Prospect Info: Bruins Prospect Thread Part V

[reffree]

I watched about 50 minutes of Czech-Russia exhibition game (Russia won 5-0) with an eye on Pastrnak...a few comments:

-- After the first period, the Czechs as a whole just looked awful. They were not making any plays with the puck, they were losing races to 90% of loose pucks...they just had very little going offensively. Russia was clearly the better team and it looked like David didn't have the highest quality of teammates (especially since Vrana skated on a different line).

-- With that said, I was a bit disappointed in Pastrnak. I expected him to stand out and be a consistent offensive threat and that was not the case. I counted 1 legit scoring chance where the puck deflected to him all alone in front of the net but he had trouble getting a handle on it and the D recovered to block it. Other than that, I counted maybe 2 shots on goal from him -- neither of which had much of a chance of going in.

-- The biggest asset I noticed was his passing. He made a number of nice diagonal cross ice passes breaking out of the zone to push the pace. He also made a nice play where he carried into the zone then stopped on the half boards and looked over his options (though the pass floated through the slot incomplete). There were also a couple instances where he made good tape-to-tape passes but either his teammates couldn't control them or they didn't have their stick on the ice to receive them (which reiterates my point on the lack of help from his teammates).

-- Defensively he seemed adequate. He was directly at fault for Russia's first goal as he fell down while retrieving the puck at his own blueline while under pressure which created a turnover and odd-man rush -- but he may have just lost an edge at an unfortunate time. Other than that, it looked like he back-checked OK and there were a couple instances where he sagged down in the defensive zone to pick a Russian forward's pocket as they were cutting towards the circle.

-- The biggest concern I had was his tendency to make seemingly blind passes toward the center of the ice. Almost all of them resulted in a turnover in the neutral zone (though none led directly to scoring chances). We all know Julien will not tolerate that but it is a habit that should be easy to fix.

Overall, I would've liked to see more out of him but hard to put too much stock in an exhibition game where his team was outmatched. Hopefully he (and the Czechs) show a bit more tomorrow when they take on Canada in an exhibition.

Agree with all you said, particulary with the bold. I was kinda expecting him to try to do to much with his dangle full speed and was happy to see he can slow down the play to give it to his teamate. But, he is really careless with his passes. Often he would make a good move to buy him time and space just to immediatly force a pass who isn't there. But like you said, the Czech were clearly the inferior team and he didn't had much to work with and even if he is our latest cool 1st rounder he is still an 18 yo on a match full of 19 yo, so expecting him to dominate might not be fair.

 

[Beesfan]

Thanks. I would assume Chia and co would be nudging (if not pushing) towards Omaha. More games better competition. I also believe Chia has an ownership group in the USHL so he certainly is familiar with the league

There was a recent article in which Don Sweeny was quoted as saying that the organization has "an opinion" of what would be best for his development. If that is the case, then it has to be the USHL.

Donato has basically said he will do what the organization wants. He also went to visit Omaha recently and really liked it.

Personally, I think it's a no-brainer. The kid needs a real development year, not another year playing against 15/16 year olds.

 

[BronxBruin]

Anders Bjork made today's cut during USA's U20 summer evaluation camp meaning he'll get a look in a few more exhibition games.

Corey Pronman of ESPN / Hockey Prospectus also named him as one of the standouts of the camp (Insider: http://insider.espn.go.com/nhl/stor...x_cid=InsiderTwitter_PRONMAN_USANJECSTANDOUTS ).

Bjork seems to be flying under the radar as a 5th round pick but it'd be a pleasant surprise if he was able to make the WJC roster.

Something possibly worth keeping an eye on.

 

[Beesfan]

Anders Bjork made today's cut during USA's U20 summer evaluation camp meaning he'll get a look in a few more exhibition games.

Corey Pronman of ESPN / Hockey Prospectus also named him as one of the standouts of the camp (Insider: http://insider.espn.go.com/nhl/stor...x_cid=InsiderTwitter_PRONMAN_USANJECSTANDOUTS ).

Bjork seems to be flying under the radar as a 5th round pick but it'd be a pleasant surprise if he was able to make the WJC roster.

Something possibly worth keeping an eye on.

The Bruins do a better job drafting in middle rounds when they don't target kids with ties to the organization. Griffith, Ferlin, Bjork, Cehlarik all look like very solid picks.

