, which isn't a bad place to find a home. If he can continue to play well with the superstar, he'll always have a place in Sturm's lineup.
It hasn't just been Khusnutdinov's play lately that has been giving him more ice time. He stood out to Sturm early in training camp, when he let the front office know that he liked both rookies, according to his appearance on the Morning Bru podcast with Andrew Raycroft and Billy Jaffe.
"I know a bunch of guys, just by watching. I didn't know [Khusnutdinov] and I didn't know [Minten]. First time, right away when I watched them on the ice, I said to [Sweeney] right away, I like them. Any maybe that's why I gave them those opportunities. As a coach you feel sometimes who plays your style, plays the game the right way, and I think those two guys jumped out at me right away. "Marco Sturm
Why Marco Sturm’s praise of Marat Khusnutdinov and Fraser Minten matters
When Sturm joined the Bruins, one of the main things people liked about him was his ability to develop talent. He identified these two rookies in his first training camp, thought they had something special, and, in a limited sample size, he was correct.
Who knows whether Minten and Khusnutdinov would've had the opportunity with past regimes? There's a chance that they would've gotten buried under other head coaches, but Sturm seized the opportunity and quickly developed two young forwards who are making impacts on a playoff-contending team.
Another good sign out of all of this is that the front office is willing to listen to Sturm's opinion. The coach told his general manager that he liked these players on the first day of camp, and they've been untouchable ever since. Sweeney has even let go of players who were there much longer than Sturm to ensure that Minten and Khusnutdinov stayed on the roster.
This much is clear: the Bruins are now Sturm's team, and if he continues pressing all the right buttons, it could be his team for a long time.