DKH
Awful takes/ Fraudulent Insider
- Feb 27, 2002
- 79,612
- 75,240
KEVIN PAUL DUPONT | SUNDAY HOCKEY NOTES
The Attilio Biasca who signed last weekend with the Bruins is the same Attilio Biasca who played regularly on a line last month with Swiss countrymen Nico Hischier and Timo Meier, a pair of top-six Devils forwards, at the IIHF World Championship.
The Bruins will begin to find out in September, upon Biasca reporting to rookie camp, if the plucky left winger can filch a spot among their varsity forwards. Ideally, he’d fill a second- or third-line role, no doubt a lofty goal for a 23-year-old who hasn’t played in North America since a three-year run in juniors with the Halifax Mooseheads that he wrapped up in spring 2023.
“Always around the net, always around the puck,” mused Dennis Bonvie, about to enter his fifth season as the Bruins’ director of pro scouting. “And at the end of the day, he’s playing with Hischier and Meier — and they wanted to play with him. That tells you a lot in itself. I don’t want to overmarket the player, but I think he’s a smart, two-way player who has those intangibles … can skate, competitive, with skill level and a nose for the net
“I like the odds. If he puts the work in, I like the odds.”
A willingness to get to the net, and make something happen there, was badly lacking among the Bruins forwards, particularly the top three lines, during this year’s Round 1 playoff loss to the Sabres. If the 6-foot-1-inch, 185-pound Biasca can gain a leg up on the roster competition upon arrival, presence and attitude around the blue paint will be the place to do it.
In other words, be the player he was at Worlds en route to Switzerland clinching silver for a second year in a row.
“You go out there and just want to play hockey and have fun,” said Biasca, talking by phone from Switzerland, explaining his approach with Hischier and Meier. “They told me to get open and everything, for sure. That sounds easier than it is, but I want the puck, too. That’s the kind of player I am. I’m not afraid to have the puck.”
Undrafted out of juniors, Biasca returned home after his time in Nova Scotia, where he captained the Mooseheads his final season. The last three seasons, he played in the Swiss league and helped Fribourg-Gotteron win the title this spring. He finished second in goal scoring with 15 over 45 regular-season games.
The Bruins signed Biasca to a two-year, two-way deal, a total of some $400,000 of it guaranteed, in the hope that he can transition back to the smaller ice sheet of North America and deliver some offensive pop. In today’s NHL economics, he’s a low-cost flyer with a potential high return.
Biasca has never been to Boston, but feels a connection after meeting former Bruins center David Krejci. After winning the Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011, Krejci spent a day with the trophy that summer near his hometown of Sternberk, Czechia. Biasca’s mother, Gabriela, grew up in the area and made sure 8-year-old Attilio made the trip to see the Cup. He keeps pictures of that day on his cellphone.
“I did a picture with [Krejci] and the Stanley Cup, too,” recalled Biasca. “And I told my mom that one day I want to bring that home, too.
“It’s pretty special now that I’ll be going to Boston, and that I’ll have a chance to play there.”
Biasca grew up in Zug, Switzerland, and is multilingual, fluent in English and German and able to understand French. He and coach Marco Sturm, proud son of Dingolfing, Germany, will be able review game tape in the language of their choosing.
Germany and Switzerland, on the world hockey stage, are longtime and intense rivals, at a level of discord approaching Canada and the United States. Just prior to the NHL shutting down for the Olympics, Sturm, once coach of the German national team, spoke good-naturedly about the “hate” the two countries have for each other when the puck drops.
“Ah, I know what’s coming!” said Biasca, laughing out loud when apprised of how Sturm framed the Swiss-German/cat-dog hockey relationship. “Yeah, that’s kind of our rivalry, for sure … it’s true. That’s awesome. But that’s just the hockey part.”
Biasca most likely begins the season with Providence, but like all kids with a dream, whether from Switzerland or Swansea, he’s not setting his sights on the AHL.
“For me, mentally, I want to start right away in the NHL,” he said. “I know I can do it and that’s what I’ve worked my whole life for, this chance. I really believe in myself, that I can do it.
“I know a lot of people don’t know me yet, but I think I’m going to surprise a lot of people.”
