The Bruins have three roster spots for seven players

Author Ty Anderson

October 8th, 2021 1:22 AM

Wednesday’s preseason finale felt like an overdue confirmation.

At least when it came to B’s Opening Night roster, as the Bruins most definitely iced what everyone should consider to be their optimal 12-forward, six-defenseman lineup entering Oct. 16 against the Stars.

Up front, you’ll have Patrice Bergeron between Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak on Boston’s top line, and Charlie Coyle looked healthy enough to confirm that he will be the one centering Taylor Hall and Craig Smith on line two. In the bottom six, an all-lefty line with Erik Haula between Jake DeBrusk and Nick Foligno is your third line, and the fourth line will have Trent Frederic on the left, Curtis Lazar on the right, and ex-Vegas pivot Tomas Nosek in the middle.

On the backend, Derek Forbort will begin the year as Charlie McAvoy’s partner on the top pairing, Mike Reilly and Brandon Carlo will continue to patrol the blue on the second pairing, and Matt Grzelcyk and Connor Clifton will make up the third pair.

And with Troy Grosenick waived, the Bruins are officially going with the Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark tandem, as you should’ve expected the moment the team traded Daniel Vladar to the Flames.

That leaves three spots for seven skaters still with the Black and Gold’s main camp.

And though it may seem obvious who the Bruins will ultimately decide to keep around, they remain a team with options.

• Anton Blidh

  Share

  A fourth-line shit-stirrer of the highest order, Blidh has his fans in the organization.
  
  And this was, by all accounts, Blidh's best pro camp with the Bruins. On the ice for over 31 minutes of five-on-five play this preseason, the Bruins were in the black in shots (16-12) and high-danger scoring chances (10-5) with Blidh on the ice, with Blidh beginning less than 40 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone. Blidh made the most of his ice time, too, as he led all Boston forwards in both individual scoring chances (19.21) and hits (15.37) per 60 over that preseason run. There's an obvious sample size element at play there, but there's no denying that the 26-year-old Blidh made his push as best he could.
  
  There's value in that, especially with the Bruins having to poke and prod Trent Frederic to bring the heat a bit more than they'd like. And there's something to be said for Blidh being the kind of play who can just jump out of the press box and into the lineup without having to change his game all that much, making him a seemingly perfectly option for your 13th forward. 
  
  The downside for the Bruins if they don't want to include Blidh on their initial roster is that the Swede is waiver-eligible, meaning 31 teams will have the chance to claim him before the Bruins try to sneak him down to Providence. 

• Karson Kuhlman

  Share

  After spending a couple of years trying to see if he could be a middle-six scoring threat, the reality is that Karson Kuhlman is an espresso shot kind of player who can jump into your lineup and provide some skating pop and a strong forechecking presence seemed to hit. Now, the 'problem' with that is that the Bruins kept or added four forwards this offseason — Hall re-signed and the Bruins added Foligno, Haula, and Nosek — and 2021 deadline addition Curtis Lazar is still with the team. So, you needed to see something extra from Kuhlman for him to make things interesting and truly challenge someone's status in Boston. 
  
  Instead, you got zero goals, zero points, and three shots in goal in three preseason appearances. This is after a 2021 regular season that included two goals in 20 games, and one assist in three postseason appearances. 
  
  That'll likely put the Minnesota-born wing on the waiver wire and back down to Providence if unclaimed. One interesting note: This could be Kuhlman's first trip to the waiver wire. The league has put a premium on affordable speed and depth, which could make him a potential candidate to get scooped by someone (it happened to Seth Griffith when he was finally eligible). 

• Jack Studnicka

  Share

  I'd argue that Jack Studnicka was the B's best player in camp. Point totals alone would back me up, too, as Studnicka's four preseason points were tied with Haula and Marchand for the most among Boston skaters. But Coyle's immediate success and good health in the preseason finale should put any worries of him being unavailable for the start of the season to rest. And the Bruins have made it clear that they want Studnicka in a top-nine role if he's going to play here. That means he'd have to be considered a better option than Bergeron, Coyle, and Haula. That's simply not happening, even after this latest camp effort. 
  
