Patience is the word that David Backes and his linemates have preached to open the 2018-19 season, with the 34-year-old centerman looking to find a spark with a pair of wingers over a decade younger than him.
As the man in the middle, Backes is taking it upon himself to push players like Anders Bjork, Ryan Donato and Danton Heinen in the right direction, but it’s far from the expected veteran/mentor dynamic, according to Bjork.
Rather, it’s a collaborative process between a seasoned skater and a pair of relative newcomers, looking to make their mark on a line crucial to the B’s overall fortunes this season.
“The more time you spend with him in practice and in games, you realize how knowledgeable he is about the game and how quick he is. He doesn’t miss anything,” Bjork said of learning from Backes. “That’s why he’s been such a good player in this league, because I think he’s just constantly learning and trying to figure out ways to be better and for our line to be better. He unites our line and we’re always talking, starting in practice. There’s so much opportunity to learn from him.
“It’s also nice, too, because he has respect for us and wants us to give him our takes. It’s much more of a conversation. It’s pretty cool. A guy of that level playing with two 22-, 23-year-old idiots. He’s hearing our opinion and he’s asking for it, too. I think that really gives us confidence to play our game. He wants us to do that and I think the cool thing is, he’s trying to help you be better. That’s just how he is as a person. It’s been fantastic and I’m just trying to learn as much as I said.”
That patience in the third line finally paid off during Saturday's 8-2 trouncing of the Red Wings, as Bjork broke his line's scoring slump with an unassisted snipe midway through the third period — his first goal since Dec. 7, 2017, after undergoing major shoulder surgery in February.
While opposing teams have had their chances when Bjork has been out on the ice (37.4 Corsi For Percentage in 46:16 TOI), the Notre Dame product has generated some clean zone entries and scoring chances thanks to his impressive wheels, even if he still thinks there’s plenty of rust to shake off after missing most of the preseason.
“I think my speed is — I’ve been pleased with it, but I think I can get that going a little more," Bjork said. "I think the main thing I was impressed with is strength, upper-body strength up on the wall and stuff. I think all of us are definitely noticing our flaws more, so you’ve got to take that the right way but I’m just focusing on the holes that I see and what my coaches are telling me to work on.”
Ever the observant participant in the middle of game action, Backes reiterated the need for Bjork to fine-tune certain aspects of his game, especially in regards to puck management and responsibility in all three zones.
Still, when it comes to working with 22- or 23-year-old skaters, patience is key for Backes, who has seen firsthand what Bjork can do in limited minutes.
“He’s had a long time off from January to October. I’m no mathematician, but that’s eight or nine months,” Backes said of Bjork. “That’s a long time to be off in a row. To come back with his speed, he’s not hesitant out there, he has put on some weight and not lost that speed. ... We’re only getting more succinct and if we can make sure, on those 50/50 plays, that we’re digging in, making it for the next guy, all of the sudden, we’re going to be very dangerous to play against.”
"We weren’t sure when he’d get in and he’s kind of pushed himself in the lineup, it’s that simple," Cassidy said of Bjork. "That’s why you don’t pick your team in necessarily in July sometimes. You let it develop, and I think he’s done a good job of being heavier on pucks.
"His goals started with a puck battle on the wall that he hung in on, him and Backs and they got it out and off they go. So, good for him."
"I think it’s great," Bjork said. "I think, hopefully, it’s big for our line there too. I think that was our first five-on-five goal, so I think, you know, we can get things going here a bit, and I think, you know, it’s kind of something that you’re thinking about and once you get the first one it kind of … we can relax a little bit, and then, you know, just be hungry to get more."
Baby B's update
The Providence Bruins have opened the 2018-19 season with a record of 1-3-0, but a number of top Bruins prospects have already managed to stand out in limited time down in the AHL ranks.
Defenseman
Urho Vaakanainen
, Boston’s 2017 first-round pick who survived training camp cuts before finally getting sent down to the P-Bruins last weekend, was a force in Providence’s win over Hartford on Friday, recording six shots on goal while logging heavy minutes. Expect for the left-shot D to push for another shot up in the NHL ranks later this season, especially if Boston’s blue line suffers another injury.
