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AROUND THE AHL: The Providence-to-Boston Bruins Pipeline, and an...
The Providence Bruins, who own the AHL’s longest-running affiliation, continue to blend development and winning that have fuelled years of NHL success for the parent Boston Bruins.
This season’s Boston roster features recent Providence graduates
Jake DeBrusk,
Sean Kuraly,
Karson Kuhlman, plus blueliners
Connor Clifton and
Matt Grzelcyk. Go further back, and that list expands to
David Krejci,
Brad Marchand, and
Tuukka Rask. Even
Patrice Bergeron spent a season in Providence during the 2004-05 NHL lockout, and
David Pastrnak had a limited run with the P-Bruins as well. That steady replenishment of roster depth has helped Boston to be an annual contender, including a trip to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final this past June.
Those players have developed within a winning framework an hour south in Rhode Island, where the Boston-Providence affiliation begins its 28th season in a relationship that dates to the 1992-93 season. Providence has put together seven consecutive trips to the Calder Cup Playoffs; last season the Bruins fell in the first round to the eventual Calder Cup champion Charlotte Checkers (Carolina Hurricanes) after a 38-27-8-3 regular season.
More help could be Boston-bound amid a deep group of prospects playing for head coach
Jay Leach, who is starting his third season in that role with Providence. His P-Bruins took back-to-back road wins to open the regular season this past weekend and will open their home schedule on Saturday night against the Rochester Americans (Buffalo Sabres).
“It’s always an adventure early on in the season, especially with a younger group,” Leach said. “You never really know what you’ve got. It’s a classic youthful team with energy and speed.”
Much of an AHL head coach’s job involves breaking habits that players developed playing at lower levels before turning pro. Top prospects who played heavy minutes at the CHL or NCAA levels and had to manage their energy there find that such an approach is not acceptable in the pro game.
“We’ve got to find that ‘more’ in them, [and] we’ve got to find that equation for them that’s going to work at the professional level,” Leach said.
Leach singled out goaltenders
Dan Vladar and
Max Lagacé for praise. Vladar is a 22-year-old taken in the third round of the 2015 NHL Draft who could take a bigger role with
Zane McIntyre leaving to join the Vancouver Canucks organization in the offseason. Lagacé shut out the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (Philadelphia Flyers), 3-0, in the season opener after signing with Boston from the Vegas Golden Knights this past summer.
“[Goaltending is] what makes good teams. It makes good coaches, it makes good players, it’s the key to everything,” Leach said.
But Leach’s blue line bears plenty of promise as well.
Urho Vaakanainen, the 18th pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, begins his second pro season.
Jakub Zboril, chosen 13th overall in the 2015 NHL Draft, is starting his third pro season. Fellow 2015 pick
Jérémy Lauzon, who went in the second round that year, joins Zboril.
“[Vaakanainen and Zboril] are puck-movers,” Leach assessed. “They escape really well. They transition well.”
“We’re trying to push the offence with them, and at the next level we’ll do the same, but we want them to get pucks, get up the ice and get going. At the same time, we want to make sure that they’re squashing [opposing] plays with their sticks and their feet.”
“[Lauzon], has great feet, but he brings a bit more sandpaper again every night. So, he’ll be relied upon with a penalty kill, [competing] down low, playing that straightforward first-pass game.”
Boston may have also unearthed overlooked talent in undrafted rookie
Cooper Zech, who turned pro after one NCAA season at Ferris State. Zech, 20, led the NCAA in points by a rookie defenceman (8-28-36), which earned him the WCHA Rookie of the Year award. He also won spots on the WCHA’s All-Rookie Team and First All-Star Team.
Blend that group with established pros
Chris Breen,
Josiah Didier, and
Alex Petrovic, and the P-Bruins are in good shape.
“Our back end is a bit more proven,” Leach said.
While Leach’s back end has experience, his forwards’ mobility impresses him.
“[The forwards have] got some young legs that should give us some speed and allow us to play four lines. Hopefully we can overwhelm teams with our four lines.”
That group includes first-round talent in
Trent Frederic, who was 14-11-25 in 55 regular-season games as a P-Bruins rookie. Boston took him 29th overall in the 2016 NHL Draft.
