19/20 Providence Bruins

cshea

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Other the John Beecher, pretty much all the important prospects are in Providence. They start tonight in Lehigh Valley.

Carey - Studnicka - Steen
Bjork - Frederic - Lantosi
Fitzgerald - Gaunce - Senyshyn
Lauko - Shen - Hughes

Vaakanainen - Petrovic
Zboril - Didier
Lauzon - Zech

Lagace
Vladar

Cehlarik is there but got hurt in practice this week.
 

cshea

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B’s win 3-0. Bjork had a goal and an assist. Carey and Gaunce the other 2 goals. Lagace shutout.
 

The Napkin

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Axel Andersson is headed to Moncton. Divver says likely back to Providence for playoffs depending on how long Moncton's season goes.
 

The Napkin

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https://theathletic.com/1278942/2019/10/09/bruins-farm-report-evaluating-the-prospects-start-to-the-season/
The Providence Bruins, loaded with prospects this season, earned four points against two tough opponents, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms and the Hershey Bears, in their opening games last weekend. But in the AHL, it’s not about wins and losses. Development is king, and Providence coach Jay Leach is prepared for another important campaign.
“We’re relatively young, but it’s a nice mix, so far,” said Leach. “There are a lot of prospects to talk about – quite a few.”
Evaluations are still fresh from Bruins training camp, but it’s always important to see how these younger players respond to start the season in the minors.
 

cshea

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3-2 winners tonight. Lauko, Bjork and Steen were the goal scorers, Steen’s the GWG in the final minute of the game. Vaakanainen had 2 assists.
 

veritas

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3-2 winners tonight. Lauko, Bjork and Steen were the goal scorers, Steen’s the GWG in the final minute of the game. Vaakanainen had 2 assists.
Great to see 3 guys who are fighting for NHL roster spots get on the scoreboard, and my binkie Lauko who is (was?) fighting to not go back to the Q
 

cshea

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Great to see 3 guys who are fighting for NHL roster spots get on the scoreboard, and my binkie Lauko who is (was?) fighting to not go back to the Q
Pretty sure Lauko is safe. They started him on the 4th line last week but that lasted all of 1 game and he’s been moved up into the top 6/9.
 

cshea

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Lost 5-2 today. Bjork had a goal and an assist, Cehlarik with the other goal.

5 points in 4 games for Bjork. He’ll be up soon.
 

cshea

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5-4 shootout loss to Laval last night. They were down 4-0 after 1 so a nice rally. 2 goals for Cehlarik. Carey and Gaunce with the other 2 goals, Gaunce’s coming with less than 30 seconds remaining to tie it. Bjork had a helper on that goal.

Vladar got hurt and it appears he’ll be out a significant amount of time. Keyser will be brought back up from the ECHL.

View: https://twitter.com/markdivver/status/1184666601146204160?s=21


View: https://twitter.com/markdivver/status/1184668091889963009?s=21
 

cshea

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Providence beat Rochester 4-3 last night. They are 6-3-2 on the season.

Cehlarik has been hot, 6-4=10 in 7 games. Among the rookies Studnicka has the best counting stats, 2-5=7 in 11 games. Scored a SHG last night so getting some penalty kill work in. Lauko has 3-0=3 in 11 games, Steen is 2-2=4 in 11.
 

cshea

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Studnicka is getting rolling. 3 point game yesterday to take over the team scoring lead with 9-9=18 in 21 games. 3 of his goals are shorthanded too. Think he’ll be on a full year plan down there but a very encouraging start to his year.

Vaakanainen had 2 goals and an assist yesterday as well after being sent down.
 

PedroSpecialK

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Petrovic with a real bad coverage for the 2-1 goal. Getting corsi’d to hell. Lauko nearly died blowing an edge while skating to negate an icing
 

RoDaddy

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I'm pretty excited about Vaak and Stud. OTOH, Zboril might be stalling in Providence, and Senyshyn - ugh!
 
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FelixMantilla

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Went to yesterday’s game against Springfield. I thought Frederick and Zech were both outstanding.

Of course neither got one of the top three stars.
 

The Napkin

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posted in The Athletic thread but might belong here as well...

https://theathletic.com/1464556/2020/01/14/wheelers-2020-nhl-prospect-pool-rankings-no-30-boston-bruins/
In building out these rankings, the Bruins were one of the teams whose place within them really tested my approach/philosophy.
Though their prospect pool runs deeper than a couple of the teams who will slot in at No. 29 and No. 28, and maybe even one or two more beyond that, they lack truly high-end options.
On one hand, if there’s one team that can sustain an approach that drafts depth guys who can fill in around the margins, it’s the one with Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak locked up long term. On the other hand, I think the Bruins have played a lot of their high picks too safely in recent memory and that will limit their ability to hit home runs.
The end result: A prospect pool that has some future NHLers but doesn’t excite.
 

cshea

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The 30th ranking is fair, but excluding Lauko from his list kinda cuts into his credibility. In the comments he says not includinf Lauko wasn’t an oversight, he’s just “not fond” of the player. The other prospect guy over there, Pronman, had Lauko as the Bruins 7th ranked prospect. Wheeler can’t fit him in the top 15? He’s got time for Joona Koppanen, who admittedly is having a decent year, but ultimately is a 21 year old with 11 goals in 83 career AHL games, but doesn’t for Lauko? He’s a 19 year old coming off a PPG season in the Q, and the Memorial Cup’s leading scorer in his first season playing in North America. He’s got 4-4=8 in 18 games in his first pro year as one of the youngest players in the AHL who has missed a lot of time with injuries. Hell, Wheeler includes Pavel Shen who is a similar spot but has less production, 7 points in 27 games.

