Coach Joe Sacco praised the speedy forward for his effectiveness on the forecheck, among other things.
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Cole Koepke is having fun.
The first-year Bruin is enjoying his first extended stay in the NHL after earning a varsity roster spot with an impressive camp.
Now 25 games into the season (he had 26 career NHL games on his résumé coming into the year), Koepke has developed into a vital cog on the fourth line.
After spending much of the last four seasons with Syracuse (the Lightning’s top affiliate), where he caught the eye of the Bruins’ scouting staff, he was offered a deal when free agency opened in July.
“It’s good. It’s definitely a lot more of a busy schedule than I’m used to,” Koepke said after the optional skate Monday morning at Warrior Arena. “You play a similar amount of games in the AHL, but it’s the travel every other day, different cities, and the plane rides. So that’s been a little bit of an adjustment, but it’s been awesome.
“This is an awesome organization. We’re treated really well and the guys in the room are awesome. So, just having a ton of fun and enjoying every part of it”
Koepke’s latest strong effort came in
Sunday’s 6-3 win over the Canadiens when he used his speed to sustain a steady forecheck. He also set up
Charlie Coyle’s second goal and capped the game with an empty-netter.
“The first thing that jumps out is his speed,” said coach
Joe Sacco. “It’s something that he brings to our team that when he’s skating the way he can, he’s effective on the forecheck. Even last night, we score a goal because of a reload. It was a good forecheck by the line, but he had a good reload coming back to the neutral zone, we turn a puck over. We ended up going back and getting a goal from it.
“So the biggest thing for me is his speed and how effective it can be when he’s utilizing it.”
At 6 feet 1 inch and 203 pounds, Koepke has good size and strength. Coupled with his speed, it makes him a difficult player to go against.
“When you look at him, he’s a straight-line player, right?” said Sacco. “If he’s supporting the puck the way he can, coming out of our defensive zone on our breakouts, coming through the middle of the ice, he puts a lot of pressure on the opposition’s defensemen. They start to unnerve a little bit, and that’s when he’s at his best. And when you do use that speed, you have to come up with some pucks as well on the forecheck. And that’s below the goal line. Good stick, being physical, being hard on pucks.
“You don’t need to necessarily put people through the wall or anything like that, but it’s just being hard on pucks below the goal line. And we’re starting to see that a little bit more with him. And [the fourth line] had a great start to the year, and sometimes over 82 games, there’s ups and downs, but it looks like he’s back on track again.”
Koepke, 26, who has
five goals and 10 points on the season, deflected credit for setting up Coyle’s goal that gave the Bruins a 5-1 lead in the opening minute of the third period.
“I was just trying to get back to our zone and saw their D-men jumping up the wall and they made a pass, and I was able to kind of break it up and we had a quick three-on-two,” he said. “Freddy [
Trent Frederic] was driving back post and took the D with him, and C’s just got open and I gave it to him, and he made a phenomenal play from there.”
