Training Camp Preview

Here it is! Only my second post of the month is the first in over two weeks. I've said before that I was hoping for some help on the Patriots blogging, but even the so-called "biggest Pats fan alive" won't blog about them because A.) he's too lazy, B.) he's too big of a homer and can't be objective, and C.) he does not know enough about football to blog with conviction. Well, as promised, I'm gonna be posting my Training Camp Preview, as well as my Regular Season preview for the Bruins. Hopefully the readers will fire back after I post this Preview and give me their thoughts (but they mostly don't because they're lazy and afraid to disagree with anything, Bmal excluded).

Four of us went to the Rookie Scrimmage the other day (Night 2) to get a first glimpse of guys like Tyler Seguin, Jordan Caron, and Joe Colborne. Unfortunately, Colborne suffered a mild concussion the night before and was not able to show off his skills to the crowd of over 14 thousand. Colborne's absence was a bummer, but it was still a successful night for the B's rooks, as they swept the Islanders with a 2-1 overtime win.

Despite Colborne not being in the lineup, the game offered a good glimpse of the B's future, and gave us a benchmark of what to expect in Training Camp. Now, many of the guys on the ice the other night were simply fighting for ice-time in Providence, and they know it. But there are a handful of guys that will be given a legitimate chance to play with the big club to open the season, and those are the guys I keyed in on when watching from roughly the 10th row (not bad for five bucks). The obvious one is Seguin. I'm guessing that roughly 12 of the 14 thousands fans that were there showed up solely to watch the team's new #19 skate. Seguin potted 2 assists the night before, but he was largely a non-factor in the 2nd game. He had a few nice rushes and let off a few quick wristers, but nothing close to a game changing play. The Islanders keyed in on him from end-to-end, and the pressure of having 14,000 show up to watch him must have watered down his performance. The one scary moment came when he was flung head-first into the boards in the first period, only to hop back up and get right into the play.

The most impressive guys on the night were the one's that most of the 14,000 in attendance had no idea about. The teams two second round picks (Jared Knight and Ryan Spooner) showed why the B's and Peter Chiarelli are so high on them. For one, they both have speed to burn...moreso Knight, who was blowing around dmen and winning battles for the puck in the corners to boot. For such a smallish and speedy guy, Knight seemed to play with an edge in his game and was much more physical than anticipated. While Knight played a very strong game, the most impressive players on Thursday night were Spooner and Maxim Sauve. Spooner had two goals and was all over the ice for 3 periods. He's not as fast as Knight, but he's got the hockey smarts and was probably 70 or 80% on faceoffs from my count. But moving on to the most impressive player in my eyes, Sauve. I was hoping that Sauve would break training camp last year with the big club. He had a very, very impressive training camp and was probably their best all-around player in the preseason. He'll never be mistaken for a guy like Marc Savard, but he's got a well-rounded game and never gives up on a play. Sauve was a stud on the few penalty kills that the B's had, and he helped set up Spooner's two goals (including the OT winner with a bullet pass cross-ice for the breakaway). Sauve was one of two guys I wanted to focus on for the game, and he reinforced my belief that he could possibly break camp with the B's.

The other guy I focused in on from the start was Yuri Alexandrov, the Bruins' second round pick from 2007 that has spent the last few years in the KHL. Alexandrov was in camp with the B's last season, and he was a huge disappointment, which ultimately lead him to sign an extension with the KHL and delay his Bruins debut for another season. The biggest problem, from what the Bruins are saying, is the Russian's work ethic. In 2007, Alexandrov fell to the beginning of the 2nd round (a projected top 15 pick) for that very reason, despite being compared to Sergei Gonchar at the same age. During the game, Alexandrov had a few plays that were enough to get excited about. He made a great pinch in joining the rush that led to an excellent scoring opportunity of the stick of Spooner, only to be robbed by the Islanders goalie. Then Alexandrov sparked a 2 on 1 from behind his own net with a tape-to-tape pass put on the stick of Jamie Arniel. Despite the few good plays offensively, Alexandrov made some stupid plays that might have made some fans say "send him back to Russia." The frustrating thing to watch with him was how often he put himself out of position. He's too "puck-focused" and seemingly doesn't pay attention to anything else. The best defensemen are those who compose themselves when the puck is elsewhere and position themselves accordingly, and Alexandrov is very clearly nowhere close. He showed some flashes, but he's still a year away from the NHL...at least.

