NHL Notebook: Entering second season, Brandon Bussi looking to build off successful start to pro career

Brandon Bussi understands the situation. 

The Bruins' internal competition doesn't just extend to the depths of the forward core. With Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman's positions on the NHL depth chart rather solidified, the 25-year-old Bussi enters training camp as one of four goaltenders – himself, Kyle Keyser, Michael DiPietro and Shane Starrett – looking to leave a strong impression in Boston before likely plying their trades in the minors. 

"I think the point of camp this year is to learn and show where I've grown, and show that I can play at this level right now," Bussi told BSJ at Warrior Ice Arena on Thursday. 

Coming out of Western Michigan as an undrafted free agent, the former Bronco is no stranger to having to prove himself. When Swayman went down with injury and Keith Kinkaid with the varsity in his place earlier last year, Bussi saw an opportunity to take a job in the AHL after a strong start to the year in the ECHL saw him go 3-1-0 with a .922 save percentage and a 2.50 goals-against average. 

He never looked back. 

In his first season as a pro, Bussi earned an All-Star nod en route to one of the best seasons among netminders in the American League, putting up a .924 save percentage (2nd), a 2.40 GAA (6th), a 22-5-4 record and one shutout. His stock on the depth chart is on the rise. 

As easily as the results might have appeared to have come, Bussi went through his share of adjustments. His athletic ability allows him to move well for a bigger goaltender, standing at 6-foot-4, 227 pounds. But with an aggressive style on pucks, he had to find a balancing act. 

Despite a disappointing playoff run for the P-Bruins, Bussi was still strong with a .926 save percentage and a 2.28 GAA. It came as he bounced between Boston and Providence with the varsity in need of a third goalie at various times down the stretch. 

As he grew accustomed to a much more robust, faster pro game compared to the collegiate ranks, Bussi realized the importance of his consistency, given the finer margin of error. 

"It was a huge learning experience," he said. "Your first year pro, you don't know what to expect. You don't really have expectations. I think you just try and go out and play the best you can, get wins and help the team in whatever way you can."

With Bussi's fair share of travel this summer came his share of time in the gym and on the ice, aiming to become a faster skater and fine-tune his trust in his size and his ability to react to shots. 

"I think all around just trying to improve every aspect of my game to kind of prepare for the competition here," he said.

After his meteoric rise within the prospect pool last season, Bussi earned a new one-year contract paying him $775,000 with a minors salary of $100,000. He quickly leapfrogged Keyser and DiPietro on the depth chart on top of making the veteran Kinkaid expendable. The B's sent him to Colorado at the deadline in a minor-league swap. 

Now Bussi is trying to once again solidify his standing as No. 3 on the depth chart and a potential backup or 1B option down the line with Swayman, the likely goalie of the future for Boston. 

As guys like Bussi hope to make a push at some point or another that forces the front office into a difficult decision, Swayman welcomes the competition, knowing it's part of the gig at this level. 

“I’ve got the mentality that everyone in this league wants my job,” Swayman said Thursday at Warrior. “And that’s something that we all want, especially in this locker room, because it goes above and beyond guys that are in the organization. There are guys around other teams, other countries, other divisions that are all going to want this job. So, I love that. Personally, I know that it’s going to elevate my game every day, making sure I’m competing, not letting anyone take that, and it’s only going to elevate our game.”

Even then, Bussi knows that barring any significant changes, Ullmark and Swayman will be doing their thing with the Black and Gold in 2023-24. It's just his second experience at training camp, after all. 

He's hoping to leave a mark as he prepares to take more strides in his second pro campaign. 

"I think this camp will be big, another big learning experience," Bussi said. "Try to take as much as I can, and just prepare to be ready to go in the first game of the season. ... I'm ready for the Providence season, and I'm just gonna continue to play and develop."

Trent Frederic to be used on the wing to start

Frederic hoped a breakout 17-goal, 31-point season as a winger would lead to a shot at greater opportunity, particularly down the middle after being drafted as a natural centerman. 

But it appears the Bruins have other plans with Morgan Geekie a likely candidate to slot in at 3C, feeling he and Frederic can complement each other. 

"I really, really like Trent on the wing," Jim Montgomery said Wednesday. "He likes scoring and he likes puck protection, and he’s got a big, heavy body for wall play. So, and I think having spoken to him over the summer, that's where he's comfortable playing. Again, I like to put players in situations where they're most comfortable and they can thrive."

It doesn't mean potentially making an impact as a center is completely out of the question, though. Pavel Zacha is Boston's only other left-handed pivot guaranteed to be on the roster. It's part of why John Beecher could have a leg up on his competition. 

But Frederic's experience at the dot has been very limited in the past, taking 80 and winning 41 of them (50.62 percent) last season. He hasn't taken more than 89 draws in a single year and holds a 43.9 percent success rate over his career. He'll have to prove he can hold is own at the dot. 

