Don Sweeney has painted the Boston Bruins into a corner with one of their young defensemen, setting up what should be one of the most intriguing battles when the shortened training camp opens on Wednesday. With Frederic Brunet needing to clear waivers if he doesn't make the team's roster out of camp, it could be hard for one of the Bruins' rising prospects to make a crowded blueline.
Charlie McAvoy's six-game suspension could buy Sweeney the time he needs to decide on Brunet, but they may also take last season's approach when they were able to pass some of their fringe NHLers through waivers at the end of the camp. The thinking then was that the roster jumble across the league entering the season allowed them to do it without anyone getting stolen, but they might not be so lucky with a player with as high an upside as Brunet.
Brunet is going to have less time than normal to earn a spot on the team out of camp, and he's competing with nine other legit candidates to make the roster. McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, and Will Borgen are the guarantees, but the rest of the roster could go either way.
Connor Clifton will likely hold on to one of the spots. It'd be difficult to see the Bruins put him in the AHL after going out of their way to get him back in the organization. Mason Lohrei and Henri Jokiharju are two wild cards, as players who could be in the opening night lineup as easily as they could be traded before September 29th. Jonathan Aspirot and Jordan Harris are also easy candidates to be sent to Providence, with the Bruins eating their salary in the minors.
Projecting how the Bruins' defense roster battle shapes out
McAvoy's suspension does buy Sweeney some time, but the end of those six games will come quickly, and he will need to make a decision. It could be as simple as sending Jokiharju to the AHL if they feel keeping Brunet in the organization is more valuable, but they'll likely be a bit reluctant to bury that high a salary in the minors.
Bruins' lineup in the first six games while | Charlie McAvoy serves suspension: |
|---|---|
Hampus Lindholm | Will Borgen |
Mason Lohrei | Connor Clifton |
Nikita Zadorov | Henri Jokiharju |
Frederic Brunet |
If they can't make a trade before the season starts, my gut feeling is that the seven defensemen to make the team in McAvoy's absence are above. They could do some kind of rotation with Jokiharju, Lohrei, and Brunet over those six games to see who earns their chance to stay on the roster.
Bruins' lineup post-Charlie | McAvoy suspension: |
|---|---|
Hampus Lindholm | Charlie McAvoy |
Mason Lohrei | Will Borgen |
Nikita Zadorov | Connor Clifton |
Frederic Brunet/Henri Jokiharju |
Barring any movement, it's unlikely the Bruins will give up on Lohrei before Jokiharju, and I can see him keeping a place in the lineup. In a perfect world, Brunet steals the spot from both of them and is on the second-pair opposite Borgen, but that would take some outstanding play from the left-shot prospect.
Once McAvoy returns, Sweeney will have to choose between Brunet and Jokiharju. As a fan, you have to hope it's the former and that they don't risk another team claiming him just to keep Jokiharju.
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