Line Combos: Who is your starting line up opening night?

[deliciouspie]

i'd kick the tires on a ballard trade since dr AV seems to hate him so bad

 

[Gordon Lightfoot]

Many posters seem to have forgotten that the Bruins brought Aaron Johnson in as a veteran defenseman. I imagine he will be in the top 6 with McQuaid not ready to play.

Here is Johnson's roster profile: http://bruins.nhl.com/club/player.htm?id=8469534


Chara - Boychuk
Johnson - Seidenberg
Ference - Hamilton

Candidates for the #7 spot (or top 6 if Hamilton isn't ready) include:

Exelby
Bartkowski/Miller
Krug/Warsofsky

Thanks, I definitely did forget.

 

[22Brad Park]

I don't think Hamilton will get first pair D minutes with Chara. I think Seidenberg-Hamilton is a very good second pair. So in my opinion, it's either:

Chara Ference
Krug Boychuk

or

Chara Boychuk
Krug Ference

After what I saw from Hamilton at Juniors (not to bad i guess) i think making team should be his goal, I highly doubt he sees top pairings in a short season,Too risky in my opinion.But I did foget Johnson is gonna be there which i really like,Big body tough on puck and tough to play against.

 

[22Brad Park]

Chara plays way to many mins to put Hamilton out with him,I like idea he would learn from him,and Chara can cover him etc and fact they shoot opposite ways to sliding puck across works better,but i am nervous after what i just saw at juniors with him.I expected alot more,

 

[NORY]

i think i would perfer Hamilton to stay in the O.

 

[RussellmaniaKW]

i think i would perfer Hamilton to stay in the O.

The kid has done all he can in the O. He was probably making the team this year anyway, so the lockout has given him an extra half season in the OHL that he otherwise wouldn't have had along with the WJC experience. It's time to start the kid on the NHL path.

 

[roflstomper]

For the first couple weeks:

Lucic - Krejci - Horton
Marchand - Bergeron - Seguin
Paille - Kelly - Peverly
MacDermid - Campbell - Thornton

Chara - Hamilton
Seidenberg - Boychuk
Ference -Johnson


Then:

Lucic - Krejci - Horton
Marchand - Bergeron -Seguin
Caron - Kelly - Peverly
Paille - Campbell - Thornton

Chara - Boychuk
Seidenberg - (Hamilton 45% chance)
Ference - McQuaid

Then:

Lucic - Krejci - Horton
Marchand - Begeron - Seguin
FA or trade - Kelly - Peverly
Paille - Campbell - Thornton

Chara - Seidenberg
Boychuk - Ference
McQuaid - FA or trade

 

[NORY]

The kid has done all he can in the O. He was probably making the team this year anyway, so the lockout has given him an extra half season in the OHL that he otherwise wouldn't have had along with the WJC experience. It's time to start the kid on the NHL path.

Agreed that there isnt anything for him in the O, but i dont believe he is ready for the NHL (trust me i hope im wrong). I would like to see him in the AHL first. in order for that to happen i believe he would have to play out this year in the O and next season is eligible for the AHL. if the 10 game rule is still in effect i would ofcorse give him that time to show what hes got.

 

[Lobster57]

Lucic - Krejci - Seguin
Marchand - Bergy - Horton
Perv - Kelly - Bourque/Spooner
Merlot

Chara - Manchuk
Seids - Dougie
Ference - Quaider/Johnson

as always i want to figure a way of getting Marchand and Looch on a line together

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

...

I don't know who is going to make that final roster spot on the forwards. My assumption is that Julien hasn't made that decision yet. Spooner and Bourque give you the potential of some offensive pop on the third line (plus: they've played good hockey in Providence this season), but they're both wickedly under-sized. Caron has an NHL body, skillset and intelligence - but I have to think that there's something wrong with him, as he has put up ABYSMAL stats thus far in AHL and has done little to earn what could have been a "given" place on the roster.

Even MacDermid? Moving Paille up a line and seeing what he can do as a fourth line contributor seems like the least risky of every possible move.

I suppose there won't be a "training camp" per se... But I suspect the forward who impresses the most in the next couple of weeks in whatever capacity, will get the trial.

Defense

I want no part of Krug, Exelby, Cross or Miller. Aaron Johnson is an unspectacular dude, but he'll fit in nice on the top-6, with Dougie getting a shot (with Seids for sure) and Bartkowski on deck. And to be honest, Zach Trotman REALLY intrigues me. I know he's a righty and I know he's green, but he has the size and seems to have the drive to potentially get a look.

Warsofsky MAY be in the mix too (and I'm not opposed to that). But I feel as though he'll be on the outside looking in unless other options are entirely exhausted.

 

[Belenos]

Bourque played in Switzerland two seasons ago. He scored quite often, but still couldn't impress me much. I don't see him to be a regular NHL-player.

 

[SerenityRick]

Chara plays way to many mins to put Hamilton out with him,I like idea he would learn from him,and Chara can cover him etc and fact they shoot opposite ways to sliding puck across works better,but i am nervous after what i just saw at juniors with him.I expected alot more,

You do realize that Hamilton wouldn't be out there every single time Chara would be.... right?

 

[DoubleAAAA]

You do realize that Hamilton wouldn't be out there every single time Chara would be.... right?

No, no, no ... if two players are a defensive pair ... they must ALWAYS be on the ice together.

I'd expect Hamilton to get pretty limited minutes and Z/Seids to double shift, but for the most part I think CJ will insulate him by making sure one of those guys is out there with him.