"We are going to ask him to focus on draws and work on draws because we only have you know, a couple of left shot forwards right now that are comfortable taking draws," Montgomery said. "If we started Game 1 off the top of my head, Zacha, if he's going left-shot center, well, we're going to need somebody else in certain situations to get out there, which is going to help [Frederic] increase his minutes.” 

Frederic's also been open about his desire to take on additional special teams responsibilities. Boston won't hold him back from possibly carving out a spot, but he'll have to stake his claim.

"We want him to earn a spot. You know, that's the opportunities that we're talking about buying him minutes," Montgomery said. "He's one player – [A.J.] Greer is no different. Just like we know what we expect from Zacha and [Charlie] Coyle to handle more minutes. How do they handle those minutes, right? The wear and tear on them? Those are things that we're going to be looking at besides the guys that normally play your 18 to 20 minutes.” 

Bruins hoping to work out extension with DeBrusk

DeBrusk has talked about his willingness to reach a new contract with the Bruins, even despite the turmoil that surrounded his standing in the organization barely two years ago. 

But that's all in the past now, and the B's do not wish to see him reach unrestricted free agency next offseason.  

“We’re going to have communication with Jake and his representation. We’d like to know if Jake indeed does want to be here and hopefully, we can find common ground," Don Sweeney said Wednesday. "Besides that, you guys know enough that I’m not going to comment on anything publicly. But we'd like to see Jake remain with the Boston Bruins.”

Since his public trade request during the 2021-22 season, DeBrusk has developed into a reliable first-line winger. Even as he made strides in his 200-foot game last season, he was still in line to eclipse 30 goals before injuries held him out for 18 games. He managed to tie a career-high in goals (27) and set one in points (50) despite the absences.

“Jake deserves a lot of credit," Sweeney said of DeBrusk's rise since the request. "He put all those things aside and just went out and performed and was on pace for a really and had a really good year But even more so, battled through a couple of different injuries and came back and played well again. So, I think that's Jake's maturity both as a player and as a person, and he’s an important part of our club. We hope him to have the season we expect him to do. He's going to be a big part of that.”

It sounds like the ball may now be in DeBrusk and agent Rick Vallette's court. 

John McLean can fill a need on the coaching staff

Boston officially filled their assistant coaching vacancy by promoting John McLean earlier in the week. 

McLean had spent last season as a skills and skating consultant with the Bruins. He was previously the head coach at Austin Prep and Malden Catholic in addition to co-founding Dynamic Skating after a collegiate career at Boston College and some time in the AHL. 

Montgomery told the Boston Herald's Steve Conroy earlier this summer that the B's hoped to have the new assistant serve in an "eye in the sky" capacity with a focus on in-season development. 

With his track record, Boston feels McLean fits the bill.

Montgomery explained: "Well, you know, 1) He is a former defenseman. 2) To the skill development portion of it, working on developing players within the season with their individual skills that specifically translate to how to grow Bruins hockey systematically. So ... he's going to work on, not only your skating, your shooting, your passing, you know, but also puck protection and pivoting for defenseman. He's going to be combining that with how it plays out in game situations for our team, which I think is going to get players reps of improving their skill development within our team game, which hopefully makes them better and makes it easier.” 

Trouble in Tampa Bay

It didn't take long for another league-wide bomb to drop in the wake of the Mike Babcock saga in Columbus. 

Lightning captain Steven Stamkos is currently one of the headliners of a strong 2024 free-agent class. As a coveted right-handed center and one of the best goal-scorers in the game, the 33-year-old would garner quite the market. 

It's looking like that could become a distinct possibility now that it's apparent extension talks with Tampa GM Julien BriseBois have been nonexistent. The radio silence hasn't exactly been received well by Stamkos. 

"To be honest, I've been disappointed in the lack of talk in that regard. It was something that I expressed at the end of last year -- that I wanted to get something done before training camp started. There haven't been any conversations," Stamkos told reporters Wednesday. "I'm ready whenever. I guess that was something that I didn't see coming. But it is what it is."

BriseBois was one of Steve Yzerman's pupils as he rose through the ranks of Tampa's front office. The two of them are not exactly gun-shy when it comes to making difficult decisions with their rosters. 

BriseBois figures it great to keep Stamkos as a fixture of the organization, but there are other factors to take into account. He said he wants to "gather more information" over the course of the season to help better determine the future direction of the franchise. 

"It's not just about Steven playing out his career in Tampa," BriseBois told reporters. "It's about Steven staying in Tampa and the Lightning remaining a legitimate Stanley Cup contender year in and year out for the remainder of his tenure as a player on the club ... Steven and I share the common goal of bringing the Cup back to Tampa. That's our objective. In order for us to do that in future years, we're going to need to spend our cap dollars as wisely as possible."

He added, "I need to see how the pieces of the puzzle fit this year. I need to see who steps up and is ready to handle a bigger role. I need to see how the team performs. I need to see how this season plays out before I make those decisions. After the season, once I've gathered that information, I can work with Steven and his agent on a contract structure that will be in the best interest of both sides."