McDonald: Bruce Cassidy's influence unmistakable on playoff-bound Bruins

Jake DeBrusk recently walked through the Bruins’ locker room at TD Garden and was reciting lines from the movie “Shrek.”

“That’ll do, Donkey. That’ll do,” DeBrusk said in his best Mike Myers imitation.

Boston’s rookie forward, now 21, was 5-years old when that movie was released. Truth be told: it’s an awesome movie with an incredible cast and great one-liners. So, we won’t chirp DeBrusk too much about the kid’s movie.

This is actually a good example of why it’s impressive that coach Bruce Cassidy, 52, can name the animated characters in “Minions.” He watches all those types of movies with his young kids, so maybe that’s why he can communicate well with younger players.

On a serious note, the line of communication between the coach and all of his players is open and clear. Cassidy doesn’t hold back. He’s upfront with everyone. As a result, Cassidy's influence is of the big reasons why the Bruins earned a second consecutive Stanley Cup playoff berth during a 2-1 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night at Scottrade Center.

“Our coaches have done a good job with our younger players,” said general manager Don Sweeney. “Our head coach is very receptive to our younger players and giving them the opportunity, but also holding them accountable, as is our team all the way across the board.”

It's normal to see Cassidy having one-on-one, on-ice conversations with players after practice. Many of those talks include playing time, which is one of the toughest decisions for coaches. Each time Cassidy has decided to scratch a player or sit him during a game, that person has responded in a positive manner. There have been countless examples this season. He's been consistent as a coach with both the younger and veteran players and that's another reason the Bruins will officially be able to compete for the Stanley Cup this spring.

Cassidy speaks well. He's straightforward and gets his message across. Even from the X's and O's, he easily explains his game plan and the players understand exactly what he wants. He understands what each player brings to the table and he's capable of getting the most out of them. The most important aspect of Cassidy's demeanor is he doesn't hold grudges and he's earned the players' respect.

Cassidy honed those communication skills during his eight seasons with the Providence Bruins in the American League. It also helps that he coached many of the current players during their respective development seasons with the P-Bruins.

“It’s worked for me because I’m used to the ups and downs they go through,” Cassidy said. “The communication part of it: When? How much? A pat on the back versus (a kick in the butt) ... so those things come into play. It’s worked out well for me because I’ve had a lot of experience with that.”

It’s not all the coach. The veteran group spoke prior to training camp and discussed the landscape, knowing how many rookies could impact the team’s success this season. Patrice Bergeron, David Backes, Zdeno Chara, David Krejci, Brad Marchand and Tuukka Rask all agreed that this season, which most thought would be a bridge year, could be more than that if everyone bought into this new wave of winning with younger and inexperienced players.

It’s working.

“He’s done a great job,” Bergeron said of Cassidy. “He knew a lot of these guys coming in, and that also helped with (assistant coach Kevin) Dean coaching in Providence last year. The transition was a little easier for these young guys. For us (veterans), we’re trying to make everyone fit in, but you can tell with Butch being in the organization for awhile, the young players seem to buy in right away.”

With the recent addition of Ryan Donato, it helps his transition that he’s participated in the organization’s rookie developmental camp with others on the current roster. It’s a young culture in the room and it helps everyone involved.

Last week, Hall of Famer Bobby Orr spoke with BostonSportsJournal.com and explained how impressed he is with the job Cassidy’s doing, especially with all the lineup changes due to injuries, or having a roster of younger players.

"I think he’s done a great job. Watching him from afar, his coaching style, obviously the players like him and that’s half the battle. They want to play for him and that’s what it’s all about," Orr said.

“Put it all together, they have injuries now, but they find a way to win. It’s unbelievable. Guys have been out and he finds a way to win. He’s the boss back there and he’s pulling the strings and he’s doing a great job.”

If the season continues to progress the way it has so far and ends sometime in mid-June, then maybe this summer DeBrusk can eat cereal out of certain bowl atop a certain trophy while watching all the Shrek movies.