Opening Night is still more than a couple of sleeps away, but training camp is officially in the rearview mirror for the Boston Bruins, as the team has announced their initial roster for the 2021-22 season.
Up front, the Black and Gold forward grouping will include Patrice Bergeron, Anton Blidh, Charlie Coyle, Jake DeBrusk, Nick Foligno, Trent Frederic, Taylor Hall, Erik Haula, Karson Kuhlman, Brad Marchand, Tomas Nosek, David Pastrnak, and Craig Smith. The group will also include Curtis Lazar, though he will begin the season on the injured reserve with an upper-body injury that’s knocked the versatile fourth liner out of action on a week-to-week basis.
This final grouping also means that Jack Studnicka did not make the final cut, and will begin his 2021-22 season in Providence.
The 22-year-old Studnicka did everything that the B’s asked of him and was arguably the team’s most impressive forward throughout the preseason, but they’ve also made it clear that their preference is to play him in a top-nine role and at center, meaning it would have taken an injury to Bergeron, Coyle, or Haula to lock him into a spot.
With Lazar out, Chris Wagner waived, and Studnicka sent to Providence, the Bruins are by all means set to begin their season with Kuhlman in Lazar’s spot as the team’s fourth-line right wing with Frederic and Nosek.
On the backend, the Bruins will begin the year with an eight-skater blue line featuring Brandon Carlo, Connor Clifton, Derek Forbort, Matt Grzelcyk, Charlie McAvoy, John Moore, Mike Reilly, and Jakub Zboril.
In net, the Bruins will roll with the Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman tandem.
The Bruins will begin their 2021-22 regular season with a Saturday night home game against the Dallas Stars.
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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.