Bruce Cassidy had seen this develop before.
During the 2017-18 season, a campaign that saw five different skaters log their first regular-season game in the NHL, Boston’s latest youth movement started out with a bang.
During Boston’s season-opening win over the Predators, both Charlie McAvoy and Jake DeBrusk scored in their debuts, with the latter and fellow rookie winger Anders Bjork combining for three points in the 4-3 victory.
The next game?
A 4-0 drubbing at the hands of the Avalanche, with both DeBrusk and Bjork finishing the contest with minus-3 ratings and a 28.57 shots for percentage at five-on-five play when both rookies were out on the ice together.
As expected, young players such as DeBrusk are expected to go through the usual stretch of bumps and bruises as they navigate their place in the NHL.
For some, those initial hardships pave the way for future success — with DeBrusk currently on pace for 30 goals in his sophomore campaign. For others, the process can take a bit longer.
Much like Bjork and DeBrusk’s inconsistent showing at the onset of the 2017-18 campaign, Ryan Donato is trying to find a groove in his first full NHL season — with the young winger trying to find the balance between the talented sniper with a elite release and a well-rounded contributor who isn’t a liability in his own zone.
A game after scoring his second goal of the season against the Red Wings on Saturday — his first tally since Oct. 4 — Donato took two steps back against the Panthers in Tuesday’s blowout loss, failing to close on a streaking Michael Matheson along the boards en route to the Florida defenseman’s unassisted strike against Jaroslav Halak.
Those growing pains had to be an expected obstacle for a Bruins club hedging most of its bets this year on the development of players like Donato, Bjork, Danton Heinen and the next crop of prospects like
Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson.
But when compounded with the other issues plaguing the Bruins, the anticipated struggles of Boston’s younger players couldn’t come at a worse time for a team in desperate need of some stability.
is still a work in progress for Donato, who also drew the ire of Cassidy on Florida’s first goal of the night — in which he hovered behind Boston’s net instead of hunkering down in the crease, allowing
Mike Hoffman
to pot a loose puck past Halak
to open the flood gates.
“Donato scored a big goal, shootout (goal), then (Tuesday), lost his check twice and it ends up in our net,” Cassidy said. “Those are things we're kind of on him about. Those low-scoring games, you have to make sure you take care of business.
“The first goal you end up going behind the net instead of stopping in front, that's something that Danton did right before that to save a goal. That's what you want. We went through that last year with DeBrusk and Bjork last year against Colorado, second night. Great the first night, three points. Next night, circling away from the slot — bang, bang, bang — it's on our net. So that's how quickly it changes."
In an ideal situation, Boston would have players like Donato and Forsbacka Karlsson rounding out their game down in the AHL rather than throw them into the fire and rely on them to bail the team out of its current skid.
is currently enjoying that luxury with the Baby B’s, notching four points in four games played with Providence after only tallying one goal in 20 games up in the NHL this season.
A winger with Bjork’s tools has the potential to get hot down in the AHL, with the lesser competition allowing the 22-year-old forward to tinker with his game, both away from the puck and with the biscuit on his stick.
“We felt like he wasn’t getting inside enough, he wasn’t driving deep enough wide,” Cassidy said of Bjork’s issues up with the B’s. “What we found when he first got here, (he'd) get over to the blue line, slow down a bit and try to cut inside every time. The D wasn’t respecting his outside speed, so you’ve got to back him off by driving deep or chip and chase yourself, find a way that they know, that you’ll get it behind them and then they’ll start to give you the space in front of them.”
“He was starting to do that, now it’s finding the happy medium. That was one of the messages (to him). Hit the net with his shots … not every shot has to be a post and in kind of effort. When it’s there, pick your corner. Otherwise, let’s find some two-for-ones, we call them, where you hit the net and have a second chance.”
Bjork’s extended reps down in the AHL can only help him round out his overall game, even if his tenure down in Providence will likely be short-lived, given Boston’s scoring woes.
Meanwhile, other youngsters like Forsbacka Karlsson are set to bear the brunt of another trying matchup in the NHL — with “JFK” rejoining the B’s lineup for Thursday’s matchup against the Lightning.
In his last three games, Forsbacka Karlsson’s primary matchups at the pivot have been
Sidney Crosby, John Tavares
and potentially one of
Steven Stamkos
or
Brayden Point
against the Lightning.
It’s one thing to throw a rookie into the fire and have them learn the NHL game on the fly, but when you’re tasking a player like “JFK” to help reverse the fortunes of a dormant bottom six, it becomes a big ask.
Players like Donato, Bjork, Heinen and Forsbacka Karlsson might be struggling to get on a roll this season, but expecting Boston’s young core to hit the ground running this season without many hitches seemed like wishful thinking.
And yet, given Boston’s moves over the summer and the vacancies sprinkled across the roster entering the season — this is was the bed that the Bruins made for themselves in 2018-19. Now, when it’s time to lie in it, the lack of support shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
