Bruce Cassidy could embrace a youth movement this postseason - and it might be Bruins' safest bet right now

The reasoning was clear when the Bruins pulled the trigger on a pair of deals with the Anaheim Ducks back in February.

In exchange for David Backes, Danton Heinen, Axel Andersson and a 2020 first-round pick, the Bruins scooped up a pair of wingers in Ondrej Kase and Nick Ritchie — both drastically different players, but each with a unique set of skills designed to complement a top-heavy forward corps for Boston that was in need of some skill and size.

In Kase, the Bruins received a smooth-skating winger with a tendency to pepper the net on every shift (10.54 individual shots per 60 minutes over last two seasons) — making him a natural fit next to a playmaking pivot like David Krejci. 

In Ritchie, the Bruins swapped Heinen's versatility and defensive contributions for a physical power forward that could significantly boost his value during the slog that is playoff hockey — with the 6-foot-2, 225-pound forward's knack for entrenching himself around Grade-A ice (0.87 individual expected goals per 60 minutes) offered some intrigue for a Bruins club in need of more consistent 5v5 scoring.

While Boston's hopes of orchestrating another deep Stanley Cup run this spring were going to hinge on the play of franchise cornerstones such as Patrice Bergeron and Tuukka Rask, Don Sweeney's deadline moves were expected to a correct the few evident flaws on this B's roster, potentially putting a motivated group over the top with playoff hockey around the corner.

Now, after a four-month break, there are just two more practices that separate the Bruins from a resumption of play, starting with an exhibition matchup against the Blue Jackets on Thursday.

There stands a good chance that both Kase and Ritchie will not be present for that matchup — if not even longer in Kase's case.

Along with the uncertainty surrounding Kase after missing the team charter Sunday evening, Ritchie has suddenly found himself behind the eight ball as well. Despite traveling with the club up to Toronto, Ritchie has not skated in five straight practices — including both of the club's on-ice sessions since arriving in Toronto.

Now, for the time being, the Bruins have a number of younger options that could slot into the vacancies created by Kase and Ritchie, with 21-year-old Jack Studnicka and Anders Bjork both skating next to Krejci and Charlie Coyle, respectively, during each of Boston's two practices at the Ford Performance Centre up in Ontario this week.

It could very well be a temporary solution for Cassidy and his staff, as both Ritchie and Kase, fingers crossed, could be back in the fold and regularly participating by the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, if not the later stages of the round-robin tournament.

But, by that point, there's no guarantee that those middle-six vacancies might remain open.



On paper, the strongest lineup Boston could conceivably roll out once playoff hockey commences would likely improve one, if not both of Kase and Ritchie — a pair of NHL regulars with skillsets already described above.

In comparison, the duo of Studnicka and Bjork, while offering heaps of potential, is much less of a sure thing, especially when it comes to Studnicka — Boston's latest candidate for second-line winger, with all of two games of NHL experience under his belt.

Still, that potential can be awfully hard to overlook, especially when coupled with the promise both Studnicka and Bjork have showcased since Phase 3 workouts began at Warrior Ice Arena over two weeks ago. Those strong showings, coupled with the lack of Kase and Ritchie, make both Studnicka and Bjork the odds-on favorites to start on the second and third lines once Thursday's game commences, with the B's middle-six resembling something like this.

DeBrusk – Krejci – Studnicka
Kuraly – Coyle – Bjork

Perhaps not what most of us envisioned back in March — but, to be fair, much has changed since way back then.

"Jack Studnicka is in there with Krech and DeBrusk. (I) talked to David about his right side options — I've done a lot of that over the last few years," said Cassidy. "He likes the way Jack plays, he makes plays in traffic. Jack seems much more confident with the puck than maybe in training camp in September and October. So if he can do that, and balance his shot versus pass mentality, he likes to hang on to it an extra second and look and make a play and sometimes at the national-league levels, specifically the playoffs, you have to have more of a shot mentality. So that's something he'll have to sort through.

"Anders Bjork, ... he could be an option with Krech and Jake, he's been there before. I liked him with Coyle this winter, and they've played together. Kuraly's on the left side now, Nick Ritchie's the other guy that comes into the equation. Who does that push around? So there's a little bit of our health to be determined, but right now, those two guys have a leg up. And then there's Kuhlman, who I know is a dependable player — certainly has played with Krejci and DeBrusk and been fine. I think Jack has more upside offensively right now. So that's the reasoning for giving him the opportunity and we've never seen it, so Thursday might be a good chance for a test run with that line and then see Anders back with Coyle."

Bjork is much less of a stretch when it comes to capitalizing on another starting spot in the B's lineup — especially when factoring in the value he brings both on the defensive end and in the transition game. Already eager to turn the page on an ugly slump that left him as the odd man out of Boston's lineup in four of the B's final five regular-season games, Bjork is a natural fit next to Coyle, given that both skaters logged 383:31 of 5v5 ice time together this season.

If Bjork settles into a groove and that quick wrister that he's showcased throughout these practices continues to beat netminders in the coming weeks, both the 23-year-old winger and Coyle should be able to feast against lesser matchups — much as a line of Heinen-Coyle-Johansson did last spring.

Studnicka is a bit more of a wild card, given that a line of Krejci, Studnicka and Jake DeBrusk have logged a whopping ... 10 seconds of 5v5 ice time together during the regular season. Still, Studnicka's willingness to drive to the net and hover around the crease could do wonders for a pivot like Krejci, who is at his best when given wingers ready to receive feeds near Grade-A ice.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1288149384635523072

He's only had some cup of coffee up in the NHL ranks, but there's enough to like about Studnicka's game — especially over the last few weeks — that Cassidy very well could keep Boston's top prospect in a top-six role for the long haul this summer, even if Kase gets back on the ice up in Toronto.

Let's also not overlook the fact that — other than outright NHL experience – both Ritchie and Kase don't exactly have a leg up on Boston's younger crop of skaters as far as production goes, with the former Ducks wingers generating a combined one goal and two assists in their 13 total games with the Bruins ahead of the pause.

"Ondrej came late, he came at the deadline. So he was building (trust) and that's not a negative. It's just that I don't know. I don't know the player well enough right now," Cassidy said. "He only had a handful of games to integrate himself in the group and try to develop chemistry. We tried with Krejci at first and then moved him around a little bit. So that would be an interesting (decision), because let's just say it's Jack, say it's Bjork that takes off and Ondrej is not ready and they've strung together five, six, seven games, played a round, whatever.

"You would have to seriously consider making a change to a guy that I've seen more of. But again, those are things you decide down the road. There may be other situations that come up injuries or whatever, and then Ondrej gets his chance then. So, for me, let's just say to answer your question, because it's a bit of a hypothetical, it wouldn't be automatic that I put Ondrej in if a young kid was playing really well."

Perhaps it's foolhardy to cobble together any sort of projections or predictions in a postseason as unfamiliar as this. Still, had I told you back in March that Boston was going to potentially start its postseason run without either of their two deadline pickups in the lineup, you'd be well within reason to push for the panic button.

A quick start for both Bjork and Studnicka could alleviate those fears in a hurry.