He’s not a ‘wily old vet’, but Matt Grzelcyk already has younger defenseman wanting to ‘follow in his footsteps’

TORONTO — Jeremy Lauzon remembers the moment when it finally hit him.

The pit in the stomach, the double take, the “holy crap” moment that every rookie experiences when the initial butterflies subside. For Lauzon, Nov. 16 in Dallas was when his call-up to the Bruins started to sink in — and the stakes became very real.

Lauzon’s rude awakening was largely brought on by his defensive assignment that night — with the rookie tasked with shutting down the Stars’ top line in Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and Alex Radulov.

No pressure.

And yet, through the 61:34 of regulation and overtime, Dallas’ dynamic top line was held off the scoresheet.

And for most of the night, it was the pairing of Lauzon and Matt Grzelcyk that kept them in check, with Boston holding an 8-6 edge in five-on-five shots on goal during the 9:58 TOI in which Lauzon was out on the ice at the same time as Seguin.

“After the game, I think we realized, like, ‘Woah, we were playing pretty well and they didn't score,’” Lauzon said. “When I realized that, I was pretty happy.”

Called up in a desperate attempt to shore up a D corps decimated by injuries, Lauzon hasn’t looked like much of a rookie, logging 20 or more minutes in three games and becoming a regular contributor on the penalty kill.

For Lauzon, comfort level has played a large part in his rather seamless transition up to Boston, with the 21-year-old blueliner praising the efforts of franchise regulars like Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci in getting him up to speed.

But one player, in particular, stands out for Lauzon is his blue-line partner in Grzelcyk. Grzelcyk is only in the midst of his second full season in the NHL, but the 24-year-old defenseman is emerging into much more than just a reliable top-four presence on a dinged-up defense.

He’s becoming a vital member of a locker room teeming with rookies and other recent Providence call-ups.



At the start of last season, Lauzon was regularly paired with Grzelcyk down in Providence before the latter was called up to the Black and Gold in November amid a number of injuries to the B’s blue line.

Sound familiar?

Much like Grzelcyk last season, rookies like Lauzon and Connor Clifton are looking to capitalize on unfortunate circumstances for the Bruins — with both D-men earning starting nods with players like Chara, Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo and Urho Vaakanainen still on the mend.

On a battered blue line retaining half of its Opening Night starters, Grzelcyk is viewed more as a seasoned vet, rather than a player with just 85 career games on his resume.

“I think Lauzon played his best hockey with Grizz, not that he’s a wily old vet, but he’s been around,” Bruce Cassidy said of Grzelcyk, who has emerged as arguably Boston's top defenseman following the loss of Chara, McAvoy and others. 

Both Lauzon and Clifton have shuffled around with numerous pairings as of late, but so far Lauzon has taken most of his shifts with Grzelcyk and has already built a solid rapport with the BU product.

Playing with a sense of familiarity obviously goes a long way for Lauzon, with the impressionable rookie focused on following Grzelcyk’s lead in order to avoid a return to the AHL.

"I was really happy to see him succeed at the NHL level last year,” Lauzon said. “He's a really good player and can do everything on the ice. He's a great defender and coming into this year, my goal is to stay as long as possible here and I think Grizz is a good model to follow.”

Much like Lauzon, Clifton is another young blueliner looking to mirror Grzelcyk’s career trajectory and cash in on the opportunity in front of him.

Joining the Bruins organization off of an AHL contract back in August 2017, Clifton was expected to be a physical, serviceable body for the B’s to roll out following another string of injuries — but the Quinnipiac grad is proving to be more than just a bruising body on the blue line.

In six games up in the NHL, Clifton leads all Bruins defenseman (min. 100:00 TOI) in five-on-five Corsi For Percentage (55.56), with Boston holding a 100-80 edge in attempts during the 101:36 that Clifton has been out on the ice for.

Known for his heavy checks as a top-pairing defenseman at the collegiate level, Clifton has shown to be a jack of all trades since entering his pro career, with the 23-year-old skater often willing to activate and join the rush while throwing his body around the ice.

Look no further than Boston’s loss against Detroit last week, a game in which Clifton fired four shots on goal while serving as a one-man wrecking crew behind the Red Wings’ net.



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His game might differ a bit from Grzelcyk, but Clifton is just the latest rookie seeking guidance from the youngest “veteran” in the B’s locker room. Like Lauzon, Clifton also has plenty of motivation to draw from Grzelcyk’s situation and the manner in which he kept his starting role in 2017-18.

“Obviously, he’s been playing really well and playing a lot of minutes,” Clifton said of Grzelcyk. “He’s a guy who I look up to. He was in Providence a little bit last year. I actually played with him for a couple of games. Obviously, I want to follow in his footsteps. He got his chance, he impressed everyone and earned himself a nice, new deal.”

Being viewed as an “elder statesmen” of sorts on defense is a departure for Grzelcyk, but the puck-moving blueliner is taking it in stride.

Grzelcyk was in the same situation that Lauzon and Clifton were in around this time last year, and still is looking to gain more tips from speaking with new additions to the locker room in John Moore and Steven Kampfer.

“I've kind of learned from him a little bit, just some pointers,” Grzelcyk said of Kampfer. “He's been around, not only with this organization but around the NHL for a while. If he ever has a pointer for me, it's usually something offensive on the blue line and where to look on certain plays. It's been nice having him around. I'm just trying to be a sponge around him and learn more from him."

Boston’s D corps has rolled out 12 players through the first quarter of the season — a sign of a unit’s misfortunes with the injury bug. 

Looking for the silver lining, Grzelcyk did acknowledge that having such a varied mix of defensemen in one locker room — both in age, size and play style — is paying dividends both on and off the ice.

"I think that's what makes us gel, in a weird way,” Grzelcyk said. “Just with the different age groups and different sizes, you get little bit of a mix of everything. I think that kind of diversity mixes well and mixed well for us last year.

"I think we're just trying to find a little bit of chemistry. I don't think we've really had set partners in any game. We're kind of scrambling around. It's been fun to play with everyone — just trying to learn everyone's tendencies to make it all easier on yourself.”