Despite a promising preseason, a trip to Providence appears to be in the cards for Anders Bjork

The Bruins had good reason to temper their expectations when it came to Anders Bjork this preseason. 

Coming off of his second major shoulder surgery in as many seasons, Bjork was already expected to be eased gradually into the lineup this fall, given both his track record and the glut of other wingers on Boston’s depth chart.

It was a luxury that wasn’t afforded to Bjork last season, with the forward thrust back into the NHL lineup from the outset of the 2018-19 campaign. Hampered by a summer marred with extended rehab work, Bjork never gained much traction with the big club last year — as he was limited to just one goal and three total points over 20 games before yet another injury sidelined him for good down in the AHL.

Still looking to reap some of the untapped potential that the crafty, offensively-gifted Bjork possesses, Boston entered this training camp looking to not make the same missteps with the winger — namely rushing him back too soon from injury.

At least, that was the plan going in — because Bjork sure didn’t look like a player returning from major shoulder surgery this fall. 



Rather, the case could be made that Bjork was right there alongside Charlie Coyle as Boston’s most impressive forward during preseason play. 

While his baseline offensive totals might not jump off the stat sheet (two assists over four games played), Bjork was a puck-possession monster this preseason. Even with only 40% of Bjork’s faceoffs occurring in the offensive zone during 55:04 of 5v5 TOI, Boston still held an absurd 80-31 edge in shot attempts and 39-19 advantage in actual shots on goal during that stretch. 

With the vacancy created by Marcus Johansson’s departure still unresolved going into the regular season, Bjork appeared to be the front-runner to snatch up the spot on Coyle's line — at least given his production over the last three weeks. 

Well, not exactly.

Based on Bruce Cassidy’s comments following Boston’s 8-2 drubbing of the Blackhawks on Saturday, it sure looks as though Bjork is going to start 2019-20 down in Providence. 

“Well, I’ve said this before, I think Anders — he was drafted as a scoring winger,” Cassidy said. “And he hasn’t been able to do that consistently at the professional level, so we have to determine, is he going to be able to do it here? Or is he better serving in Providence, finding that part of his game? 

“What’s going to be better for us in the long run? And do we need him here in the short term? That’s what we balance. … We’ll have to make that determination, but my guess is that’s where he will probably end up starting to work on that part of his game. He had a good training camp, good preseason, he’s healthy, bigger, stronger, so that’ll be just in my preliminary evaluation there, but we’ll sit down again and go over it.”

When combing over the roster, it would look as though a starting spot would come down to either Bjork or Brett Ritchie — who inked a one-year contract with Boston back in July. 

While Ritchie has the experience (241 games played) and power-forward frame (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) that would seemingly carve a path toward regular minutes, the numbers have been decidedly in Bjork’s favor when comparing his preseason showing to Ritchie’s. 

Let’s compare, shall we?



Seems a bit one-sided, eh? But there are other factors that likely play into Boston’s decision to start Bjork down in Providence. The primary reason might be that Boston has the luxury of sending Bjork down without exposing him to waivers — something that the Bruins would have to do if it was Ritchie in a similar scenario. 

While the criticism for starting Bjork in Providence is certainly valid given the 23-year-old winger’s showing so far this month, the rationale is also there for an early AHL assignment. 

Given the scoring drought that Bjork suffered through last season, perhaps a couple of weeks down in the AHL can get Bjork into a groove offensively — and give him the momentum to hit the ground running when he inevitably gets the call back up to the big club.

And based on the way he’s fared so far this season, that AHL stint may not last very long. 

“I think he’s been great, with the mental part of this training camp,” Cassidy said of Bjork. “I was not with him down there last year when he had to have the surgery etc. Probably tough to see the Winter Classic at Notre Dame and he’s not part of it. There’s all of those things as a young guy that probably go through your head. Hockey at that age, hockey occupies a lot of your time. 

“I know he’s not married with kids, so he doesn’t have those things to help keep him. So I imagine he’s going through a lot of checklists in his head. Now this year, he just comes in, he plays, he’s healthy, he looks good. I see him going in the right direction. Whether he starts here or not, I’ll, like I said, decide, but he’s probably better off finding his scoring touch in Providence. But if we feel he’s ready, then he’ll start with us. That’s kind of where it goes. But yes, some guys have it a little bit easier, he’s had some tough injuries, but he wouldn’t be the first guy to bounce back from a few of them. So I like his resolve right now.”