Attilio Biasca eager to show Bruins how fierce of a competitor he can be: ‘I’m not afraid to have the puck’
Coming off a strong showing for the Swiss at the World Championship, the forward signed a two-year, two-way deal with the Bruins. Ideally, he’d fill a second- or third-line role.The Attilio Biasca who signed last weekend with the Bruins is the same Attilio Biasca who played regularly on a line last month with Swiss countrymen Nico Hischier and Timo Meier, a pair of top-six Devils forwards, at the IIHF World Championship.
The Bruins will begin to find out in September, upon Biasca reporting to rookie camp, if the plucky left winger can filch a spot among their varsity forwards. Ideally, he’d fill a second- or third-line role, no doubt a lofty goal for a 23-year-old who hasn’t played in North America since a three-year run in juniors with the Halifax Mooseheads that he wrapped up in spring 2023.
“Always around the net, always around the puck,” mused Dennis Bonvie, about to enter his fifth season as the Bruins’ director of pro scouting. “And at the end of the day, he’s playing with Hischier and Meier — and they wanted to play with him. That tells you a lot in itself. I don’t want to overmarket the player, but I think he’s a smart, two-way player who has those intangibles … can skate, competitive, with skill level and a nose for the net
“I like the odds. If he puts the work in, I like the odds.”
A willingness to get to the net, and make something happen there, was badly lacking among the Bruins forwards, particularly the top three lines, during this year’s Round 1 playoff loss to the Sabres. If the 6-foot-1-inch, 185-pound Biasca can gain a leg up on the roster competition upon arrival, presence and attitude around the blue paint will be the place to do it.
In other words, be the player he was at Worlds en route to Switzerland clinching silver for a second year in a row.
“You go out there and just want to play hockey and have fun,” said Biasca, talking by phone from Switzerland, explaining his approach with Hischier and Meier. “They told me to get open and everything, for sure. That sounds easier than it is, but I want the puck, too. That’s the kind of player I am. I’m not afraid to have the puck.”
Undrafted out of juniors, Biasca returned home after his time in Nova Scotia, where he captained the Mooseheads his final season. The last three seasons, he played in the Swiss league and helped Fribourg-Gotteron win the title this spring. He finished second in goal scoring with 15 over 45 regular-season games.
The Bruins signed Biasca to a two-year, two-way deal, a total of some $400,000 of it guaranteed, in the hope that he can transition back to the smaller ice sheet of North America and deliver some offensive pop. In today’s NHL economics, he’s a low-cost flyer with a potential high return.
Biasca has never been to Boston, but feels a connection after meeting former Bruins center David Krejci. After winning the Stanley Cup with the Bruins in 2011, Krejci spent a day with the trophy that summer near his hometown of Sternberk, Czechia. Biasca’s mother, Gabriela, grew up in the area and made sure 8-year-old Attilio made the trip to see the Cup. He keeps pictures of that day on his cellphone.
“I did a picture with [Krejci] and the Stanley Cup, too,” recalled Biasca. “And I told my mom that one day I want to bring that home, too.
“It’s pretty special now that I’ll be going to Boston, and that I’ll have a chance to play there.”
Biasca grew up in Zug, Switzerland, and is multilingual, fluent in English and German and able to understand French. He and coach Marco Sturm, proud son of Dingolfing, Germany, will be able review game tape in the language of their choosing.
Germany and Switzerland, on the world hockey stage, are longtime and intense rivals, at a level of discord approaching Canada and the United States. Just prior to the NHL shutting down for the Olympics, Sturm, once coach of the German national team, spoke good-naturedly about the “hate” the two countries have for each other when the puck drops.
“Ah, I know what’s coming!” said Biasca, laughing out loud when apprised of how Sturm framed the Swiss-German/cat-dog hockey relationship. “Yeah, that’s kind of our rivalry, for sure … it’s true. That’s awesome. But that’s just the hockey part.”
Biasca most likely begins the season with Providence, but like all kids with a dream, whether from Switzerland or Swansea, he’s not setting his sights on the AHL.
“For me, mentally, I want to start right away in the NHL,” he said. “I know I can do it and that’s what I’ve worked my whole life for, this chance. I really believe in myself, that I can do it.
“I know a lot of people don’t know me yet, but I think I’m going to surprise a lot of people.”