Heading into camp, there are plenty of things to be excited about and several storylines to keep an eye on. The biggest story will be Marc Savard's post-concussion syndrome and how it effects the positioning of some prospects. Based on what the Bruins currently have, here is how I see the lineup panning out for their trip to Prague and Northern Ireland at the beginning of next month:

Line 1: Lucic - Krecji - Horton

Line 2: Wheeler - Bergeron - Recchi

Line 3: Ryder - XXXX - Seguin

Line 4: Paille - Campbell - Thornton

D1: Chara and Boychuk

D2: Seidenberg and Stuart

D3: Hunwick and Ference

7th defenseman: Adam McQuaid

We know who the goalies are going to be, barring injury that is. The first thing I notice from that lineup card (and again, that is all barring injuries and cap situation) is that the defensive unit is actually weak. Without Chara anchoring that unit, it's probably among the worst in the NHL. Chara happens to be good enough to make it one of the best, but it still has no depth to it. There is a reason Chiarelli talked with Calgary about Robyn Regehr and with Toronto about Kaberle. The Bruins are going to need to add a blueliner at some point during the season.

But the key to camp is the status of Marc Savard. The big XXXX represents his uncertain status. If Savard is able to come back, then it's an easy fill. But my gut tells me that the Bruins will play things extremely cautious with their center and that they may need to fill it with one of several prospects. If Savard is unable to make the trip to Europe, then filling that space relies on how they view the development of #19. They have a few options:

1.) If they want to move Seguin to the wing to start his career, they can plug the third line center hole with one of several talented youngsters. The first would be their 2007 first-round pick Zach Hamill. He played very well in his only NHL game against he Caps to end last season, and he was great last preseason. But his development has taken a long, long time and the Bruins still may not trust him. Hamill's playmaking skills and offensive-minded game probably make him the best parallel to Savard in the system. If Hamill isn't the choice, then they could look at two others to fill the spot: Spooner and Sauve. I would love to see Sauve make this team. For a Frenchman, he's got grit and he's well rounded. Spooner has the skills and the smarts, but I tend to think the Bruins want to leave him in junior for another year or two before exposing him to professional hockey.

2.) And now we have option two, which is probably more likely in the event Savard is unavailable. The two most NHL-ready prospects in the Bruins system lie on the wing, and the Bruins might be inclined to move Seguin to the middle in order to give one of these two a shot. Brad Marchand has grit and an offensive spark. He didn't show his offensive skills in his stint last year (only one point in 20 games), but the certainly showed he can skate with the big boys. He was a big part of their penalty kill when he was up, and showed that he wasn't afraid to mix things up despite being only 5'9". And then you've got the player who netted a hat trick in the first rookie game and has drawn comparisons to Patrice Bergeron for his two-way play...Jordan Caron. Like Sauve, it would be a shame to have to see Caron play an entire year in Providence. He's too NHL-ready and he's got too much promise. For a long-term fix (which might be necessary if they bury Ryder in the minors or just buy him out, and if Sturm never comes back), Caron is the easy choice. He's ready both physically and mentally, and has far more upside than Marchand.

Of course, Savard could be feeling great come October, and all of this speculation may be for nothing. But it will be this same group of players that Peter Chiarelli and Claude Julien consider when they inevitably have to replace Ryder or Sturm, or when the first storm of injuries befalls the Black and Gold. The competition for very few spots should make this a great preseason for the B's, and we should all look forward to what these players are able to showcase.

Until the end of camp...