In this week's notebook, we'll discuss Urho Vaakanainen being sent to the Baby B's, the hot starts from some of the Bruins' prospects and the fallout from Brad Marchand's fisticuffs with Lars Eller on opening night, but first we start a little closer to home and the deep ties between a couple of Bruins.
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He might be a new addition to the Bruins’ roster, but Chris Wagner hasn’t had to devote much time to gelling with his new linemates.
The Walpole native is everything you’d want in a fourth-line contributor — a versatile, two-way skater who dished out 253 hits last season while chipping in with 16 points.
Given his willingness to throw his weight around out on the ice, Wagner figures to be a natural fit on the fourth line with fellow bruiser Noel Acciari — who landed 152 hits despite missing 22 games due to injury last year.
Similar playing styles aside, it’s not like Wagner needs to devote much time to building a rapport with Acciari.
They had years of youth hockey to figure that out.
“I was joking with him that we still have that chem between us,” Wagner said of Acciari. “I’ve got no problem yelling his name out there. I’ve been doing it for a while.”
While Acciari — a Johnston, R.I. native — is from about 30 miles down I-95 from Walpole, both he and Wagner quickly hit it off while playing with the South Shore Kings out of Foxboro.
At one point playing on a line together with Kevin Hayes — now a center for the New York Rangers — both Acciari and Wagner quickly found their footing playing together, a camaraderie forged by a willingness to become a heat-seeking missile out on the open ice.
“Back then, you could start hitting when you were 9,” Wagner said. “By the time we were 12, it was kind of like second nature. Probably wasn’t the safest thing, but we definitely knew how to do it by then.”
At the pee-wee level, both Acciari and Wagner were coached by Steve Cedorchuk — the former head coach at Boston College, who emphasized skill and speed in an attempt to train the next wave of talented skaters out of the region.
On more than one occasion, Acciari recalls how Cedorchuk needed to “reel in” both him and Wagner, who had no qualms about toppling opposing skaters, even at a young age.
“These two guys, you didn’t have to tell them how to give a hit or take a hit,” Cedorchuk said. “I certainly didn’t have to spend any time on that with those two guys.
“Sometimes, you had to make sure that with these two guys — I was trying to make them better players. I didn’t have to spend time making them tougher. I never really stressed finishing checks. Even though both of them finished every single check. Every time. Regular season, playoffs. That part, you didn’t have to worry about.”
Sure, both Acciari and Wagner were fearless out on the ice, but Cedorchuk added that both skaters also quickly separated themselves from the pack thanks to their skill and approach to the game.
That mix of skill with a tenacious mindset has taken both New England products far in their hockey careers.
“They would compete like there’s no tomorrow,” Cedorchuk said. “Both of those guys, what they’ve done, but even with Noel in Providence ... I’ve coached a long time, I’ve coached a lot of people and I would say if I listed, ‘Who are the 10 best competitors I’ve coached?’ — a
nd I’ve coached a World Junior team four times, I coached a men’s team, I coached a women’s team — they would be in the top seven or eight competitors I’ve been around. … It’s not a surprise to me that they’re in the league.”
As evidenced by Thursday’s showing against the Sabres, it’s not a given both Acciari and Wagner will always skate together, and a spot in the lineup is never guaranteed.
But regardless of where they slot in, you can expect both skaters to play with the same bruising style of play that they first adopted during their time with the Kings.
“I think as kids, You’re either afraid to get hit or afraid to hit someone. I think we both just kind of embraced it. We just went from there and now we’re here together and trying to do the same thing.”
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Despite an impressive training camp, Urho Vaakanainen’s time up with the Bruins has come to an end — at least for now.
The B’s announced Friday that they sent the 19-year-old blueliner down to Providence after the 2017 first rounder was a scratch for Boston’s first two games of the 2018-19 season.
Matt Grzelcyk
Torey Krug
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While the Providence Bruins started regular-season play on Friday, a couple of top Bruins prospects have already earned reps down at the junior hockey level — with center Jack Studnicka picking up right where he left off with the Oshawa Generals.
Studnicka, 19, has picked apart the competition in the OHL so far since getting assigned back to the junior circuit, tallying six points and firing 14 shots on goal in just three tilts. The 53rd overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, Studnicka saw his stock rise after tallying 72 points over 66 games last year as captain of the Generals — eventually earning a brief stint up with the Providence Bruins before surviving numerous training-camp cuts.
Meanwhile, 2018 third-round pick Jakub Lauko made the most of his debut in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, recording an assist in the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies’ win over the
Val-d'Or Foreurs on Wednesday. Lauko, a self-described draft steal, made the best of his training-camp wish to remain in North America, tallying two goals with the B’s during preseason play.
On the goalie front, 2017 fourth-rounder Jeremy Swayman was tabbed on the watch list
— awarded annually to the top goalie in Division I college hockey. Big things are expected for Swayman and the Black Bears this season after he posted a .921 save percentage against Hockey East competition as a freshman in 2017.
As a whole, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney expects the organization to field multiple competitions for starting gigs in net — namely between Zane McIntyre and Dan Vladar in Providence.
“Our younger players, I think Daniel Vladar took a real step this past summer," Sweeney said. "He had an unfortunate training incident last year that limited him starting out. Otherwise, he probably would have gotten more games in Providence, but he looks like he’s ready to take another step and push Zane for playing time in Providence. They’re still inexperienced at the NHL level, so that’s a concern when you have injuries, as anybody would be.
“Jeremy Swayman had a fantastic year last year at Maine and took the net there as a freshman, real happy with his progress where he was in Development Camp and expect him to have a very, very good year. And Kyle (Keyser) actually had a really good year, as well. A challenging year in number of shots he faced in Oshawa. They should have a really good team. He had a minor injury through camp, so he was a little limited going back to junior, but he’ll be healthy and very, very competitive. So, I think we’ve deepened that part of it, but we’re still inexperienced in that area.”
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The Washington Capitals are not too happy with Brad Marchand’s pummeling of Lars Eller in Wednesday’s season-opening loss.
Marchand took exception to Eller’s tally in the closing minutes of Wednesday’s game, dropping the gloves and landing a few punches after Eller appeared to celebrate in front of the B’s bench.
T.J. Oshie
“(The NHL) set the standards, they want to get the dirty stuff out of the game,”
. “Which I think at least Tom (Wilson’s) play was on the ice and he was hitting the guy that had the puck milliseconds before. And then you see tonight the sucker punches that Lars took in. So they kind of set the standard. Marchand has a history, and we trust that they'll do what they're supposed to do and take care of business."
Bruce Cassidy
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Bruins fans attending Monday’s home opener have a chance to win big, as the franchise will hold its largest 50/50 raffle in what will celebrate the partnership between the Boston Bruins Foundation and Special Olympics Massachusetts.
The jackpot minimum for Monday’s game is set for at $250,000, which guarantees the winner $125,000. Proceeds from this 50/50 raffle will benefit SOMA, with 50 SOMA athletes set to be in attendance for Monday’s game.