Bruins get preview of potential next wave of centers in winning weekend

The Bruins potentially took a look into the crystal ball in wins against St. Louis and Pittsburgh over the weekend.

No, it didn’t involve top prospects like Mason Lohrei, Fabian Lysell or Georgii Merkulov, but it did point to the potential next wave of the Bruins’ core.

With Patrice Bergeron sitting out the road back-to-back to nurse “nagging” upper and lower-body injuries in preparation for the playoffs, Pavel Zacha got an extended look at center in the top six.

When David Krejci’s lower-body issues kept him out of Sunday’s 60th win in St. Louis, it meant Charlie Coyle would get an audition as a top-six centerman, and Trent Frederic would get a chance to prove his worth as a third-line pivot. 

It was a glimpse into what the future could look like for Boston, depending on Bergeron and Krejci’s statuses beyond this season. Taking a pragmatic approach, it’s a distinct possibility both are not back in the Black and Gold next year. 

There are center prospects in the system like Providence’s John Beecher (9-13–22 in 55 games) and Marc McLaughlin (12-15–27 in 60 games), as well as Brett Harrison (34-35–69 in 57 games) and Matthew Poitras (16-79–95 in 63 games) in the OHL. Each has shown promise at one point or another, but it might be unreasonable to expect either to immediately step right into a dependable top-nine fixture.

But if the weekend’s sample was any indication, the Bruins could be in good shape, at least for the short term before that next franchise center and the new wave of depth down the middle emerges.

In Saturday’s 4-3 win in Pittsburgh, Zacha (three assists) was one of Boston’s best forwards, shifting to center Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk. In 8:37 of 5-on-5 time together, the top line out-attempted the Penguins, 13-2, holding an 8-0 advantage in scoring chances (2-0 high-danger). Individually with Zacha on the ice at 5-on-5, the Bruins outscored the Pens, 2-0, held a 76 percent share of shot attempts and out-chanced Pittsburgh, 11-3 (3-2 high-danger), according to Natural Stat Trick. 

The 25-year-old Czech was key in the middle of the ice of the attacking zone, generating offense between the dots. On the power play, he took over the “bumper” spot, making a diving play in the slot to Charlie McAvoy to set up the opening goal.

“He has [hit our check marks], I guess is the shortest answer,” Jim Montgomery said of Zacha in Pittsburgh. “He’s really developed the puck pressure we like to see in the D zone from a centerman, and offensively, he’s gifted at attacking through the middle. We didn’t know that was a great strength of his, but it is a great strength of his.”

The 6-foot-4, 199-pound versatile forward has become a huge factor in Boston’s long-term plans, signing a four-year extension with a $4.75 million cap hit in January. It already looks like a strong bet, as the former sixth overall pick has had a career season with 53 points (18g, 35a) in 77 games. Montgomery believes there is still more room to grow.

“I think he can consistently hit 65 points for us,” he said. 

Sunday’s 4-3 shootout win in St. Louis wasn’t pretty for most of the third period, but it was another good look at Zacha and Coyle in top-six center roles. While each of Boston’s lines traded chances with the Blues in a loose second leg of a road back-to-back, it was a typical showing from Coyle and Zacha. The former was dependable in all three zones and led all forwards in shorthanded ice time before coming up with the lone shootout goal, while the latter again showcased his ability between the dots in the attacking zone. 

“I mean, we know Charlie Coyle helps us win every night,” Montgomery told reporters before the game in St. Louis. “We want to put him in a situation and just see what that might look like in the future. We have to start thinking about those things at some point.”

Marchand said postgame, “I think they did good. You know, it’s much different for everybody when the lines are all switched around. It takes a little bit of time to get used to one another and build chemistry. I thought we all did a really good job. I think it makes it easier when we have a really good system and kind of core values within the group that we all play within. 

“When you play within the system, almost like robots a little bit, it’s easier to read off each other. Easier to know what each other’s going to do.”

Montgomery and Marchand saw it as a key learning opportunity for Coyle, Zacha and Frederic, who centered a sort of “kids line” with Jakub Lauko and Oskar Steen. The latter two have made their mark on the wings for the vast majority of the season.  

