Happy Father's Day and welcome to the first edition of Bruins Brunch, a weekly column dedicated to the Boston Bruins. I am honored to be New England Hockey Journal/staging.hockeyjournal.com's managing editor, and am excited to be bringing you this Sunday offering of news, notes and most importantly, unique insights and analysis of the Black and Gold that you won’t find anywhere else.
Twenty-one years ago, I began doing a similar once-a-week opinion/news feature hybrid dedicated to the B’s for staging.hockeyjournal.com and continued it for several seasons. This is going to be a more scaled-down version of what we used to call “Bear Claws,” but we’re excited to unveil our newest effort to tell the Boston pro team’s story by pulling on the threads of things going on below the surface of what you'll see in the mainstream coverage of the club.
So, on that note, let’s dive in.
Patrice Bergeron runner-up to Aleksandr Barkov for Selke Trophy
Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron missed out on an unprecedented fifth career Frank J. Selke Trophy on Friday, as the NHL announced that Florida Panthers star Aleksander "Sasha" Barkov as the 2021 recipient. The award, which recognizes the league's top defensive forward, originally was created to honor Montreal Canadiens Hall of Famer Bob Gainey, but in more recent seasons has become a way for the Professional Hockey Writers Association voting members to select successful scoring forwards who aren’t productive enough to win the NHL’s top offensive awards.
Bergeron, like Gainey, has four Selke trophies on his mantel but has been a Selke finalist for an astounding 10 consecutive seasons. Barkov ran away with 62 first-place votes to Bergeron’s 15, but the B's veteran secured the most second-place votes of any player with 30. A poorer reflection on PWHA membership with voting power lies with the 11 individuals who left Bergeron off their respective ballot altogether. At age 35, Bergeron still led the NHL in most analytical categories aimed at quantifying a player’s defensive acumen. That, apparently, 10 percent of those casting votes didn't have him in their top five is more of a reflection on their lack of judgment than anything else.
Bergeron will one day be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and no one in the media will be able to stop that from happening, no matter how many Selke Trophies he ends up with.
Changes coming to the coaching staff?
We’re hearing that at least one of Bruce Cassidy’s assistant coaches is moving on from the team for a new opportunity outside of the NHL. Our best guess is it will be Jay Pandolfo (Burlington, Mass.), who has gotten valuable experience behind the Boston bench. He joined the B’s organization in 2014 on the player development side, then began 2016-17 as one of Claude Julien’s apprentice coaches, staying on under Cassidy after his February 2017 elevation to head coaching duties. The former Burlington High and Boston University standout played 899 career NHL games with the Devils, Islanders and Bruins, winning Stanley Cups in 2000 and 2003. Pandolfo's alma mater is a good place to start for a new landing spot, with a coaching vacancy created by Paul Pearl's (Winthrop, Mass.) recent departure.
B’s sign former Swedish rookie of the year
The Boston Bruins announced they agreed to terms with free agent forward Jesper Frödén, formerly of Skelleftea of the Swedish Hockey League and winner of that top professional circuit’s Rookie of the Year award for the 2019-20 regular season.
The 5-foot-9, 165-pound right winger is described by one hockey insider as a “shifty little water bug, sneaky-good shot and around the puck a lot.” The 26-year-old (he turns 27 during the preseason schedule) went undrafted in the NHL but signed a one-year “prove it” deal with the B’s at a little under $850,000. Frödén gives the team some versatility and depth and has a chance to make the big club next season given his extensive pro experience overseas. If he doesn’t crack the NHL roster, he’ll give Providence 40-plus points in the AHL.
2021 draft target
Every week between now and the NHL Entry Draft on July 23, we’ll bring you a quick drill-down on one potential player who could be Boston’s first-round pick at 21st overall.
Tyler Boucher, RW, U.S. NTDP Under-18 (USHL)
The Haddonfield, N.J., native and son of former NHL goaltender Brian Boucher (Woonsocket, R.I.) is a 6-foot-1, 190-pound power forward who skates well and can back up defenses with his foot speed or disrupt the opposition breakouts with his quickness and agility. He does a lot of things well, including shooting the puck with a quick release, velocity and power — he can handcuff goalies with his hard, heavy drive. He also excels in the possession game, using his frame to shield the puck and maintain control often with a defender on his back. He doesn't have higher-end offensive instincts at present but does project as someone who can play up and down in a lineup. Boucher missed much of final half of the season with an injury, so NHL teams did not get the ideal range of views on him, especially down the stretch.
Scout’s out: “He’s got NHL tools and has gotten better since he joined Team USA. We obviously wanted to see more games from him this year, but it was a strange season and he was able to demonstrate pro-level proficiency and potential when he was on the ice.” — NHL scout with Eastern Conference team
staging.hockeyjournal.com draft prediction: With a skill-set that is always in demand, plus a demonstrated step forward in his second year with the NTDP, that will translate into first-round billing after pick 20. Boston values big, hard-skill players who can possess the puck and drive to the net, and Boucher is one who fits the bill while also playing the right side, which is more of an immediate need and could still be in about 3-5 years when he’s ready to push for an NHL spot.
