David Krejci hasn’t exactly had a long track record with Jack Studnicka.
Sure, the veteran pivot has taken part in many rushes alongside the 21-year-old forward since Boston returned to the ice over two weeks ago. But drills and scrimmages held within the friendly confines of Warrior Ice Arena are a far cry from the true determinant of on-ice chemistry — one forged shift after shift in the heat of competition against an opposing club.
When viewed through that lens, Studnicka stood as almost a complete unknown next to Krejci — a surprising development, given that Krejci logged at least 10 minutes of 5v5 ice time with 14 different line combinations throughout the 2019-20 season.
Granted, Studnicka was only up for a cup of coffee in the NHL ranks this past year. In just two games played, the B’s top prospect was primarily relegated to a bottom-six role — ultimately only logging 10 seconds of ice time next to Krejci.
Yep, 10 total seconds together during the regular season.
And yet, whether it be due to Studnicka’s own merit following a strong camp, or the absence of other top-six options such as Ondrej Kase, the 175-pound youngster entered Phase 4 as the leader in the clubhouse when it came to serving as Krejci’s wingman for Boston’s latest playoff push.
Even with the lack of valuable reps in game situations, Krejci — often subjected to a carousel of wingers to his right year after year — was quick to sign off on the latest candidate following Phase 3 camp.
“Obviously I like what I see,” Krejci said of Studnicka. “Seeing his improvement from last training camp to this one — he’s quick, he’s fast. He's got good hands. He thinks the game really well. We had some good reps and practices the last couple days. So it's been good. But the biggest test is the game."
Fair to say, Studnicka passed his first exam with flying colors.
Studnicka might not have tallied a point in Boston's 4-1 loss to the Blue Jackets in Thursday's exhibition matchup at Scotiabank Arena, but the speedy center-turned-winger did his damndest to prove otherwise. Throughout the contest, both Studnicka and DeBrusk were the beneficiaries of a salvo of saucer feeds from Krejci, with Boston consistently piling up quality scoring chances against both Joonas Korpisalo and Elvis Merzļikins whenever Bruce Cassidy deployed his new-look second line.
It doesn't take a whole lot of game film for Studnicka to stand out whenever he hops over the boards — whether it be his speed thorough the neutral zone and the silky hands he showcases when forced to work in tight spaces.
(Here, Studnicka breaks through into Columbus' zone, puts on the breaks and hits DeBrusk with a centering feed — leading to a high-danger scoring chance.)
But, as we've noted multiple times before when it comes to identifying positive traits in Studnicka's promising (but still developing) game, the forward's true value so far up in the NHL ranks is his fearlessness when it comes to driving to the net and hanging around high-danger areas of the ice. Now, putting yourself in those areas of the ice might seem like a no-brainer, especially when you having a playmaking maestro like Krejci in the middle. But it's another thing entirely to consistently execute it in a game setting, especially for a green player in Studncika who will likely need to add another 15+ pounds to endure the beating that comes with a full NHL campaign.
Even against a Columbus roster that's often more than willing to throw its weight around — especially around the slot — Studnicka consistency found himself generating chances from in close — with his four total shot attempts (three of which reached Korpisalo/Merzļikins) coming from an average of just 19.3 feet from the net.
“Definitely noticed some benefits," Studnicka said of adding some weight since his initial try-out with the B's back during training camp in September. "When I compare when I was called up in November to now, I definitely felt stronger on the puck and more comfortable. Like I said, it just felt like another hockey game to me out there, whereas in the past nerves might have kicked in stuff like that. So I definitely felt good. I think I've done a good job to prepare for this moment. So my body felt good out there."
In total, during the 8:52 of 5v5 ice time that the DeBrusk-Krejci-Studnicka logged together, Boston had the edge in:
Scoring Chances Generated: 8-2
High-Danger Scoring Chances Generated: 4-1
"We were cycling the puck, a lot of O-zone. I thought us three read off each other really well," Studnicka said. "Krech, you just got to be ready for the puck when you're playing with him and get to the net. So for our first game together, I'm definitely happy."
Yes, it might be a small sample size, but there is starting to be a growing correlation between high-danger scoring chances and Studnicka's usage out on the ice. Between two regular-season games and this exhibition, Studnicka has skated in 33:56 of 5v5 ice time with the Bruins. Over that stretch, the Bruins hold a:
32-26 edge in shot attempts
2-0 edge in goals scored
19-7 edge in scoring chances
13-2 edge in high-danger scoring chances
For a Bruins team that usually hard-pressed when it comes to generating 5v5 offense beyond its top line, that absurd disparity in high-danger scoring bids is pretty eye-opening — and a testament to Studnicka's willingness to hang around the crease and making things happen.
Now, there's still a lot that needs to happen before Cassidy can officially pencil in Studnicka as a top-six starter once playoff hockey officially commences. As to be expected for a young skater, Studnicka initially deferred on what could have been a Grade-A shot attempt early in the first period — while a number of backhand feeds from the forward were intercepted by the Jackets' active sticks. The looming return of Kase could also put Studnicka on uneven turf, even if the Czech winger will likely have a steep uphill battle of his own when it comes to getting back up to speed following a prolonged quarantine.
But as of right now, that second-line gig is Studnicka's to lose. Thursday's showing only cemented such sentiment.
Stats and graphs via Natural Stat Trick and HockeyViz.