Line Combos: Odd man out? Heinen, Bjork, Donato...

[Don Cherry]

I picked Heinen as the odd man out. He faded in the 2nd half and totally disappeared in the playoffs. I know a lot of people overlook his lack of a physical game, but thats another reason. I just don't like him and hope he's traded.

 

[Bumper]

wow. is that sentiment shared by others choosing him?

 

[GlenFeatherstone]

I could see Bjork starting the year in Providence to get some game legs unless he has a great camp.
Marchy-Bergy- Pasta
Debrusk-Krejci- Heinen
Donato-JFK-Backes
Fitz-Kuraly-Wagner
Nordstrom Acciari extras

 

[BruinsFanSince94]

I could see Bjork starting the year in Providence to get some game legs unless he has a great camp.
Marchy-Bergy- Pasta
Debrusk-Krejci- Heinen
Donato-JFK-Backes
Fitz-Kuraly-Wagner
Nordstrom Acciari extras

I really hope Fitzgerald could work his way onto the roster. I think it'll be tough, because of the players your have as extras. Boston just signed Nordstrom so I expect him to get a look. Acciari, they like so I don't see him getting waived to Providence. Also, Boston doesn't seem to carry 2 extra forwards, especially since they've been carrying 2 extra defenseman, and you can only carry 3 extra players on a roster.

 

[GlenFeatherstone]

I really hope Fitzgerald could work his way onto the roster. I think it'll be tough, because of the players your have as extras. Boston just signed Nordstrom so I expect him to get a look. Acciari, they like so I don't see him getting waived to Providence. Also, Boston doesn't seem to carry 2 extra forwards, especially since they've been carrying 2 extra defenseman, and you can only carry 3 extra players on a roster.

Very true. I think one of the D goes in camp as long as they like what they see health wise out of Krug and game wise out of Zboril, Vaak, and Lauzon. I could see Acciari dealt as he is a year away from being a UFA and Nordstrom and Wagner got 2 year deals. If Bjork is ready to go it will make for some very difficult decisions which is the position you want to be in.

 

[b in vancouver]

Agree whole heartedly. People seem to forget until he had his bell rung, Bjork was Bostons best young forward and in fact beat out Heinen out of the gate. I fully expect Bjork to come back with avengence. All 3 will be in the top 9 barring a trade.

That's not completely true.
Bjork came out of the gates and played really well for his first 15 games or so but then for the next 15 he wasn't playing good. Before he got hurt it looked like he should have/would be sent down for a bit more AHL time. For a long handful of games before he got hurt Heinen was the obviously better forward.

- not to say that will follow through or anything as I have no idea how these kids will progress nor which is the better player right now... but it's revisionist to suggest Bjork wasn't struggling before he got injured.

 

[BruinsFanSince94]

Agree whole heartedly. People seem to forget until he had his bell rung, Bjork was Bostons best young forward and in fact beat out Heinen out of the gate. I fully expect Bjork to come back with avengence. All 3 will be in the top 9 barring a trade.

It was an very small sample size, but before he got hurt, Bjork had 9 points in 15 games. I believe that was a pace of about 16G, 49 points over a full year? Obviously that dropped and he ended up finishing on a 10G/32 point pace. Who knows how he would have produced, had he not got hurt, but this kid has a lot of skill and if he is fully healthy come camp, he will push for a spot.

 

[alko]

Martin Bakos will destroy all this predictions. In a good way.

 

[Blowfish]

Martin Bakos will destroy all this predictions. In a good way.

We don’t know much about him
So I guess its a possibility.

 

[Bumper]

28yo LW/C 198lbs 6'2" right shot

would play right wing on the NHL Bruins. shoots well. blew his right knee out a decade back. a plus-collecting European player -- but KHL dud -- might have some trouble adjusting to the pace/size and other coming-to-America sport-culture shocks. on a one-year two-way deal of 700,000.00, Bakos is expected to report to the AHL Bruins, but will certainly be considered for a NHL right-wing slot seen as up for grabs. he certainly has a chance. this team has absurd depth.

