What can the Bruins expect out of Anders Bjork in 2019-20?

With the dog days of the NHL offseason now upon us, we’re going to spend the next couple of weeks taking a deeper dive at a number of players on the Bruins’ roster (or on the cusp of a roster spot) who could make a major impact on the club’s hopes of putting together another Cup run.

Starting off, let’s take a look at one of the B’s most intriguing young wingers in Anders Bjork:

Player: Anders Bjork
Age: 22 (turns 23 on August 5)
Position: Wing
Height/Weight: 6-foot-0 / 190 pounds
2018-19 Stats: 20 games played - 1 goal, 2 assists, 11:48 ATOI

Season In Review

The 2018-19 season was expected to be a big step forward for Bjork — who saw his rookie campaign limited to just 30 games after suffering a shoulder injury on Jan. 30, 2018 that required a season-ending procedure to correct. 

While he was tabbed as being fully recovered by the time the regular season got underway in October, Bjork struggled to earn the same top-six reps that were afforded to him in 2017-18. He cracked the NHL roster out of training camp, sure, but it was a bit of an ominous sign for Bjork when he was the lone forward scratched in the B’s season opener against the Capitals on October 3.

Largely relegated to a bottom-six role on the roster when he was inserted into the lineup, Bjork failed to generate much of the same dynamic play in the O-zone that made him a star at Notre Dame and one of the Bruins’ top prospects.

By the time he was sent down to Providence on November 28, Bjork had been tabbed for more scratches (four) than total points (three).

A stint down in the AHL appeared to get Bjork back on track, with the winger tallying 10 points over his first 13 games. But even with his solid production in the O-zone, it became apparent that his trek down to Providence was not going to be a short trip — with Bruce Cassidy noting that the forward wasn’t going to get a call back up even ahead of Boston’s Winter Classic bout at his alma mater in South Bend. 

“No. Never referenced this game,” Cassidy said of potentially calling up Bjork for the Jan. 1 matchup. “I think that’s too much pressure. We all know the deal with Anders. He was a terrific player for Notre Dame, but our roster is what is it.  … It’s hard to give to one and take from another. And there’s still time, I guess.

“We need to feel he’s one of the best 20 guys we can put on the ice, then we’ll make that decision. It’s not looking that way right now. He’s doing well in Providence down there. But we’ve kind of settled on our lineup here with what we have. That’s kind of where I’m at.

“No, any conversations with Anders were always about how to make him a better player, to respect the American Hockey League when you’re down there and work at it every day, because a lot of players go through what he’s going through. Hopefully it works out for the best for him. I believe it will. He’s a good kid. He works hard, but time will tell.”

Ultimately, another stint back up in the NHL was not in the cards for Bjork, as an injury down in Providence once again put the forward on the shelf — leading to another season-ending surgery on the same shoulder that he knocked him out of commission during the previous year.

Now, another year down and with another major surgery hindering him some this summer, Bjork is looking at a potential make-or-break campaign in 2019-20, with the forward entering the final season of his three-year, entry-level contract. With more vacancies set at the wing this year, it’s looking as though Bjork will have a good chance at getting back on track up in the NHL ranks. 

A deeper dive



It’s hard to ignore the steep drop-off that Bjork experienced in his second go-around up in the NHL this past year. While he was far from a wunderkind during the 2017-18 season, Bjork still had pockets in which he looked like the promising young talent that Don Sweeney and Co. envisioned he’d be, tallying four goals and posting 12 points over 30 games as a rookie. 

Perhaps it was the fact that his summer was shortened due to his shoulder surgery, but Bjork couldn’t get much going in the O-zone this season, even beyond just the tangible numbers such as goals and assists. 

Among Bruins skaters that logged at least 50 minutes of 5v5 TOI this season, Bjork ranked 30th in Corsi-For Percentage with a mark of 48.8% — with the opposition holding a 194-182 edge in shot attempts during the 216 minutes in which Bjork was out on the ice. 

(The only two Bruins with lower CF% were Paul Carey (45.22%) and Gemel Smith (35.74%). 

As you can see from the graphs below, the Bruins struggled to generate much of anything whenever Bjork was out on the ice, with shot rates plummeting in Grade-A areas around the opponent’s net. 



While Bjork didn’t do himself many favors in the O-zone with a 3.571 shooting percentage and an on-target percentage of 64.29%, his overall drop-off certainly doesn’t fall solely on his play, especially when looking at the talent around him for most of the 2018-19 season. 



Of the 216 minutes of 5v5 TOI that Bjork logged this past year, only 32:52 was spent alongside top-six pivots in Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci — with the winger spending most of his reps with centers like David Backes (66:13 TOI together) and Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson (42:24 TOI together). 

A look at Bjork’s regular linemates over his 20 games up in the NHL this past season:



Much like the scoring decline that Danton Heinen experienced last season on the third line (and the subsequent spike he found when playing with the likes of Bergeron and Charlie Coyle), Bjork could find himself in a similar spot in 2019-20, especially with a solid training camp. 

Expectations for next season

While Bjork is working back from another major shoulder surgery, Sweeney did note back in June that the forward shouldn’t be limited by the time training camp rolls around — giving Bjork plenty of opportunities when it comes to carving out a regular spot in Boston’s lineup.

“Anders is doing really well from a recovery standpoint, had his shoulder, the same shoulder, done again, but has taken the necessary time,” Sweeney said. “Saw him a couple weeks ago, he’ll be full bore. He’s missed a lot of hockey, so he has to reclaim his ability to play wherever, you know, in our lineup or work his way into our lineup at some point in time like he was doing last year from Prov. But he’ll be fine, health-wise.”

With spots up for grabs to Krejci’s right on the second line and with Marcus Johansson’s departure, Bjork has a chance to earn some solid minutes out of the gate in 2019-20 alongside two strong centers in either No. 46 or Coyle. 

A possible lineup shuffle involving David Pastrnak slotting down to the second line could allow Bjork to see some time up top with Bergeron and Brad Marchand. It was a spot where Bjork more than held his own during his rookie campaign — with a 63-37-10 line holding a 59.46 CF%, plus-3 goal differential, plus-6 shot differential and generating a 4.18 goals for per 60 minutes rate in 57 minutes of 5v5 TOI together. 

Chalk it up to injuries or his usage rates, but you wouldn’t be wrong to tab the 2018-19 campaign as a lost season for Bjork. But if given the right role on the Bruins and especially if paired with some strong offensive players, he can be an immediate contributor.

“You have players that hopefully will take a step this summer and come, ready, locked and loaded,” Sweeney said. “I mean, shame on any young player who doesn’t recognize that this was a taxing year for some of our players, that they don’t come with their ears pinned back to think, ‘Boy,can I take a step here?’ ”

Best-case scenario? Bjork nabs a regular role out of camp and alongside one of Bergeron/Krejci/Coyle becomes a sparkplug in the O-zone given his wheels and playmaking ability. But coming off another stunted summer, it also wouldn’t come as much of a surprise if Boston opts to let Bjork work on his game a bit more down in Providence to start the year, where a few strong weeks against lesser competition could get him into a groove and generate some momentum ahead of a possible mid-season promotion. That should have been the prescription last year out of camp, and could go a long way at getting him prepped for a larger role come the stretch run.

Whichever option the Bruins take, Bjork figures to be one of the players that will constantly be in the mix when it comes to addressing a couple of major holes in the lineup.

Stats and graphs via Natural Stat Trick, Corsica, Sean Tierney and HockeyViz.