Other returning faces up front are
Peter Cehlárik,
Ryan Fitzgerald,
Cameron Hughes, and
Joona Koppanen. Veteran
Paul Carey, who buried 22 goals in 30 regular-season games after a midseason trade from the Ottawa Senators, is back to provide dependable offence and serve as Providence’s new captain.
Another returnee is
Zach Senyshyn, the 15th pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, who is starting a critical third pro season in his development. The 22-year-old was 14-10-24 in 66 regular-season games as a second-year pro with the P-Bruins last season.
“He’s continuing to work,” Leach said. “He’s like a lot of guys – they’re finding their game. He has got speed. He’s able to get in on forechecks. To score, he’s just got to continue to get to the net. He’s got to continue to own that puck and attack.”
Also joining Providence is 20-year-old rookie
Jack Studnicka, a second-round pick (53rd) in 2017. He put up 83 points (36-47-83) in 60 regular-season OHL games between the Oshawa Generals and Niagara IceDogs.
Studnicka has made an early impression on Leach.
“He’s tenacious,” Leach said. “He’s got that fire inside of him that wants to make a difference. He has got speed and is relatively strong, I [think], for a young kid. Yeah, he’s going to need to gain some weight, but he can make plays.”
“He’s one of those players that we’ve seen where sometimes you won’t notice him a whole lot out there and then all of a sudden he has 1-1.”
Forward
Anders Bjork, 23, is back in the Providence line-up after each of his first two pro seasons were wrecked by shoulder injuries. He chipped in a goal along with an assist in his opening weekend. Boston also signed Vancouver reclamation project
Brendan Gaunce, who has started 2-1-3 with the P-Bruins and can be an NHL recall option.
Boston also has brought in forwards
Oskar Steen (Färjestad – SHL),
Jakub Lauko (Rouyn-Noranda – QMJHL), and
Pavel Shen (Ufa – KHL).
Steen had 17-20-37 in 43 regular-season games last season before shifting to North America. Leach has been working them into his line-up with multiple moving pieces as the roster settles. Shen played with six different wingers in his first two games.
“It’s a little bit of that trial by fire,” Leach explained. “I pity the guy who’s actually tracking [my lines]. You try to find what works.”
“[Lauko] has speed],” Leach said of the 2018 third-rounder who made the Providence roster at age 19.
“[Shen] really was an unknown who just got over here, and he’s had a quick adjustment to the program and actually improved daily. A guy like [Shen], he’s showing more ability offensively than I was under the impression [he had]. So, I surely don’t want to limit that. I’m trying to find fits for him.”
ON TRACK
The Boston-Providence assembly line has long gone beyond on-ice talent.
Boston head coach
Bruce Cassidy put in five seasons as head coach in Providence, plus three more campaigns as an assistant coach.
Kevin Dean, a member of Cassidy’s staff in Boston, had five seasons in Providence as an assistant coach along with a single season as head coach.
Cassidy and Dean join head coaches
Peter Laviolette (Nashville Predators) and
Mike Sullivan (Pittsburgh Penguins) as Providence coaching graduates now behind NHL benches;
Scott Gordon, another Providence alumnus, is back with Lehigh Valley after finishing last season as Philadelphia’s interim head coach. Former Providence head coaches
Mike O’Connell,
Steve Kasper, and
Bob Francis also went on to NHL roles.
Leach, who played 12 pro seasons, is following that same path.
“I’m able to roll with the punches a little bit more,” he self-assessed. “You have to really think on the fly here. I can’t say I’m perfect at it. But I certainly am able to do a bit more of that.”
“And I think the other thing I’ve learned is that I’ve got to push players nightly to get them to that next level. That next level is obviously the best league in the world. And these players have to perform consistently every night to be able to [stick in the NHL]. So, it’s on me to set that standard, and hopefully I’m learning to do that a little bit better
Providence’s deep line-up prompted Boston management to assign 19-year-old defenceman
Axel Andersson to the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats. He began the season on the Providence roster after spending last season in the Allsvenskan League with Södertälje. Boston selected him in the second round (57th) of the 2018 NHL Draft.