 

[Blowfish]

28yo LW/C 198lbs 6'2" right shot

would play right wing on the NHL Bruins. shoots well. blew his right knee out a decade back. a plus-collecting European player -- but KHL dud -- might have some trouble adjusting to the pace/size and other coming-to-America sport-culture shocks. on a one-year two-way deal of 700,000.00, Bakos is expected to report to the AHL Bruins, but will certainly be considered for a NHL right-wing slot seen as up for grabs. he certainly has a chance. this team has absurd depth.

Suggesting someone other than bjork heinen or doanato in the top 6 is a very dangerous thing in these parts. Competition will be fun to watch.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

I picked Heinen as the odd man out. He faded in the 2nd half and totally disappeared in the playoffs. I know a lot of people overlook his lack of a physical game, but thats another reason. I just don't like him and hope he's traded.

I do find the strength (and brevity) of this opinion rather comedic, but I agree to a degree. Heinen's performance last year did not give me much hope that he is going to be a long term contributor to this team.

However, I am more than willing to give a guy who was a playoff performer in Providence and at the college level, more of a chance to adapt the grind of an NHL season. Out of these three, the odd man out at the moment is Bjork. Certainly enough talent, but he has shown even less consistency than Heinen so far.

 

[Bumper]

what aspects of his breakout season have you thinking he'll fail?

 

[BruinsFanSince94]

I do find the strength (and brevity) of this opinion rather comedic, but I agree to a degree. Heinen's performance last year did not give me much hope that he is going to be a long term contributor to this team.

However, I am more than willing to give a guy who was a playoff performer in Providence and at the college level, more of a chance to adapt the grind of an NHL season. Out of these three, the odd man out at the moment is Bjork. Certainly enough talent, but he has shown even less consistency than Heinen so far.

This doesn't even make any sense. Heinen's performance was that of the team's top producing rookie, and even when he wasn't producing during that long stretch, he didn't play poorly. So how does one come this conclusion?

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

This doesn't even make any sense. Heinen's performance was that of the team's top producing rookie, and even when he wasn't producing during that long stretch, he didn't play poorly. So how does one come this conclusion?

I guess that's the part I disagree with there. I do think he played pretty poorly, for stretches, when he was not producing.

Like I said...I'm not nearly willing to cut him out of the lineup at this point. As you pointed out, he was the team's top producing rookie and looked very good for stretches (there were a few nights early on where looked like the smartest offensive player on the ice). I am just not totally convinced at this point. Offensive production is what is going to keep Danton in the lineup, so if he does not produce, his spot could easily be threatened.

 

[Blowfish]

This doesn't even make any sense. Heinen's performance was that of the team's top producing rookie, and even when he wasn't producing during that long stretch, he didn't play poorly. So how does one come this conclusion?

Hard to confirm top producing rookie with Bjork and Cehlarik out with injuries and Donato joining late. Heinen was the top producing Rookie with a * next to rookies Debrusk came on strong 2nd half after adjusting to speed. My eyes tell
Me Debrusk was best Rookie last year.

 

[BruinsFanSince94]

I guess that's the part I disagree with there. I do think he played pretty poorly, for stretches, when he was not producing.

Like I said...I'm not nearly willing to cut him out of the lineup at this point. As you pointed out, he was the team's top producing rookie and looked very good for stretches (there were a few nights early on where looked like the smartest offensive player on the ice). I am just not totally convinced at this point. Offensive production is what is going to keep Danton in the lineup, so if he does not produce, his spot could easily be threatened.

I don't agree here, because I think he's displayed enough in all zones to say he's an NHLer. Even if the worst case is that last year was a total fluke and he's nothing close to a 50 point player, he is too smart of a player with his sound passing ability and a deceptive hard shot (that he just needs to utilize more) on top of being sound defensively, that he is an NHL player in some form.

For Heinen's spot to really be threatened, he needs Donato, Bjork, AND someone like Cehlarik to come in and blow him out of the water. And I don't see that all happening.

 

[BruinsFanSince94]

Hard to confirm top producing rookie with Bjork and Cehlarik out with injuries and Donato joining late. Heinen was the top producing Rookie with a * next to rookies Debrusk came on strong 2nd half after adjusting to speed. My eyes tell
Me Debrusk was best Rookie last year.

