Post-Game Talk: Game 1 at Dallas - TUUKKA!!!!! BRUINS 2 Dallas 1 FINAL

[Aussie Bruin]

You are missing the point I think?

DeBrusk and Heinen both played in PRO in 16-17. DeBrusk had 19g/30a in 74 games and Heinen 14g/30a in 64 games. In the playoffs JDB had 6g/3a in 17 games while Heinen led the team with 9g/9a in the same number of games.

That training camp DeBrusk was stapled to Krejci’s left wing and Bjork was put on Bergeron’s right. Neither did anything special to earn it. Their rookie seasons, Heinen put up slightly better numbers than DeBrusk (16/31 vs 16/27) while moving around in the Bottom 6 while DeBrusk stayed with Krejci.

Last season, Heinen had a down year offensively while being moved around (again). DeBrusk had 27 goals but less points than the previous season, all the while staying with Krejci no matter how poorly or well he played.

I wonder how many points Heinen would have had the past two seasons if he was allowed to play with Krejci the entire time and given 1st line PP minutes?

I don’t want this to come off as anti-DeBrusk because I like him quite a bit. The fact remains that despite similar production they have been handled in completely different ways.

DeBrusk has certainly been granted some more stability in his position and less comment on his play that his numbers might suggest. It's been hard to evaluate him fully though. Last year was only his second season and it was impacted by two bad head knocks, one of which caused a definite concussion, and I'm pretty sure the second one did too even though he played on.

He was just getting going and looking good early-mid last season then he got that first delayed concussion. When he came back it took him a while to find his feet again, but he was back to producing and looking pretty decent going into the playoffs. Then Kadri wiped him out and again he struggled from them onwards and really didn't seem quite right.

So for me at least my opinion on him is reserved for the moment - I'm really hoping he gets a good long run of health this season and we can get a much better picture of just where he's at and what he can do.

 

[BadBruins]

You are missing the point I think?

DeBrusk and Heinen both played in PRO in 16-17. DeBrusk had 19g/30a in 74 games and Heinen 14g/30a in 64 games. In the playoffs JDB had 6g/3a in 17 games while Heinen led the team with 9g/9a in the same number of games.

That training camp DeBrusk was stapled to Krejci’s left wing and Bjork was put on Bergeron’s right. Neither did anything special to earn it. Their rookie seasons, Heinen put up slightly better numbers than DeBrusk (16/31 vs 16/27) while moving around in the Bottom 6 while DeBrusk stayed with Krejci.

Last season, Heinen had a down year offensively while being moved around (again). DeBrusk had 27 goals but less points than the previous season, all the while staying with Krejci no matter how poorly or well he played.

I wonder how many points Heinen would have had the past two seasons if he was allowed to play with Krejci the entire time and given 1st line PP minutes?

I don’t want this to come off as anti-DeBrusk because I like him quite a bit. The fact remains that despite similar production they have been handled in completely different ways.

Oh I totally get that side of it. He's definitely been given more opportunity in offensive situations. Though again, I don't know if the organizational outlook for Heinen has ever been as a top-6 winger..... Unless he's taking the bull by the horns and forcing their hand, he's probably not going to get those looks DeBrusk gets..... or even Bjork when he makes the jump again. Is it fair? I don't know, but as long as they are comparable, the younger "toolsy" (mostly skating) 1st rounder is getting prime opportunity. DeBrusk on his game is an impact player IMO. So is Heinen, sometimes.... but in a more subtle way.

On top of the 27 goal in 68 games as a sophomore (33 goal clip), as a 20/21 year old rookie DeBrusk had 22 goals/51 points in 82 games (Regular season + Playoffs). Only McDavid, Boeser, Connor, Eichel, and Rantanan and Aho are scoring goals at a better rate from that draft class. Right behind him is Meier, Marner, and Konecny (That's a lot of money). Goal scorers are always at a premium. Right or wrong, there's a reason he's been thrust into the position.

