Despite being in the AHL, rookie Anders Bjork still receives his NHL bye week

PROVIDENCE -- Anders Bjork was not on the practice ice with the Providence Bruins on Tuesday at the Dunkin' Donuts Center. The rookie forward was assigned to the AHL on Jan. 3 and he played his first three games for the P-Bruins over the weekend.

"He's on his NHL break," explained P-Bruins coach Jay Leach. "He was up in the NHL for the first half of this year and he's earned the four-day break that they all have, so that's where he is. He'll join us most likely Friday."



Bjork played 28 games for the Bruins and had four goals and eight assists for 12 points, including a plus-2 rating. His play was inconsistent and he had been a healthy scratch, so the organization thought it best to assign him to Providence. It also allowed him to take the NHL's mandatory four-day break.

"He's been up all year and deserves the break," Leach said. "Our schedules have been different. He's had a lot more travel time and the NHL (game) schedule is an every-other-day type thing and it does take its toll in different ways. We have a weekend (game) schedule, so our guys get some rest during the week, whereas a kid like (Bjork) who's been in the NHL the whole time is not (getting that rest). He's been going pretty good from the beginning of the season, so he deserves it and it's something that will help him in the second half of the season."

If there was any doubt how the 21-year-old forward would handle his recent assignment to the AHL, he answered this weekend with two goals and two assists for four points with Providence. Leach admitted that Bjork was a bit tired in the third game on Sunday.

"Clearly a talent," Leach said. "He's not afraid and he protects pucks well. He can separate from confrontation. On Sunday, like most of our young kids, he got the taste of a three-in-three against a team that wasn't playing three-in-three that's a very good team. It was a little bit of a, wakeup call's not the right word, but it was different and they all saw it. It was good for him. Pro hockey is all about unfair matchups, so the only way they're going to get through it and better at it is to experience. He'll be better for it as we move ahead."