“I think there’s definitely a learning curve,” Marchand said. “I thought [Coyle] did a great job, [Zacha] as well and [Frederic]. [Zacha] and [Frederic] both playing different positions, and Coyle in some big situations. They did a great job.”

The three lines combined for a 16-15 edge in 5-on-5 scoring chances (5-5 high-danger), but the Blues held a decided 24-34 advantage in shot attempts. Chalk it up to fatigue or the absences of Bergeron and Krejci, who had they been in, Montgomery believed the game “doesn’t go to overtime.”

“There are opportunities for us to learn. Guys got more minutes,” Montgomery said. “We’re playing tired cause we’re in the four games in six nights, and we made some mistakes that we can’t make. So it’s good learning. You’re still going to get mentally fatigued in the playoffs, and we can’t make the mistakes we made to give them odd-man rushes or really good looks that end up in the back of our net.”

Perhaps the possible X-factor in all of this is Frederic.

The St. Louis kid got the chance to start in front of a mass of family and friends, getting off to quite the opening period with an assist (and nearly a goal) on one of his first shifts.

“It was nice of [Montgomery] to do that. Being from St. Louis and all that stuff, it was really cool to be standing out there on the blue line,” Frederic said. “I mean, it goes a long way. Guys appreciate that. It means a lot to someone like myself and guys who go back to their old teams. Stuff like that. Even family members probably eat that up even more.”

Frederic was involved throughout the game, picking up another assist on Steen’s second-period goal and coming up with three shots on goal, two blocks and a hit. When fully together, his line had a 4-2 advantage in 5-on-5 scoring chances. Individually at 5-on-5, shots on goal were 8-8 with Frederic on the ice, scoring chances were 8-4 (3-2 high-danger) and Boston outscored St. Louis, 2-1. He and Steen were left behind after losing a board battle in the offensive zone before Torey Krug’s goal off the rush. 

“I thought [Frederic] had a good game for us,” Montgomery said. “Like anyone that was in this game for us, made some mental mistakes – tired. But it’s a great opportunity for him to learn and grow. He’s had a terrific year for us. Tonight, he made some great plays, and he had some ones he’d like to have back. We’ll work on all of them.”

The 25-year-old is enjoying a breakout season with a career-high 16 goals and 14 assists for 30 points in 74 games, obliterating his previous totals of 8-10–18, which he set in 60 games in 2021-22. 15 of his goals this year have been at 5-on-5. 

He’s shown increased confidence with the puck in the offensive zone, now looking to make more plays and create chances. The 6-foot-3, 214-pound Frederic has taken notes from his similarly-sized counterpart, Coyle (6-foot-3, 223 pounds), using his size to become hard to contain along the boards. His discipline has improved, as his 57 penalty minutes match his total from last season but in 14 more games. Both numbers were down from 65 penalty minutes in 42 games in 2020-21. 

“I think his wall play in the D zone has been really good, and I think the second part is hanging on to pucks in the O zone,” Montgomery said Sunday before Frederic’s audition at 3C.

A key to Frederic’s upward swing this season has been a clearly defined role, as well as a longer leash with plenty of runway. He has made a strong duo with Coyle on the third line and has embraced his part in the lineup. 

“I mean, I think it’s easy to do with [Montgomery]. He makes it clear,” Frederic said after last Thursday’s win over Columbus. “You know, it’s just a fun team to be a part of, and any role you can get on this team is a good role. I think everyone’s just trying to do their part.” 

Drafted as a center in the 2016 first round (29th overall), Frederic has proven his versatility as a winger, but Boston wants to find out if it can trust him in the middle in future plans.

“What we want to see about him and his development as a player is how quickly he can defend in the D zone, like we’ve seen Zacha do,” Montgomery said. “Obviously, Coyle can do it, and we know Nosek can, too. It gives us more diversity moving forward if he can play center aside from both wings, which he’s already shown.”

Coyle has been able to fill in throughout the top nine at various points, and his defensive reliability has added another layer to his game this season. If Frederic can prove capable of shouldering a workload as a third-line center, and Zacha can build on a strong debut season in the Black and Gold (and pop for 65 points like Montgomery predicts), then the Bruins could be in good hands as they await the next franchise center once the Bergeron-Krejci era inevitably comes to a close.