 

[11MilesPerJohan]

Looch-Krejci-Horton
Marchand-Bergeron-Seguin
Kelly-Peverley-Bourque
Paille-Campbell- Thornton

Chara-Boychuk
Seidenburg- Hamilton
Ference- McQuaid
Krug

D w/ out Quaider:

Chara- Hamilton
Seidenburg - Krug
Ference- Boychuk

This looks about right...It wouldn't shock me to see Hamilton paired with Chara at times. Who better to learn the job from than Chara, and who better to be a safety net for a rookie d-man? Late in a close game, or in other critical situations, Claude could always switch the pairings around and put Chara-Boychuck or Chara-Seids together.

 

[ap3lovr]

A bit of a different look. Though doubtful we will see it. I really think at this point Seguin has better vision than Krejci on the Ice. I could only imagine what he could do with the room Lucic and Horton provide.

Lucic-Seguin-Horton
Marchand-Begeron-Sauve
Peverley-Krejci-Bourque
Paille-Kelly-Campbell
Thornton

Chara - Hamilton
Seidenberg - Ference
Johnson - Boychuk

 

[11MilesPerJohan]

A bit of a different look. Though doubtful we will see it. I really think at this point Seguin has better vision than Krejci on the Ice. I could only imagine what he could do with the room Lucic and Horton provide.

Lucic-Seguin-Horton
Marchand-Begeron-Sauve
Peverley-Krejci-Bourque
Paille-Kelly-Campbell
Thornton

Chara - Hamilton
Seidenberg - Ference
Johnson - Boychuk

I like the thinking here for two reasons: one, I still think Seguin will only reach his maximum potential at center, and two, I like the fact that Krejci is your #3 center and Kelly is your #4...that is pretty darn good depth at the center position and I would have to think that gives us an edge over almost every other team. That being said, this alignment is contingent on two players from Providence (Sauve, Caron, Spooner, Bourque, etc.) being able to lock up spots on the wing, at least to start the season. If we were to ever trade for a top 6 winger during the course of the season, this lineup would make even more sense.

 

[ap3lovr]

I like the thinking here for two reasons: one, I still think Seguin will only reach his maximum potential at center, and two, I like the fact that Krejci is your #3 center and Kelly is your #4...that is pretty darn good depth at the center position and I would have to think that gives us an edge over almost every other team. That being said, this alignment is contingent on two players from Providence (Sauve, Caron, Spooner, Bourque, etc.) being able to lock up spots on the wing, at least to start the season. If we were to ever trade for a top 6 winger during the course of the season, this lineup would make even more sense.

It certainly gives the lineup some holes. However I think Pevs/Krejci could be magic together on a 3rd line. Playing against other teams 3rd lines night in/out I think they could dominate.

 

[Justin St Pierre]

My starting lineup on opening night:

Pascal Pelletier - Martin St. Pierre - Levi Nelson
Carter Camper - Stéphane Yelle - Byron Bitz
Peter Schaefer - Zach Hamill - Mikko Lehtonen
Jeremy Reich - Trent Whitfield - Brandon Bochenski

Matt Hunwick - Dennis Wideman
Andrew Alberts - Bobby Allen
Andrew Wozniewski - Jonathan Sigalet

Jordan Sigalet
Marty Turco

Their starting lineup on opening night:

Nothing earth-shattering. Bourque plays on the third line. Hamilton plays with Chara and Johnson plays with Boychuk. Chara and Boychuk also play with each other on additional shifts.

 

[SlimBrady]

Lucic-Krejci-Seguin
Marchand-Bergeron-Horton
Spooner-Kelly-Peverley
Paille-Campbell-Thornton

Chara-Boychuk
Seidenberg-Hamilton
Ference-Johnson

 

[XtremeofParanoia]

My starting lineup on opening night:

Pascal Pelletier - Martin St. Pierre - Levi Nelson
Carter Camper - Stéphane Yelle - Byron Bitz
Peter Schaefer - Zach Hamill - Mikko Lehtonen
Jeremy Reich - Trent Whitfield - Brandon Bochenski

Matt Hunwick - Dennis Wideman
Andrew Alberts - Bobby Allen
Andrew Wozniewski - Jonathan Sigalet

Jordan Sigalet
Marty Turco

What about Soderberg?

 

[deliciouspie]

i'd be overjoyed if they signed petr sykora or andrew brunette for the third line

 

[Dr Quincy]

Both Bob Mackenzie and Kirk agree that Hamilton will start the season with the Bruins. There will be a deadline where the Bruins have to return him to juniors but I don't think anyone knows how many games that will be yet.. or if Hamilton will be returned. That probably depends entirely on his acclimation.

But could also see him stay up a la Seguin since Hamilton can't exactly learn much else in Junior at this stage.

Absolutely right about the first paragraph.

There are plenty of things he can learn in Juniors. He's far from a finished product and needs to get stronger, more physical and work on his positioning. He has all the tools but I'm not sure he's quite ready to be an NHL defender yet.

 

[VanIsle]

As per TSN it is expected to be 6 games for underagers such as Hamilton.

 

[Confound]

i think i would perfer Hamilton to stay in the O.

Great, then our D would look like this.

Chara-Boychuk
Seidenberg-Johnson
Ference-Exelby

Doesn't really look like a true cup contender there, I'd rather have Hamilton up and get him some playing time over some scrub that we don't need.

 

[Confound]

Lucic-Krejci-Seguin
Marchand-Bergeron-Horton
Spooner-Kelly-Peverley
Paille-Campbell-Thornton

Chara-Boychuk
Seidenberg-Hamilton
Ference-Johnson

This is what I am hoping for as well.

I want to keep Seguin on the Lucic-Krejci line, Krejci is more of a play maker than Bergy and that fits Seguins skill set better if he actually plays with an elite play maker.