When the sweeping threat brought upon by COVID-19 shuttered the 2019-20 season, many of the Bruins were forced to spend the subsequent four-month layoff pondering multiple “what could have been” scenarios for a club steamrolling toward the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
For Anders Bjork, such sentiment was much more nuanced, especially on an individual basis. For some players in his position, the prevailing thought could have centered more on “what went wrong," more than anything else.
All things considered, the first 70 games of the 2019-20 season should be viewed as a resounding success for Bjork, given that his previous two campaigns were both ended prematurely due to major shoulder surgery. Upon getting recalled from Providence in October, Bjork was a regular in Boston's middle-six grouping, primarily logging minutes next to Charlie Coyle on the third line.
But, in wake of Boston's deadline deals for Ondrej Kase and Nick Ritchie — along with a prolonged slump (0 G, 1 A - 11 GP) over the final month of the regular season — Bjork found himself on the outside looking in at a regular minutes by March, serving as the B's 13th forward in four of Boston's final five games before the pause.
Those game nights spent up in the press box loomed over Bjork's psyche for months on end during the NHL's extended stoppage. But rather than let it eat away at all of the confidence he accrued this season, Bjork channeled those scratches into added motivation for reclaiming a starting spot once hockey returned.
"It was an interesting position for me at the end there because I hadn't really gotten scratched that much until right before the pause," Bjork said via Zoom on Wednesday. "I felt like I was a little nervous at the start that that was going to get to me, because my mentality right before the pause was like, 'Alright, you've got to improve and get better and really show that you're fighting for that line on spot, just in any little way you can.'
"I think from a mental standpoint, especially with the injuries that I've had since turning pro, I've learned that you can't dwell on that. That's not going to help your training and it can affect all parts of your life. ... You got to keep moving forward."
Monday represented a great first step for the B's winger, who boasts the skills and potential to put Boston's middle-six grouping over the top once games commence in Toronto.
Bjork, tabbed by Bruce Cassidy as "maybe the best player out there" during Day 1 of Boston's Return to Play camp, very much looked like a player on a mission toward reclaiming his lost minutes — given the number of small-ice drills that the crafty skater excelled in throughout Monday's skate. Given his effort, it wasn't much of a surprise that Bjork was one of the few beneficiaries of the David Pastrnak and Ondrej Kase's absences during the first days of camp — with Cassidy slotting him next to both Patrice Bergeron and Krejci during rushes.
Now, barring injury or some massive tinkering from the B's coaching, a top-six role for Bjork this postseason doesn't seem in the cards — even if he has flashed some impressive numbers next to Bergeron and Marchand in his career (58.97% shot share, 4.02 goals for per 60 minutes).
If Boston opts to keep Sean Kuraly down in his usual spot on the fourth line, the case is pretty compelling for Bjork as the next man up on as Boston's 3RW, especially considering the familiarity that comes with playing next to a puck-possession force like Coyle (383:31 of 5v5 ice time together this season).
When compared to some of the other RW candidates in camp, it would seem as though Bjork would have the edge in winning a spot on that third line, especially against younger players that Boston ideally wouldn't want to drop into a playoff setting — such as Jack Studnicka and Zach Senyshyn.
But Cassidy was quick to note that a starting spot will not be guaranteed for Bjork once Boston makes the trek up to Toronto.
"I thought he did a good job away from the puck. So he's earning his teammates' trust, his coaches trust, learning the details of the game — better stick, better angles. And then he started managing the puck and I thought his offense was coming — and then a little bit more of a bump in the road in the middle of the year," Cassidy said when asked to evaluate Bjork's season. "Why does that happen? With young guys, sometimes just physically, and maybe mentally, you have to deal with the grind of the season, the injuries catch up to you know, the nicks and bruises and expectations go up. We had some competition in our lineup, we've made a couple of trades late so we've moved those new players in and it affected his ice time, to the point where he wasn't playing towards the end.
"There's competition for him here now to get in the lineup. We like Anders as a person, we like him as a player, but we're going to play the 12 best guys and however they fit in our lineup. He's certainly in that mix. Is he automatic? No. So for him these, this return to play, these practice sessions are more important than some of the other guys because you don't have a lot of games to prove yourself. So that's something we'll be looking for. Him and a handful of other guys."
As we noted back in the spring, Bjork already could be an X-factor this postseason based on his attributes away from the offensive zone — given that opposing scoring chances seem to dry up just about every time Bjork hops over the boards for a shift. Yes, he may not be a proven defensive stalwart quite yet, but he's been far from a liability when in Boston's own zone.
(For reference on Micah Blake McCurdy’s individual impact charts via Hockey Viz. On the offensive side of things, you’d want to see a player providing positive xG numbers — with the red blobs signifying where the team is generating a majority of their shots from whenever said player is on the ice. Defensively, negative xG numbers are a sign that a team is snuffing out opposing scoring chances whenever said player is on the ice. As such, the blue blobs represent where the opposition’s shots aren’t regularly coming from. As seen above, even if Boston’s defense is already one of the tops in the league with or without Bjork out on the ice, opponents shot rates in the slot do indeed dry up when the winger has been deployed).
Along with a stellar expected goals against per 60 minutes rate of 1.82 — second only to Matt Grzelcyk among Bruins regulars (min. 400 minutes of 5v5 ice time) — Bjork's speed also gives Boston a dynamic option in its transition game.
From our previous review of Bjork's game:
Thanks to the awesome work that Corey Sznajder puts together, we can see that Bjork’s ranks as one of the best on Boston’s roster when it comes to navigating through the neutral zone and orchestrating clean entries — a must for a team that likes to get into a rhythm and dictate the pace when operating in the offensive zone.
While Bjork may not carry in the puck nearly as much (49%) nearly as much as offensive juggernauts such as David Pastrnak (64%), David Krejci (64%) or Brad Marchand (64%), he does lead all Bruins skaters in terms of entries per 60 minutes — posting a rate of 25.80. So even if he isn’t directly carrying the puck into the O-zone at the same rate as a player like Pastrnak, Bjork’s ability to consistently enter the offensive zone — whether it be carrying it in, dumping it in, etc. — makes him a very valuable asset that should only continue to improve once he continues to round out his overall game.
Not too shabby for a player that really hasn't logged a full season up in the NHL ranks quite yet. Ultimately, the biggest determinant when it comes to Bjork's ability to crack the lineup again — and cash in during the postseason — will be his ability to generate chances at a consistent clip this postseason.
Among the 16 Bruins skaters with at least 400 minutes of 5v5 ice time this season, Bjork featured the sixth-lowest expected goals for per 60 minutes rate at 1.99 — with Boston’s fourth line of Joakim Nordstrom, Chris Wagner and Sean Kuraly standing as only forwards with lower xGF/60 totals. Given his speed and stick-handling abilities, Bjork could very well develop into a player that can routinely pepper the net. Getting down to Grade-A ice is the first step, however.
Stats and graphs via Natural Stat Trick, Corey Sznajder, Sean Tierney and HockeyViz.
