Approaching the halfway point of their preseason slate, the Bruins will take their warm-up grind to the road for the first time Thursday night when they visit the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
For the Bruins, it’s a slightly more veteran-heavy group, with Thursday marking the preseason debuts of players such as David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy. But while this is a warm-up and nothing more for those two, competition season is officially upon us, with some Bruins getting another look at impressing Jim Montgomery and the B’s front office with cuts around the corner.
Here are five players to watch when things get underway tonight in Manhattan…
Cole Koepke
Oct 21, 2022; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Cole Koepke (45) and Florida Panthers center Colin White (6) push each other during the third period at FLA Live Arena. (Sam Navarro/USA TODAY Sports)
A bit of an unheralded contender for a bottom-six role with the Bruins, Cole Koepke kicked his preseason off with a game in this past Sunday’s 3-2 loss to the Rangers at TD Garden. What you liked about Koepke on that play was his ability to use his frame to create some additional chaos along the boards, help get the puck on a Boston stick and then drive towards the net for a high-quality scoring chance (that he buried).
Playing in the Tampa Bay system, opportunities have been difficult to come by for Koepke to this point in his NHL career, but there are some that believe that he can provide some definite jam and a little bit of scoring punch, as shown with a 2023-24 AHL campaign that included 20 goals and 39 points in 53 games.
If Koepke can keep his own momentum going, there could be an opportunity for him here, especially with Max Jones (a fellow left-shot wing) currently dealing with an undisclosed injury.
Brett Harrison
Sep 24, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins center Brett Harrison (72) waits for play to begin during the third period against the New York Rangers at TD Garden. (Eric Canha/USA TODAY Sports)
Playing in the AHL as a 20-year-old a year ago, Brett Harrison‘s first pro year came with some obvious and unavoidable ups and downs. Drafted as a center but spending the majority of his campaign on the wing, Harrison had a crash course in the details of turning pro. Harrison admitted that it was one of the biggest adjustments going from juniors to pro, where your natural skill isn’t enough to simply overpower weaker competition. In the pros, your brain has to move as fast as the body, and while Harrison is a better pro for having gone through that a year ago, now comes watching the offensive game get to its expected level.
Harrison, who projects to play tonight’s game on the left side on a line with Riley Duran at right wing and Morgan Geekie in the middle, did record an assist in Boston’s last preseason contest.
John Farinacci
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA – JUNE 22: John Farinacci reacts after being selected 76th overall by the Arizona Coyotes during the 2019 NHL Draft at Rogers Arena on June 22, 2019 in Vancouver, Canada. (Kevin Light/Getty Images)
Another interesting on-the-bubble type is John Farinacci.
Coming off what was an impressive year in the AHL, with 12 goals and 38 points (21st-most among AHL rookie skaters) in 71 games, the Harvard alum and member of the Donato family is looked at as a potential fourth-line Swiss Army knife and will have to be exactly that if he has hopes of making this year’s Bruins team.
“His skillset is his brain and his ability to connect the dots on the ice,” Montgomery said of Farinacci. “Positionally, he’s sound. He knows exactly how we want to play. Does he have the ability to win enough foot-races, battles, to build on that and help us build our team game and not be defending all the time?”
Nikita Zadorov
Apr 30, 2024; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Canucks defenseman Nikita Zadorov (91) celebrates his goal against the Predators during the third period in the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. (Bob Frid/USA TODAY Sports)
A lot of people are looking at Nikita Zadorov as a hammer and a hammer alone. And, yes, Zadorov can and will be that for the Bruins. But for the Bruins to get their money’s worth with the $30 million addition, he’s going to have to be much more than that, and tonight is our first look at that.
For a Zadorov-Charlie McAvoy pairing to thrive, Zadorov is going to have to be able to make some puck plays. For as much as people complained about Matt Grzelcyk being McAvoy’s left-side partner for the last few years, it was considered Boston’s best option because Grzelcyk and McAvoy had incredible timing (when they were on), and could spark one another with a strong defensive-zone, D-to-D pass that allowed the other to turn on the jets and really get the play going the other way. Conversely, the lack of puck skills for types such as Derek Forbort and Jeremy Lauzon proved to why they were ill-fitting partners for someone like McAvoy.
And, again, one of the biggest reasons why the Bruins were so hot for Zadorov in free agency was his puck play, and the obvious improvements he made in that respect going back to Calgary and then Vancouver.
Count me in as somebody dying to see how their chemistry develops.
Brandon Bussi
Sep 24, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins goalie Brandon Bussi (30) waits for play to begin during the second period against the New York Rangers at TD Garden. (Eric Canha/USA TODAY Sports)
If the Bruins approach this game like they have the previous two, we’re going to see Brandon Bussi in goal for at least some of this contest. Entering a year where he has to either make the Bruins or hit the waiver wire (of course, much of that comes down to the ongoing stalemate between the Bruins and Jeremy Swayman), the 6-foot-5 Bussi’s preseason kicked off with a 10-of-12, half-game performance against the Rangers last Sunday.
Bussi is going to have to show a little bit more if this competition is going to become real between himself and Joonas Korpisalo (again, this is all extremely Swayman-dependent), especially after Korpisalo had what the Bruins called a ‘really good’ night against the Capitals on Tuesday with stops on all seven shots faced.