 

[GloryDaze4877]

Oh I totally get that side of it. He's definitely been given more opportunity in offensive situations. Though again, I don't know if the organizational outlook for Heinen has ever been as a top-6 winger..... Unless he's taking the bull by the horns and forcing their hand, he's probably not going to get those looks DeBrusk gets..... or even Bjork when he makes the jump again. Is it fair? I don't know, but as long as they are comparable, the younger "toolsy" (mostly skating) 1st rounder is getting prime opportunity. DeBrusk on his game is an impact player IMO. So is Heinen, sometimes.... but in a more subtle way.

On top of the 27 goal in 68 games as a sophomore (33 goal clip), as a 20/21 year old rookie DeBrusk had 22 goals/51 points in 82 games (Regular season + Playoffs). Only McDavid, Boeser, Connor, Eichel, and Rantanan and Aho are scoring goals at a better rate from that draft class. Right behind him is Meier, Marner, and Konecny (That's a lot of money). Goal scorers are always at a premium. Right or wrong, there's a reason he's been thrust into the position.

Even though the Bruins would never admit it, one of the primary “reasons” he’s been thrust into that position is because of his draft status and the other stuff surrounding 2015. They need at least one of those 2015 picks to be a stud and JDB is their guy.

If you ever watched Heinen at Denver or looked at his stats there, it’s obvious he’s capable of being an offensive player. He was a 1.15 ppg guy at a good D1 school playing a top notch schedule. To this point, they haven’t put him in a scorer’s role. Even when he’s on the first line I think they don’t expect him to bring that much offense.

Hopefully they find a spot for him and leave him there all year. If he’s with Coyle on the 3rd line, he will produce.

 

[Smitty93]

Even though the Bruins would never admit it, one of the primary “reasons” he’s been thrust into that position is because of his draft status and the other stuff surrounding 2015. They need at least one of those 2015 picks to be a stud and JDB is their guy.

I didn't want to bring up the 3rd rail of HFBoards, but I was thinking this as well. It's not just the team, but also the fans. We're so frustrated with the current results of that draft that we protect the one success. I think DeBrusk has played well enough in his career so far to show that he's worthy of a top 6 spot, but Cassidy has never shown any interest in ungluing him from Krejci's hip, even when he's struggled.

Neither DeBrusk nor Heinen were particularly good for the first chunk of the season, but then both got hot at the end of the year having 20 game stretches of point per game play. Now, Heinen was the worse player, at least offensively, for that first part of the season, but he got 10x the **** that DeBrusk did.

One of my few criticisms of Cassidy is that I just wish he showed more line-up flexibility. He has certain line-up "rocks" and refuses to change them outside of injury. My belief is that just because something is working doesn't mean it can't be improved.

 

[Gordoff]

I didn't want to bring up the 3rd rail of HFBoards, but I was thinking this as well. It's not just the team, but also the fans. We're so frustrated with the current results of that draft that we protect the one success. I think DeBrusk has played well enough in his career so far to show that he's worthy of a top 6 spot, but Cassidy has never shown any interest in ungluing him from Krejci's hip, even when he's struggled.

Neither DeBrusk nor Heinen were particularly good for the first chunk of the season, but then both got hot at the end of the year having 20 games stretches of point per game play. Now, Heinen was the worse player, at least offensively, for that first part of the season, but he got 10x the **** that DeBrusk did.

One of my few criticisms of Cassidy is that I just wish he showed more line-up flexibility. He has certain line-up "rocks" and refuses to change them outside of injury. My belief is that just because something is working doesn't mean it can't be improved.

If the first line played at all as well as they should have the score would've been a little more comfortable. So far the "hangover" from the SCF series on that first line is a continuation of their mediocre play. Break 'em up for a period here and there for a refresh.

 

[Mick Riddleton]

If the first line played at all as well as they should have the score would've been a little more comfortable. So far the "hangover" from the SCF series on that first line is a continuation of their mediocre play. Break 'em up for a period here and there for a refresh.

Worth a shot. They had 3 really good chances that 2 usually go in. Bergy hit Marchands blade on a empty netter. A couple times they ran into each other in the crease, for them it is still preseason. Marshy was feed nicely by Pasta point blank but he did not score. They score on 2 of those and nothing else is said. Ritchie played great for him and Lindholm deserves to be in the lineup on the 4th line.