The Bruins system isn’t littered with blue chip, can’t miss prospects so I understand and agree with a low overall system ranking. They have some intriguing players and seem to prefer drafting low ceiling, high floor types which will always lead to poor rankings by prospect writers. That said, failing to include Lauko at all makes me wonder how much these prospect guys actually watch the players. It is like he watched 1 Providence game which Lauko probably missed because he’s dealt with injured and decided that was it.
 

burstnbloom

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The 30th ranking is fair, but excluding Lauko from his list kinda cuts into his credibility. In the comments he says not includinf Lauko wasn’t an oversight, he’s just “not fond” of the player. The other prospect guy over there, Pronman, had Lauko as the Bruins 7th ranked prospect. Wheeler can’t fit him in the top 15? He’s got time for Joona Koppanen, who admittedly is having a decent year, but ultimately is a 21 year old with 11 goals in 83 career AHL games, but doesn’t for Lauko? He’s a 19 year old coming off a PPG season in the Q, and the Memorial Cup’s leading scorer in his first season playing in North America. He’s got 4-4=8 in 18 games in his first pro year as one of the youngest players in the AHL who has missed a lot of time with injuries. Hell, Wheeler includes Pavel Shen who is a similar spot but has less production, 7 points in 27 games.

The Bruins system isn’t littered with blue chip, can’t miss prospects so I understand and agree with a low overall system ranking. They have some intriguing players and seem to prefer drafting low ceiling, high floor types which will always lead to poor rankings by prospect writers. That said, failing to include Lauko at all makes me wonder how much these prospect guys actually watch the players. It is like he watched 1 Providence game which Lauko probably missed because he’s dealt with injured and decided that was it.
I hate to be overly dramatic, but its completely disqualifying. He almost certainly forgot about him and doubled down in the comments.
 

veritas

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I hate to be overly dramatic, but its completely disqualifying. He almost certainly forgot about him and doubled down in the comments.
I think you’re right, he probably assumed he was older since he played in juniors last year and was still AHL eligible at 19. The doubling down is the disqualifying part. No one would have cared if he just said “oops” about some B level prospect he left off a list.

I’m more of a Lauko fanboy than most but it’s insane to leave him out of the top 15. He’s an athletic two-way winger who has produced at 5v5 at every level, despite usually playing with players much older than him (Czech first division at 16, AHL at 19).
 

cshea

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Studnicka had a 4 point game last night. He went through a 1 point in 11 games slump but has rebounded with 9 points in his last 6 games.
 

Salem's Lot

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scored again today. Not much more to prove for Studs in RI.
He’s tearing up the AHL right now, currently 12th in the league in scoring, and 3rd among rookies, and he just turned 21 last week. I don’t see how he couldn’t give the NHL club more than a mediocrity like Par Lindholm are giving them right now in that 4th line center role.
 

burstnbloom

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He’s tearing up the AHL right now, currently 12th in the league in scoring, and 3rd among rookies, and he just turned 21 last week. I don’t see how he couldn’t give the NHL club more than a mediocrity like Par Lindholm are giving them right now in that 4th line center role.
I usually like the idea of having a good D player in that line because of how Cassidy uses the 4th line to free up the top line for cushy matchups, but Stud is a really strong 2 way player. Its very exciting to think about him playing between Kuraly and Wagner/Nordstrom int he playoffs and he could slot up depending on need like Cirelli did for Tampa a couple of years ago.
 

Salem's Lot

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I usually like the idea of having a good D player in that line because of how Cassidy uses the 4th line to free up the top line for cushy matchups, but Stud is a really strong 2 way player. Its very exciting to think about him playing between Kuraly and Wagner/Nordstrom int he playoffs and he could slot up depending on need like Cirelli did for Tampa a couple of years ago.
I think it’s the perfect way to break him in. He already plays a good defensive game and would add physicality to the bottom 6. He’s not only an effective penalty killer, he’s a weapon on the PK. I would love to see a Studnicka, Kuraly, Wagner line for a few games to see if it works.

Marchand - Bergeron- Pastrnak
DeBrusk - Coyle - Kuhlman
Ritchie - Krejci - Kase
Kuraly - Studnicka - Wagner

Could be a deep, talented, and tough forward group in the playoffs. And if anyone sucks it gets hurt, Bjork, Nordstrom, and Lindholm are available.
 

RoDaddy

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TheRealness

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I usually like the idea of having a good D player in that line because of how Cassidy uses the 4th line to free up the top line for cushy matchups, but Stud is a really strong 2 way player. Its very exciting to think about him playing between Kuraly and Wagner/Nordstrom int he playoffs and he could slot up depending on need like Cirelli did for Tampa a couple of years ago.
Stud is a good defensive player, but I think it’s far more likely he ends up on Coyle’s right wing. They still haven’t solved the 3rd line RW spot, and if he’s comfortable enough there, I would bet some money he’s the 3rd RW come playoff time.
 

veritas

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Real good recent interview with B's prospect expert Mark Divver: https://weei.radio.com/blogs/matt-kalman/nhl-potenial-of-boston-bruins-prospects-on-the-skate-podcast

In addition to Stud and Vaak, he definitely likes Frederic and says Zboril has been the best Providence defenseman of late...finally! And for all the Lauko lovers on the board, he's really high on him ("tremendously exciting young player" with "tremendous upside") and sees him as a potential 2nd if not 1st liner!
Lauko lover here, checking in. Great to see him back on the ice playing this season. Losing the rest of the year wouldn't have been great for his development. He's still got a ways to go, but he's showed he belongs in the AHL at 19 which is impressive.

I don't see Studnicka fitting on this team right now. Well, *I* do, but I don't see the Bruins thinking so. He'll probably get a few games down the stretch to give their centers a day off here and there, but in the playoffs it's 2 of Wagner/Frederic/Kuhlman as the bottom 2 RWs.