Just seven months ago, Cameron Hughes and Karson Kuhlman found themselves in a similar spot — a pair of rather unheralded forwards looking to make their mark on the Providence Bruins.
Despite their draft status — or lack thereof, in Kuhlman’s case — both he and Hughes (a sixth-round pick for Boston in 2015) let their play speak for itself under Jay Leach’s watch, with the duo combining for 53 points and earning plenty of minutes on the same line through the middle of February.
Since then, however, both Kuhlman and Hughes’ careers have split off in very different arcs.
A simple call-up in February after Boston was bitten by the injury bug once again, Kuhlman emerged as a viable top-six option for the Bruins as the season progressed. By the time the puck dropped on Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, Kuhlman had won the role as David Krejci's regular right wing — and is the early leader in the clubhouse to hold on to the coveted spot in 2019-20.
Kuhlman's 2018-19 campaign leapfrogged from an NCAA title to Providence to a spot on pro hockey's highest stage in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but Hughes found himself a bit more grounded back in February — with a knee injury forcing the Edmonton native to miss close to two months of game action before returning for the Calder Cup Playoffs.
He might not draw the same headlines as other B's prospects like Jack Studnicka or Jakub Lauko, but when assessing his own talent and potential role on an NHL club — Hughes believes Kuhlman's route to Boston is one that he can follow.
“Me and Kuhly are pretty close, we talk quite a bit," Hughes said. "I know through his journey — it was a pretty cool year. From the national championship all the way to the Stanley Cup. You can learn a lot of things from him, he’s such a hard worker, he’s always consistent, takes care of himself away from the game. I’m definitely trying to emulate some of the things he does.”
The first step in Hughes' road to the NHL is to remain healthy. After getting back up to speed from his knee injury, Hughes was looking to hit the ground running as a participant in the Prospects Challenge showcase in Buffalo earlier this month. But during the final contest of the tournament against the Sabres, Hughes was struck in the face by the skate blade of Sabres center Jesper Boqvist.
At first, Hughes thought that he only lost a tooth.
“Probably close to 30 stitches, inside and out," Hughes said, donning a nasty scar down the side of his mouth from where the blade connected. "I lost three more teeth. I already had one gone in the front, but two more up top and the one below. It’s been a lot of work in the dental chair, but I’m lucky, it could have been a lot worse."
Tuesday marked Hughes' first return to the ice since the incident on September 9, with the 22-year-old forward standing as a full participant in practice. However, given the amount of time lost, Hughes may not get the green light for Boston's final two preseason games.
It's a tough start for Hughes, whom Bruce Cassidy noted could be one of the next men up this season if such a situation arose.
"Well it’s too bad, because Hughesy would have got a look," Cassidy said of Hughes' injury. "He had a good year last year. Guess he really turned a corner - second half of the year, like Kuhlman. They were very good offensively. The description I get is he’s got some Danton Heinen in him — in terms of being good with the puck, crafty. Very competitive guy, going to the net for his size. Maybe not as smooth as Danton, but a little bit more of Marchy (Brad Marchand) in him.
"That’s how he’s generated a lot of offense, second effort, but he’s surprising skill, good defensive player, accountable guy. We're hoping that he’ll progress here — He's not going to play [Wednesday], he's not ready. Saturday's probably a long shot because of the injury. It's too bad because I think he's a guy that would have been in that mix for a call up because he can play some center and left wing, you can move him around. We like those guys here that are versatile."
Hughes might be a bit slow out of the gate in 2019-20, but the Wisconsin product has the tools to put up some numbers once again in his second full year in the AHL — especially after racking up 13 goals and 28 points over 53 games as a rookie with the Baby B's.
The 2015 draft pick projects as a bottom-six forward with offensive potential up in the NHL ranks, but Hughes isn't wasting much time on predicting the future and where it could bring him in the next year or so.
After all, look where "projections" would have placed Kuhlman at this point last year.
OTHER NOTES
Here are the Bruins’ lines from Tuesday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena:
GROUP A
Forwards: Anders Bjork, Paul Carey, Trent Frederic, Brendan Gaunce, Cameron Hughes, Joona Koppanen, Robert Lantosi, Jakub Lauko, Zach Senyshyn, Pavel Shen, Oskar Steen, Jack Studnicka
Defense: Josiah Didier, Jeremy Lauzon, Alex Petrovic, Urho Vaakanainen
Goalies: Kyle Keyser, Max Lagace
GROUP B
Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk - Par Lindholm - Karson Kuhlman
Danton Heinen - Charlie Coyle - Brett Ritchie
Chris Wagner - Sean Kuraly - David Backes
Zdeno Chara - Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug - Brandon Carlo
Matt Grzelcyk - Connor Clifton
Jakob Zboril - Steven Kampfer
Tuukka Rask
Jaroslav Halak
- No updates yet on the status of David Krejci, who did not practice Tuesday after suffering a lower-body injury during Monday’s preseason matchup against the Flyers.
- "He'll be re-evaluated tomorrow," Cassidy said of Krejci. "Right now, we don't think it's anything serious, but we're going to take our time with it and make sure he's ready to go next week."
- While Krejci was not spotted out on the ice, Patrice Bergeron once again participated in practice with the main group — with the veteran pivot setting Saturday’s preseason finale against the Devils as a target for his return to game action.
- “I think so. That's a fair assessment,” Bergeron said. “I'm slowly feeling better on the ice and more comfortable. I'd like to be in Saturday for sure. If things go according to plan, it will be my first game.”
- The Bruins trimmed their camp roster once again on Tuesday, as the club assigned goalie Dan Vladar down to Providence … Cassidy expects more cuts following Wednesday’s game against New Jersey ... Anton Blidh will start the year on the shelf, as the winger underwent successful surgery on Monday to repair a ligament in his right shoulder. The recovery timetable is slated for four months.
- One player who could be on the outside looking in at a roster spot out of camp? Anders Bjork – who, despite standing out in a number of preseason outings, could use a couple weeks of consistent, top-six minutes in the AHL in order to get rolling offensively.
- “He’s one of those guys that may push,” Cassidy said of Bjork. “He’s a wild card. We talked about the injuries. He’s looked good. Are we ready to put him in the lineup for an older guy? I think with Anders, what we all want to see is him play some games consecutively and get his confidence, get back to being a productive player. I don’t know if he’ll be able to do that here right away … He’s very consistent, I found, with practice every day. His level of play hasn’t dropped off. He’s stronger. It seems like his demeanor is good — he’s out there battling hard every day. So I like the direction he’s going in.”