Hockey might be a business, but the realities that come with life in the pro ranks rarely makes it any easier for both player and coach when it comes to the dreaded debriefing following a trade or AHL assignment.
The conversation is even tougher when a player’s new destination is not a byproduct of their own individual play — but rather, factors outside of their control.
Because in Bruce Cassidy’s eyes, Jack Studnicka did everything that was asked of him entering a pivotal training camp. But given the glut of forwards already entrenched down the middle — coupled with Boston’s long-term plans for Studnicka’s role up in the NHL ranks — Studnicka simply found himself on the outside looking in at the B's lineup through no fault of his own.
"Well, I spoke with him the other day because we had some decisions to make,” Cassidy said Tuesday of his conversation with Studnicka after the youngster didn’t land a spot on the NHL roster out of camp. “So it was a little bit — first of all, Jack was asked to play a little more north-south, manage the puck better, make more high-percentage plays, play to your forehand, and he did. He did all those things.
“I did not notice as many turnovers or I'll call them soft plays, because we're trying to get through to a player in a hurry and usually those are on your backhand through people that, well, they're low-percentage, they just don't have as much of a chance unless you're Crosby, right? And there's not too many of him. So we talked about that — he did a lot of that well in camp, so as a result he wasn't chasing plays back a lot. In the o-zone that was happening to him before, some turnovers and all of a sudden he's back in his own end the whole game, chasing plays back where he's still learning the game. He's much more natural with the puck. So that was much better. He finished some plays by shooting the puck, which was good.”
Cassidy’s comments on Tuesday fall in line with his previous assessments of Studnicka over the last few weeks — with the 22-year-old pivot scoring two goals and posting four points during preseason action and earning high marks for his adherence to the smaller details of the game, which can sometimes get lost on young players looking to make an immediate impact on the scoresheet.
Alas, Studnicka’s odds of cracking the NHL roster were all but negated once Charlie Coyle returned to game action last Wednesday and didn’t seem to be a step behind after a lengthy rehab following offseason knee surgery.
Ultimately, Boston’s expectations for Studnicka up at the NHL level serve as somewhat of a double-edged sword.
Even though the case could be made that Studnicka should have cut his teeth in a fourth-line role on the wing to open the year (one of the few vacancies on this roster following Curtis Lazar’s injury), the Bruins have bigger plans for Studnicka at this level — with their preference of keeping him at center (and in a top-six role) playing to his strengths, but hampering him at the moment with the pipeline of established centers currently in front of him.
“The next part of the discussion was we also have Bergeron, Coyle and Haula that have all played well,” Cassidy said. “Nosek is an excellent fourth-line center. So to play your natural position, you're up against it here a little bit and that's no fault of yours and no fault of ours. We want depth, we want good players and we want more competition. So there's a little bit of that that he has to focus on — just keep playing well wherever he ends up.
“And then the last part was the wing. We tried it last year, didn't work out as well as we liked, there might be an opening — Lazar got hurt. But we just felt that we have other players that can play in that role. We'd like to keep him in the middle for now. So that's the decision that's made.”
Of course, focusing on the silver linings of guaranteed top-six minutes down in Providence or reiterating that his AHL assignment involved factors beyond his control can only go so far in terms of consoling Studnicka . It’s a business, yes, but Studnicka is only human. And another trek down to Providence after checking off all the boxes that the B’s tabbed for him in camp is still a tough pill to swallow.
But given the inevitable wave of injuries and lineup tweaks that will come over the span of an 82-game gauntlet, Cassidy offered a parting piece of optimism to Studnicka before the young forward packed his bags. The opportunity may not be there right now — but a whole lot can change in the span of just a couple days or weeks.
“As I said before, your roster on Monday can look different on Saturday," Cassidy said. "I'm trying to give you some look into the future, but sometimes things do change. There's asset management, cap stuff — all stuff that Donny takes care of and then you sort of revisit it. But right now, I anticipate he'll start down there, hopefully play well in the middle of the ice. And when it's his turn, he just comes up and never looks back. That's kind of what you hope."