..... There's nothing difficult to confirm here. You look at the Bruins rookies, and who was on top? Danton Heinen. In their brief NHL time, Bjork before his injury could have challenged, but Cehlarik? Nope..... I'm not seeing it. Donato doesn't count because he joined late. Lets see what he does. There's no * next to Heinen. He produced during the season. He fell off a bit towards the end, which isn't uncommon. The problem here is that DeBrusk turned it on and had an awesome playoff so now he's the "What have you done for me lately," rookie. Both are excellent players, and I actually prefer DeBrusk to all the players last year, but that doesn't take away from what Heinen did.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

I don't agree here, because I think he's displayed enough in all zones to say he's an NHLer. Even if the worst case is that last year was a total fluke and he's nothing close to a 50 point player, he is too smart of a player with his sound passing ability and a deceptive hard shot (that he just needs to utilize more) on top of being sound defensively, that he is an NHL player in some form.

For Heinen's spot to really be threatened, he needs Donato, Bjork, AND someone like Cehlarik to come in and blow him out of the water. And I don't see that all happening.

He's kind of a "weird player" in my eyes since part of me thinks he would be just as good of a bottom 6 player as he would a top 6 player, despite a lack of physicality. I could just as easily see him in a potential top line role as I can a third line role. I just don't know enough about his game yet, due to inconsistency.

I think our opinions here are closer than you think. I am not sure I can count on him being a staple in this lineup long term, due to inconsistency in his play (not totally unexpected for a rookie) and his playing style, but I am not at all at a point where I consider removing him from the lineup/trading him.

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

..... There's nothing difficult to confirm here. You look at the Bruins rookies, and who was on top? Danton Heinen. In their brief NHL time, Bjork before his injury could have challenged, but Cehlarik? Nope..... I'm not seeing it. Donato doesn't count because he joined late. Lets see what he does. There's no * next to Heinen. He produced during the season. He fell off a bit towards the end, which isn't uncommon. The problem here is that DeBrusk turned it on and had an awesome playoff so now he's the "What have you done for me lately," rookie. Both are excellent players, and I actually prefer DeBrusk to all the players last year, but that doesn't take away from what Heinen did.

I think you're understating this. Relative to the first half of the year, he took a pretty healthy nose dive in terms of production in both the second half and playoffs.

Regardless, we are both in agreement that he belongs in the lineup this season.

 

[Blowfish]

..... There's nothing difficult to confirm here. You look at the Bruins rookies, and who was on top? Danton Heinen. In their brief NHL time, Bjork before his injury could have challenged, but Cehlarik? Nope..... I'm not seeing it. Donato doesn't count because he joined late. Lets see what he does. There's no * next to Heinen. He produced during the season. He fell off a bit towards the end, which isn't uncommon. The problem here is that DeBrusk turned it on and had an awesome playoff so now he's the "What have you done for me lately," rookie. Both are excellent players, and I actually prefer DeBrusk to all the players last year, but that doesn't take away from what Heinen did.

And this is why we all can’t wait for camp to start. Nothing is a given for any of the rookies. Who comes out on top is a big question mark. That’s the question. Nothing is firm.

 

[BruinsFanSince94]

And this is why we all can’t wait for camp to start. Nothing is a given for any of the rookies. Who comes out on top is a big question mark. That’s the question. Nothing is firm.

Heinen isn’t a rookie anymore haha. This is the problem. He had a poor end of the year and playoffs so now he’s lumped back in with actual unproven rookies. Let’s be honest, you want cehlarik to come in and outperform Heinen because he’s your prospect crush lol

 

[GloryDaze4877]

I do find the strength (and brevity) of this opinion rather comedic, but I agree to a degree. Heinen's performance last year did not give me much hope that he is going to be a long term contributor to this team.

However, I am more than willing to give a guy who was a playoff performer in Providence and at the college level, more of a chance to adapt the grind of an NHL season. Out of these three, the odd man out at the moment is Bjork. Certainly enough talent, but he has shown even less consistency than Heinen so far.

