Bruins Notebook: Getting to know the team’s newest centers

Knowing that David Krejci could (and would) be out the door to return to his native Czech Republic, the Bruins aimed for center depth on the first day of free agency and ultimately landed on Erik Haula and Tomas Nosek.

All things considered, these weren’t the most glamorous moves.

Haula put up a solid nine goals and 21 points in 51 games with the Predators in 2021, while Nosek posted a career-high eight goals and 18 points in 38 games for the Golden Knights. Their combined 39 points still trailed Krejci’s 2021 total by a solid five points, so, no, this wasn’t the Bruins outright replacing Krejci’s production with a pair of more affordable options.

But they’re two players the Bruins hope can bring some much-needed value all the same.

In the case of Nosek, the Bruins are getting a 6-foot-2, 205-pound pivot who plays with a high pace despite his size, has wing-center versatility, and has drawn rave reviews from the man who coached him last.

“I didn’t know a lot [about Nosek] other than what Pete DeBoer told me in Vegas,” Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “But I can share the fact that he loved him as a player and a person and thought he’d really help any team he was on. That’s great to hear. We use that definition ‘hockey player’ but he seems like that guy. When his name is called, he’s going to go out and play and help the team win. I thought his numbers were very under-the-radar good last year.”

“I got a chance to play on the third line last year and get more ice time, which helped me produce more, I think,” Nosek, who averaged a career-best 13:00 per night last year, said. “Before that, most of my ice time was [on the] penalty kill. Last year, I got more chances to play five-on-five and I was glad that [DeBoer] trusted me and I think I paid him back with the production.”

Watching Nosek, the speed and skill can jump off the page a bit, especially when you realize that their goal is to have him center the fourth line. But it’s also been a treat for his projected linemates, Trent Frederic and Curtis Lazar, so far.

“You can see he’s a big guy who moves well, really creates space for Freddy and myself,” Lazar said after Saturday’s skate. “I feel like we’re building that chemistry and I feel like today was our best skate yet.”

Haula, meanwhile, has found himself in a third-line center spot as the Bruins try to build some chemistry between he and winger Jake DeBrusk. Haula is another one whose speed and ability to make quick moves from in tight can jump off the page if you’re sleeping on him, and it’s easy to see how that could be a good fit with someone like DeBrusk. Haula also has past success on his side, as he scored a career-high 29 goals and 55 points for the Golden Knights during the 2017-18 season.

But this jump to Boston has also left him cramming to get up to speed like he’s back at the University of Minnesota.

“Being new, you have to pay attention a little bit more in the beginning, get those systems down as quickly as possible,” Haula said. “That’s very important. You want to sit kind of front row and pay attention and listen and try to soak everything in. The quicker you learn, the better you’ll do on the ice, and the better you’ll look. It’s important to learn quick. Just really try to learn quick as well. I feel like everything’s straightforward and communication is great, so it’s been easy.”

But perhaps the 30-year-old Haula is better than most at that following a wild journey that’s seen him skate with four different organizations over the last three years, with that aforementioned Nashville run being his most recent stop.

“That’s always been the goal — settling in,” Haula admitted. “I’ve been bouncing around a little bit. Whatever the reason has been, it’s been different reasons, but I’m here as a Boston Bruin and I’m here to stay.”

• An early look at the power-play combinations

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  If you're wondering what the B's power-play combinations may look like when the 2021-22 season begins, Saturday came with the perfect glimpse, as the first session featured a ton of power-play work, and with NHLers across the board.
  
  And based on that glimpse, it would appear that this year's top unit could feature Charlie McAvoy as its chief blue line distributor in place of Matt Grzelcyk. After matching his 51-game regular-season power-play point total (eight) in 11 postseason tilts, jumping up to No. 1 power-play duty is probably the next step for McAvoy in his rise to perennial Norris contention.
  
  With McAvoy running the point, the Bruins featured David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, and Patrice Bergeron in their usual spots, while Nick Foligno played the role of 2021 Nick Ritchie as the group's net-front option.
  
  This... could be promising.
  
  In 29:03 of power-play time together during the regular season last year, the Bruins scored five goals on 23 shots with McAvoy out there with the Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak combination. Compare that to 11 goals on 94 shots in 107:43 power-play minutes with the Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak combo out there with McAvoy parked on the bench.
  
  Now, acknowledging the obvious sample size discrepancy, that worked out to 10.33 goals for per 60 with McAvoy out there with the B’s best trio on the man advantage compared to 6.13 goals per 60 without him.
  
  The second unit, meanwhile, featured both Mike Reilly and Grzelcyk on the backend, along with Taylor Hall, Craig Smith, and Jack Studnicka as the group's forwards.
  
  The missing, potential X-factors in these combos: Charlie Coyle (non-contact sweater, not a full participant) and Jake DeBrusk (not in the first session), as both players have been known for their net-front work on the man advantage when successful.

• What Bruins are seeing from Jakub Zboril thus far

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  An extension for Mike Reilly and the addition of Derek Forbort has put Bruins defenseman Jakub Zboril in the No. 4 spot on the team's left-handed defenseman depth chart. And that's assuming that he's ahead of veteran John Moore, who is a full go after offseason hip surgery and has a heavy 493-game advantage over Zboril when it comes to his NHL experience, too.
  
  Not exactly the best spot for the 2015 first-round pick, especially after a Jan. 2021 preseason that saw him log third-pairing 'minutes' opposite Kevan Miller throughout camp and into the early part of the season.
  
  But while the role has changed, the Bruins have liked what they've seen from the 24-year-old defender out of the gate.
  
  "He's practicing better," Cassidy said Friday. "That's the one of the things with Jakub we had to remind him [of] all the time [like], 'Hey, be ready to go every day. It's your job. We're not out there long.' Kevan Miller did a terrific job with him with that. He seems to have learned from that. I noticed his practice habits are better, he's competing harder in practice, shutting down plays. He can always pass the puck and see the ice in the drills where there's no resistance. But he's better on the resistance drills, which is part of being a good pro.
  
  "He's more competitive, which, in this game, that's an area he needs to be good at every night, because he has natural talent."
  
  Upping his intensity level and compete on a day-to-day and translating it to action may be Zboril's way into this lineup, to be honest. Behind Derek Forbort, the Bruins do not have a defenseman you'd considered a rock-solid lock for penalty-killing action. The lefty options behind Forbort include Mike Reilly (1:31 shorthanded time on ice per game last year) and Matt Grzelcyk (0:20 shorthanded action per game), and they could have righty Connor Clifton move to the left, which is something he's done before and did a bunch last year. But if that proves unsuccessful, it may be Zboril's best ticket into the lineup.
  
  This would line up with what Cassidy has talked about with this brutally crowded camp, with certain players having to morph their game to avoid 'slipping through the cracks' and extending their NHL shelf life.

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Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.