With another day of Bruins training camp in the books, it seems like head coach Bruce Cassidy has some more ideas about how his roster might look when the season opens a week from Wednesday night in Washington, D.C.
Of course, the team’s recently completed trip to China and some nagging injuries haven’t made it so easy to take inventory, but progress is progress. And there are thoughts flowing.
“I'd like it to fall into place for us at here some point and maybe start the year with how we envisioned it, but I don't know if that will happen until everyone's back skating,” Cassidy said of his hopes for the team’s lineup. He added forward Martin Bakos, who suffered a lower-body injury, to the list of inactive Bruins following Sunday’s two practice sessions at Warrior Ice Arena.
Some of those ideas involve finding the best place in the lineup for Scituate native Ryan Donato, who was strong during a dozen-game run at the end of last regular season, scoring nine points after joining the club following his junior year at Harvard.
Donato sure looked like he belonged during that stint, though it was learning from the cast of veterans on the B’s roster that proved to be most important.
“I’m glad I got to see the end of the year,” said Donato, whose three-point debut March 19 against Colorado had been achieved just once before in Bruins history. “That experience alone was awesome for me, but now I really get to know (the team), know the personalities of each guy and not just as a player.”
He saw what the likes of Patrice Bergeron and 41-year-old captain Zdeno Chara did to get themselves ready for the most important games of the year. He only appeared in three games during the team’s two-round playoff appearance against Toronto and Tampa Bay, but that experience, he said, was vital as well.
“It was a blessing to be able to see the guys and how pro hockey is played at the toughest time of the year,” Donato said. “Now, I get to start from scratch where everybody starts from. I just want to prove that I can play, and hopefully, I get to do that during the season.”
Young players need time to grow but Donato’s body of work has been impressive, allowing him the opportunity to learn by doing in the B’s forward lineup. The reigning Hobey Baker Award finalist and ECAC Hockey Player of the Year added a goal and an assist during the two-game trip to China, playing on the right wing with talented sophomore Jake DeBrusk and a top 2017 draft pick in Jack Studnicka.
Donato and Danton Heinen are “probably option A and B” to play in that top-six spot on center David Krejci’s line at this point, Cassidy said. But no matter what, the work that Donato put in during the offseason was not lost on the coach.
“He’s had a little more experience under his belt,” Cassidy said. “He had a good summer training, looks stronger and faster, so all those things that maybe in tight spaces he’ll be stronger on pucks on that off side. … I think one thing about Ryan is he just plays. He doesn’t overthink what side of the ice he’s on.
“His strength is still offense, and he’s been producing no matter what side.”
Producing the obvious key, but Cassidy said that allowing him to ease into the NHL level and just play his game were important considerations last season, although his debut did come during the crucial stretch run when the B’s aimed to pass Tampa for the top spot in the Atlantic Division standings.
And now that he’s had some time to work on possibly changing wings throughout the team’s China trip and since training camp shifted back home, Donato is happy with his progress.
“I felt great. I was surprised at how well I felt,” Donato said of playing the right wing. “As soon as I got a couple games under my belt at the right wing, it almost felt natural. There's actually benefits to the right side that I didn't know existed. Taking pucks on the forehand, I could see a little bit better coming off that side.”
Donato knows he can handle it, or any role he may find himself in come season’s start.
“I think they know my abilities, that I trained really hard this summer, and I'm going to come in and compete for a job,” he said. “I think I'd be counting myself short if I didn't believe in my abilities to be a contender for any position on the team, so I'm going to work hard and hopefully I can earn my spot.”
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