  The Bruins aren't going to want to begin the year with Studnicka eating popcorn and Skittles* as a healthy scratch either, and Studnicka still has minor-league options, so it's likely off to Providence's top line for the 22-year-old center. 
  
  * You guys hear that they're going back to green being the lime Skittle? This is trash. Everybody knows that green apple was an upgrade over lime. If we have a lemon Skittle, why do we need a lime one? Free my homie green apple.
• Chris Wagner

  Share

  The pandemic was not kind to Chris Wagner. The Walpole, Mass. native talked openly about the anxiety issues he had playing last year, and on the ice, the results were Wagner's Boston worst.
  
  But Wagner has been in a good, competitive spirit throughout camp (he really does just seem like the Wagner that came to Boston and was a key part of their fourth line in 2018-19), and he's still just two years removed from a career-best 12 goals and 19 points. Wagner also hits anything that moves (his 879 hits are the eighth-most among all NHL forwards since 2016).
  
  Perhaps there's some sort of long-term cap advantage to burying what you can of Wagner's contract in the minors, but is it actually worth it? Let's just consider this: The Bruins are in the midst of a locker room makeover and they obviously lost some snarl with Kevan Miller's retirement. Wagner is both good in the room and has been more than willing to pick up the aggression when needed. I'm not sure the Bruins want to leave an entire toughness department to Frederic (and I'm not sure that's fair to Frederic), and they don't want Brad Marchand and Nick Foligno having to settle scores. 
  
  And similar to Blidh, Wagner might be viewed as another guy whose best games will come when you unleash him out of the press box as a tone-setting, seek-and-destroy fourth line winger. 

• John Moore

  Share

  If you want to read into these things (and I do), the left-shot John Moore has played the right side for almost all of training camp. That, with just three right-shot defensemen on the Boston roster, means that Moore will be the first one summoned into action on their off side should the Bruins need a reinforcement or shake-up on the right side of their defense. That's job security beyond the obvious of Moore being in the fourth season of a five-year, $2.75 million per year contract. 

• Urho Vaakanainen

  Share

  Another waiver-exempt talent, defenseman Urho Vaakanainen ended camp battling an upper-body injury. Factor those two things in and it seems all but certain that Vaakanainen will begin his 2021-22 season with the P-Bruins.
  
  Still, this probably isn't the trajectory that you had for Vaakanainen, who was fine but nothing more during training camp and the preseason, as the Bruins have made multi-year commitments to three different veteran left-shot defensemen (Moore, Reilly, and Forbort) since taking Vaakanainen with the No. 18 overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. Injury aside, you just want to see Vaak make that next step, and it feels like we're still waiting for it. 
• Jakub Zboril

  Share

  Again, if you're looking for job security hints, let's acknowledge these: Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy has given kudos to Jakub Zboril for his improved practice habits, and Zboril is currently the No. 4 defenseman on the Bruins' left-handed defensemen depth chart. The Bruins have regularly carried eight defensemen, and I'm not sure that the Bruins want to run the risk of somebody scooping one of their few experienced depth options in the defensive reserves. 

Click here for 98.5 The Sports Hub’s complete coverage of the Bruins.

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.

Get The 98.5 The Sports Hub Newsletter Delivered To Your Inbox

Stay up to date with the latest Boston sports news and analysis, local events, exclusive contests, and more.

Email *

Subscribe

By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.

Author Ty Anderson

Category:

• Bruins
• News
• Ty Anderson

Tags:

2021-22 Bruins Training Camp,Anton Blidh,boston bruins,Chris Wagner,Jack Studnicka,jakub zboril,John Moore,Karson Kuhlman,Urho Vaakanainen