Less than three weeks ago, Martin Bakos was preparing himself for the next stop on the winding European hockey tour that’s made up his career for the past 10 years.
After his third year in the Czech Extraglia, where the 28-year-old Bakos scored 40 points, the right-shot winger was set to join the Swedish Hockey League. He had also played for two different teams in the KHL at various points in his career, plus various stints with the Slovakian national teams.
Then the Bruins called and signed him to a two-way, one-year deal that will pay him $700,000 if he makes the team this season. Bakos set his sights on that goal and reported to Boston for development camp this week, skating alongside other hopeful prospects, most of who are somewhere between five and 10 years younger than him.
“I feel very old,” Bakos joked after Wednesday’s session at Warrior Ice Arena. “But it’s good for me and I come here a little bit earlier than main (training) camp because I need experience on US (ice).”
Playing in the NHL has been an aspiration for Bakos since he first came to the United States when he was 17 to play a tournament in Detroit. Since then the 6-foot-2, 198-pound Bakos established himself internationally as a sharp-shooting skater, one who’s scored 43 goals and 56 assists in 143 Czech league games.
“Now my dreams have come true,” Bakos said.
His experience is notable on the ice. Wednesday was the first session of development camp to feature simulated drills after players took the skating test Tuesday. Bakos gravitated to fellow Czech players such as Daniel Bukac and instantly took on a leadership role for the younger players.
The biggest question for Bakos will be if he can transition to the North American style of hockey, where the ice sheet is smaller and skaters are constantly shifting on the ice to gain their best positioning. It’s a drastic change from the European game, where a larger ice sheet allows players to coast and linger in open areas of the ice.
“You’ve seen him get better with each drill and, by the end, his legs started to get back,” Bruins director of development Jamie Langenbrunner said. “Smart hockey player. Good size. Makes plays and he’ll be an interesting one. I think our lack of right-shot guys on the wing, he’s an interesting player who if he makes plays and skates, can give himself a chance.”
Some other notes and observations from the second day of development camp:
- There was a lot more hockey being played Wednesday as players went through a variety of drills. There were drills to practice breakouts and transition passing and others designed for puck movement in tight spaces. Instead of breaking into two separate groups like the players did for the skating test on Tuesday, they worked in one big group Wednesday. The session lasted nearly three hours, with a brief intermission about halfway through so the ice could be resurfaced. “It’s difficult,” Langenbrunner said. “Where do we really want these guys right now? A lot of it is them just getting to know each other. A lot of times you can see the guys who are real smart, those who aren’t, and you work through it. I don’t think we take a ton of stock in the overall picture of it.”
- One of the more intriguing players invited to camp this year is Nick Albano, a 6 foot, 180-pound defenseman from UMass Boston and Beverly native. It’s neat to see a Division III player get a chance to compete at a pro camp and Langenbrunner has been impressed by his ability thus far. He was invited on the recommendation of Scott Fitzgerald, one of the Bruins' local amateur scouts. “I think obviously when you say he’s a D-3 guy, you think he’ll be off pace and he hasn’t been,” Langenbrunner said. “Definitely makes you wonder what some of the college coaches were doing not getting him into school somewhere. I’ve seen him throw himself right into it from the opening meeting. He definitely didn’t take a back seat. He’s doing a lot of good things.”
- When the Bruins drafted Jakub Lauko in the third round, they identified his speed as his greatest strength and felt they got good value that late in the draft. On Wednesday Lauko showed that speed during a 3-on-3 drill. He received a pass at the blue line and pulled away from the defense, then finished with a nifty deke to score on Kyle Keyser.
- Urho Vaakanainen is back for his second development camp, but the difference this time is he recently signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Bruins. He may be the closest of the prospects, along with Jeremy Lauzon and Jakub Zboril, to playing on the Bruins defense, but the organization isn’t in a hurry to rush them along. Vaakanainen is making the biggest transition after playing in Finland, but Langenbrunner can see him improving. “He’s one I want to give a little kick to get moving, he’s feeling his way through it,” Langenbrunner said. “He doesn’t look nervous like he did last year. It was a whole lot of new and he has a much more comfortable feel to him. Now it’s about getting that urgency level up and building to September.”