Both
Trent Frederic
and
Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson
, the two younger finalists for the third-line center spot during the preseason, also scored goals in Friday’s win. Forsbacka Karlsson added a helper in Saturday's loss to Hartford, while finishing as a minus-2.
Elsewhere,
Jakub Lauko
scored a pair of goals Friday for the
Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and is now up to five points in five games played at the QMJHL level, while
Jack Studnicka
has failed to score in his last two games with the OHL’s Oshawa Generals. The 2017 second-rounder is still up to eight points in six games played this year.
Goaltender
Jeremy Swayman
had a strong start to his sophomore campaign at Maine, stopping 40 of the 42 shots that came his way in the Black Bears’ weekend sweep of St. Lawrence.
Boston’s contingent of second-year players varies quite a bit in terms of their play style — whether it be Jake DeBrusk’s skating with reckless abandon near the goal, Donato’s propensity to show off his heavy shot or Heinen’s sound, 200-foot-game.
But the contrasting styles all form a cohesive — and effective — grouping for the Black and Gold, and the same can be said for how these young skaters carry themselves off the ice.
While Bruce Cassidy doesn’t see much goofing around when he patrols the B’s locker room, he did add that a player that can bring a bit of levity to a situation like DeBrusk can be a key cog in a team’s overall makeup, even if he’s just 21 years old.
“He’s not goofy around me, because I’m the coach,” Cassidy said of DeBrusk. “So he tries the ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answer and moves right along. As most young guys are, they don’t want to hang around the coach, they don’t want to deal with them any longer than they have to. It doesn’t surprise me. I was that way and I think most young guys are that way.
“But having said that, when I do see him every once and awhile from the corner of my eye when he’s not, he knows we’re not around, I think it’s great. Our young guys are all a little bit different, yet they all fit in and they’re all well liked. He’s a little more on the goofier side than a Danton Heinen, that’s perfectly fine, because he is a good fit. Guys like having a sense of humor.”
Jaroslav Halak has given the B’s a huge boost out of the backup goaltender position to start the season, posting a 1.18 GAA and a .961 SV% through three appearances — drawing comparisons to the work that Anton Khudobin did over the course of 31 games (16-6-7, .913 SV%) last season while spelling Tuukka Rask for extended stretches.
So far, Halak has more than lived up to expectations, as
. Still, Halak’s reserved demeanor has been a bit of an adjustment for the B’s, especially given the way Khudobin’s more … uh, colorful personality shined through at times.
"Doby, we miss him around the lunchroom, mumbling to himself and stuff like that,” Cassidy said. “You guys must miss him. Jaro seems much more … normal. I like them both equally, but we miss a bit of his personality.”
Chris Wagner
“Flex game? Oh yeah. It made me smile," Wagner said.
“I watched every game I could," Wagner said of keeping tabs on other Boston teams. "Still cheered for them and everything. Time change was tough in Cali for Pats games and stuff, but I watched as much as I could. ... I’ll probably watch the beginning of the Red Sox and then maybe go to the Pats game.”
His birthplace might be Scottsdale, Arizona, but Ottawa Senators rookie Brady Tkachuk has plenty of ties to Massachusetts.
The son of former NHL All-Star and Medford native Keith Tkachuk, Brady followed in his father’s footsteps at the collegiate level, playing one season at Boston University before heading to the pros with Ottawa.
The fourth overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, Tkachuk made his NHL debut Monday against the Bruins — in front of his father and plenty of other family — firing two shots on goal and delivering three hits in 14:33 of ice time.
Just two days later, Tkachuk found the back of the net for the first time in his young pro hockey career, scoring a pair of goals and adding an assist in the Senators' 7-4 loss to the Flyers.
“I thought first game against Boston, I was just alright,’ Tkachuk said. “I’m just trying to get used to the pace, but I learned a lot and I’m just trying to apply it every time I’m on the ice. I just want to get better and I just want to keep playing. It’s nice, but I feel like I do even more.”
Needing only two games to tally his first career goal sets Brady Tkachuk apart from the rest of his family, as it took his father five games to light the lamp for the first time, while his older brother, Matthew, scored four games into his rookie season with the Calgary Flames.
Natick’s John Carlson is leading the pack for MA skaters in scoring through the first week of the season, with the blue liner tallying six points through five games played.
