BRIGHTON -- The message was pretty clear from Don Sweeney to the young B’s prospects on the first day of Bruins rookie camp.
If you play well enough to earn an NHL job in camo, the Bruins will find a way to create a spot to reward that performance. All Sweeney had to do was point to last season when Matt Poitras and Johnny Beecher won jobs out of training camp, and Mason Lohrei was a part of the regular rotation by the end of the season.
Even Justin Brazeau was rewarded with an NHL gig and a contract extension based on his AHL performance as well on a B’s team that was still good enough to be one of the best in the Eastern Conference last season. That all means that it’s more than just happy talk from the Black and Gold general manager when it comes to real opportunity and that is something that players like Fabian Lysell, Georgii Merkulov and Riley Duran among others shoot take heed of as at least one forward spot is up for grabs in NHL camp set to begin next week.
“I think it should be really encouraging for them,” said P-Bruins head coach Ryan Mougenel. “I think the one thing we talked about, even last year, where we wanted guys to get their feet wet and now, I think the mindset has changed a little bit. You want guys to come into rookie camp ready to compete for jobs. It says something about the youth movement and how they’ve pushed.
“For guys to come into camp and see that, it’s tangible. It’s there. Its right in front for them. There’s a really good message there that there is opportunity for those guys.”
Interestingly enough, Lysell and Merkulov are skipping the Prospects Challenge this weekend in Buffalo, perhaps because the Bruins are looking to avoid either youngster getting dinged up ahead of a big training camp audition. But it also gives a player like Duran a really golden opportunity to get a leg up on the competition if a possible bottom-6 winger job might be on the line.
It's something the former Providence College standout is well aware as he happily moves into hockey season mode after a long summer where the 22-year-old Woburn native spent pretty much every summer weekday at Warrior Ice Arena training and getting ready for the upcoming season.
“I’m ready to go. It’s been a long summer and I’m just ready to play some games, you know?” said a smiling Duran. “Don Sweeney said [to us] today that if you work hard enough, then they will make room for you. So everybody has to just play hard and play their own game. I play my own brand. I don’t have to change anything up.
“Hopefully things work out. Coming from Providence College where it’s really X’s and O’s there and helped quite a bit. Playing those systems really helped. How hard it is and how hard [Nate] Leaman is on you, it’s so good for you at the end of the day.”
While Lysell and Merkulov certainly will get the top-6 looks at right wing based on their skill level and offensive production at the AHL level, Duran is the unique case of a player that might be better suited for the pro game than he ever was while still being a solid forward at the NCAA level. The high hockey IQ, the strong compete level and the detail-oriented game really mesh well with the requisite puck intelligence level and approach common through all of professional hockey and opened quite a few eyes in Providence last season when he posted two goals and four points in 11 games for the P-Bruins.
“When we got Riley he was fighting it in college a little bit,” said Mougenel. “His growth was really interesting to see because we came in with our eyes wide open for him. We let him play his game and he really flourished in that way for us.
“College is a little bit different because they only play on the weekends and their season is so short that every game means so much. There’s a lot vested in every play and it kind of took the handcuffs off him a little bit when he came to [the Providence Bruins]. He played free, let his skill take over and he was exceptional for us. I was a little surprised at his skill set, his separation, his hands and his shot, but he’s a player, and it’s the truth, that some guys’ games just translate better in the pros than they do in college. I think he’s one of those guys. Him coming at the end of the year is huge for him and it’s accelerated where he is in training camp, and I expect him to really push. I think he is a [Jim Montgomery] type of player and a Chris Kelly type of player, and I think they are going to enjoy him.”
There are other young veteran pro players that will be looking to make an impact, of course. Guys like Brett Harrison, Ryan Mast, John Farinacci and Frederic Brunet will be similarly looking to make an impactful impression at the Prospect Showcase against their peers from other NHL organizations. Even if it’s to simply move up on the prospect depth chart and get a taste of the Black and Gold this season rather than seriously compete for job in this training camp.
Then again, nobody was giving 19-year-old Poitras a strong chance of winding up on the NHL roster last season, and he did exactly that while carving out a pathway for this newest crop of B’s prospects looking to make a hockey name for themselves over the next few days.