The thing I find comedic is that you single out Heinen as having ups and downs during the season and tailing off in the playoffs, but you can go up and down every NHL lineup in the league and find the same thing from veterans and rookies alike. The difference is that this was Heinen’s first NHL experience and he should learn and get better from it.

The bottom line is that he finished his rookie campaign with 47 pts in 77 games, good for 9th in the NHL (and first on the Bruins). Seven of the eight guys in front of him were first round picks. The other was the soon to be 27 year old “rookie”, Yanni Gourde. The last time a Bruin came close to that his rookie season was Blake Wheeler in 2008-09 with 44 pts (at age 22).

I have done this before to show that the dropoff was there, but not as significant as some would have you believe.

Heinen point totals:

1st 20 games: 4g/8a
2nd 20 games: 6g/13a
3rd 20 games: 2g/6a
Last 17 games: 4g/4a


DeBrusk point totals:

1st 20 games: 5g/7a
2nd 20 games: 5g/7a
3rd 20 games: 4g/7a
Last 10 games: 2g/6a


DeBrusk was more consistent than Heinen, but in the end, they both averaged .61 ppg.

So, again, I’m not even sure why Heinen is in this poll?

 

[CharasLazyWrister]

The thing I find comedic is that you single out Heinen as having ups and downs during the season and tailing off in the playoffs, but you can go up and down every NHL lineup in the league and find the same thing from veterans and rookies alike. The difference is that this was Heinen’s first NHL experience and he should learn and get better from it.

The bottom line is that he finished his rookie campaign with 47 pts in 77 games, good for 9th in the NHL (and first on the Bruins). Seven of the eight guys in front of him were first round picks. The other was the soon to be 27 year old “rookie”, Yanni Gourde. The last time a Bruin came close to that his rookie season was Blake Wheeler in 2008-09 with 44 pts (at age 22).

I have done this before to show that the dropoff was there, but not as significant as some would have you believe.

Heinen point totals:

1st 20 games: 4g/8a
2nd 20 games: 6g/13a
3rd 20 games: 2g/6a
Last 17 games: 4g/4a


DeBrusk point totals:

1st 20 games: 5g/7a
2nd 20 games: 5g/7a
3rd 20 games: 4g/7a
Last 10 games: 2g/6a


DeBrusk was more consistent than Heinen, but in the end, they both averaged .61 ppg.

So, again, I’m not even sure why Heinen is in this poll?

Umm...I didn't "single Heinen out". I simply gave my opinion on him as an individual, since he was mentioned in this poll and by other posters. I could just as easily talk about Bjork and/or Donato. I voted for Bjork in the poll.

You desperately want to have a debate over this, and I see at as highly unnecessary. We are basically in agreement when you look at the roots of each of our posts.

And yes, Jake DeBrusk is not in the poll because he showed a lot during the playoffs. And more consistency as you acknowledged. Right there is perhaps the reason why the OP did not include him in the poll.

It's clear that you are high on Heinen and I respect that. But it feels like every post of yours is an attempt to cast me as a non-believer in young players which I am not. Simply want to see at least another year of DH before saying he should be a definitive part of the long-term core.

 

[GloryDaze4877]

Hard to confirm top producing rookie with Bjork and Cehlarik out with injuries and Donato joining late. Heinen was the top producing Rookie with a * next to rookies Debrusk came on strong 2nd half after adjusting to speed. My eyes tell
Me Debrusk was best Rookie last year.

Please just stop.

I have tried to be nice about this because I like Cehlarik, and think he has potential. However, why should there be an asterisk next to Heinen’s name because Cehlarik was hurt (again) and could only play in 35 AHL (not NHL games)??

Because you say so? So, Heinen should be marginalized because another prospect in the B’s system can’t stay healthy enough to make the NHL? Makes zero sense.

And the idea that DeBrusk “came on” as he adjusted to the speed of the game was false. He was more consistent than Heinen, but this theory that he lit it up in the 2nd half is not accurate, regardless of what your eyes were telling you.

He had 24 pts in the first 40 games (.60ppg)

He had 19 pts in the last 30 games (.63ppg)

Almost identical.