See PHOTOS from Day Two of Bruins Rookie Development Camp.
I mentioned that I was attending the Bruins rookie development camp on-ice session today, and it resulted in a very slow day on Ultimate Boston posting. Luckily, not much happened in the sports world except for Bosh & Wade teaming up in Miami and Spain taking down Germany in the semifinals. And of course, the Sox are getting spanked again by the Rays tonight. So why don't we look at the bright side -- the Bruins rookies look very promising.
The young B's took the ice today after doing rigorous off-ice swimming workouts earlier in the day. Their legs must have felt like jello, but you wouldn't have known it from their performance. Among several great players in the bunch, four guys stood out to me. Joe Colborne, Ryan Spooner, Tommy Cross, and our beloved Tyler Seguin.
I know what everyone's question is. How did Seguin look? To answer bluntly, he was impressive. However, he wasn't the best player on the ice. And if the hype wasn't all there, I may not have included him as standing out. But since I kept a keen eye on #57 (his camp jersey number), I saw plenty of flashes of brilliance. He's a great skater with explosive speed. He can get around the edge on defensemen. He threaded the needle on some passes. And he finishes breakaways. He sniped a few times. Overall good performance. What does he need to work on? Battles. He was worked off the puck a few times in one-on-ones, two-on-twos, and three-on-threes. But it was his first ever NHL workout on ice. I'll cut him some slack. He was impressive.
Tommy Cross. Boston College defenseman and one of the B's top defensive prospects. One thing popped into my mind as soon as I saw this kid playing: future captain. Cross and Seguin will be captains of the Boston Bruins together some day. I'd put money on it. Cross is a strong, fundamentally sound defenseman. Very few forwards beat him in one-on-one situations. He also possesses a good shot from the point. I'm excited about seeing Tommy Cross once he gets to the big stage, even if it's a few years down the road.
Most Bruins fans have heard the hype about Joe Colborne. Big guy, comparable to Joe Thornton. Well, to say the least, Colborne impressed me today as well. Big strong guy, very difficult to be knocked off the puck. Fearless around the front of the net. He really does play a strikingly similar style to that of former Bruins star Joe Thornton. Colborne most likely won't vie for a spot as a center on this year's Bruins squad (his natural position is center), but he did work out for parts of today's session as a winger. Very bright future for Colborne.
While these three guys made great first impressions on me, none made a stronger first impression than Bruins third pick (45th overall) Ryan Spooner. Spooner is a center by nature, but he worked out on the wing today -- which is what Boston needs. The first comparison that comes to mind when I watch Spooner play is Martin St. Louis. Small, lightning quick, phenomenal puck skills. And let me tell you something about Ryan Spooner. This kid can bury the puck. Absolutely a pure goal scorer. It's pretty unlikely that he'll make the Bruins roster this season, but he is a very flashy kid and I'm super-excited to get the chance to see him play moving forward.
Those four guys stood out to me, but plenty of other players were impressive as well. Defenseman Marc Cantin won the breakaway competition at the end of practice, firing several shots off the posts and crossbar into the net. Displayed a great knack for scoring. Defenseman Yuri Alexandrov also had an impressive day, playing solid defense and shutting down his forward counterparts. 32nd draft selection Jared Knight (center) also worked out solely on the wing, leading me to believe that the Bruins are not afraid to make some centers into wingers to fit the mold of the team. Knight looked solid and comfortable at the wing position. For those wondering where Tyler Seguin will play on the Bruins line sheet, he played exclusively as a center today.
It was a very intriguing day and a very bright sign for the future of the Boston Bruins. Camp will continue all week and conclude with their final session on Saturday. Will Tyler Seguin make the squad come October like everyone is expecting? Will guys like Spooner, Colbourne, Cross, and Knight challenge for roster spots? It's a long offseason to decide those things, but rookie development camp at Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington is the first step in that process.
DRob, thanks for the great in depth report. It's very nice to be interested in NHL Rookie camp this time of year when most attention is on feeding Lebron's ego and the pennant races. Stealing from NESN, I'll call it a nice summer cooler!
ReplyDeleteOnce Lebron signs poor ESPN will then have to move on and send Rachel Nichols to once again stake out Favre to see if the bread he's eating spells out comeback, because we know he's so undecided and never one to like his team to beg him to play :) ok, my cynical side has left, back to our regular programming, I too am looking forward to seeing how this Bruins team and young prospects take shape. The Sox have rebuilt their farm system during the Theo regime as he promised and I get the feeling that maybe the Bruins are trying to head that direction. Great reporting DRob!
I sure hope we don't get another summer filled with Brett Favre, but I know that's inevitable!! But yes, I'm so excited about this Bruins franchise. Watching these kids play, it's very reassuring. Like I said, Seguin wasn't even the best player on the ice yesterday. That's saying something about how many great players we have. Yes, Seguin WILL be the best player of the bunch I believe, but there are plenty of guys right there with him to get excited about. It makes me a little less fearful of the outcome if Chiarelli does trade Marc Savard. Now that I've seen these young forwards play live, I wouldn't be too upset. Because any roster spots opening up for these kids could only be good down the road.
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