 

[hutch22]

He (Anders Bjork) made the cut on his 18th birthday!

 

[DKH]

The Bruins do a better job drafting in middle rounds when they don't target kids with ties to the organization. Griffith, Ferlin, Bjork, Cehlarik all look like very solid picks.

Strong at second rounders- knight, Koko, and Spooner are all second rounders

 

[Over the volcano]

Strong at second rounders- knight, Koko, and Spooner are all second rounders

Bergeron, Lucic and Krejci too.

 

[Beesfan]

I watched about 50 minutes of Czech-Russia exhibition game.

50 minutes of a webcast of a mid summer training camp exhibition game. That's a hockey fan!

 

[BronxBruin]

50 minutes of a webcast of a mid summer training camp exhibition game. That's a hockey fan!

Ha - I watched about 58 minutes of tonight's Canada-Czech game. A few comments:

-- Canada won 6-2 and that score was generous for the Czechs. I don't watch much junior hockey so maybe my expectations are inflated but the Czechs looked really bad again. The amount of unforced turnovers, terrible decisions, and just inability to complete simple plays was painful to watch.

-- Overall Pastrnak got off to a rough start (fanning on shots and flubbing passes) but stood out much more tonight -- though by no means would I say he dominated. He showed his speed and stickhandling a number of times -- though the plays usually just fizzled out as the D beared down. His passing didn't seem quite as crisp tonight but he did almost set up an early goal with a nice steal behind the net and feed to the slot. He scored on a 5-on-3 PP when the puck squirted to him in front of the net with the goalie down...give him credit for being in the right place at the right time and burying it.

-- He got some time at the left point on one power play but did not look too comfortable there as he whiffed on a one-timer and then fell down at his own blueline with 2 defenders on him (luckily the puck flipped into the bench or else a breakaway was imminent). After that he was moved to the left half wall on the PP where he looked much better.

-- It looked like he got one shift on an early PK and actually made two nice plays. But I didn't notice him on any other PKs after that.

In sum, I came away from this game with a better impression of Pastrnak's abilities -- though, based on what I saw against U20 competition the last two nights, the chances of him making the NHL this season seem like a longshot in my opinion.

The Czechs play Canada again on Friday afternoon but I definitely will not be watching that game.

 

[Beesfan]

Ha - I watched about 58 minutes of tonight's Canada-Czech game. A few comments:

-- Canada won 6-2 and that score was generous for the Czechs. I don't watch much junior hockey so maybe my expectations are inflated but the Czechs looked really bad again. The amount of unforced turnovers, terrible decisions, and just inability to complete simple plays was painful to watch.

-- Overall Pastrnak got off to a rough start (fanning on shots and flubbing passes) but stood out much more tonight -- though by no means would I say he dominated. He showed his speed and stickhandling a number of times -- though the plays usually just fizzled out as the D beared down. His passing didn't seem quite as crisp tonight but he did almost set up an early goal with a nice steal behind the net and feed to the slot. He scored on a 5-on-3 PP when the puck squirted to him in front of the net with the goalie down...give him credit for being in the right place at the right time and burying it.

-- He got some time at the left point on one power play but did not look too comfortable there as he whiffed on a one-timer and then fell down at his own blueline with 2 defenders on him (luckily the puck flipped into the bench or else a breakaway was imminent). After that he was moved to the left half wall on the PP where he looked much better.

-- It looked like he got one shift on an early PK and actually made two nice plays. But I didn't notice him on any other PKs after that.

In sum, I came away from this game with a better impression of Pastrnak's abilities -- though, based on what I saw against U20 competition the last two nights, the chances of him making the NHL this season seem like a longshot in my opinion.

The Czechs play Canada again on Friday afternoon but I definitely will not be watching that game.

These games are throwaways -- not real good for assessment purposes. I recall Seguin looked terrible in these games in the summer before he made the Bruins.

Hopefully Pasternak will break camp with his Swedish squad in a week or so. Those exhibition games will be a better indication of where he is at.

 

[GloryDaze4877]

There was room on those sub par bruins teams for Bergeron to crack the lineup with his 3 zone skill set. I'd be stunned of Pastrnak can do it with our present team but hey all the best to him !!

The "sub par" Bruins team that Bergeron broke camp with as a rookie wound up with 104 pts, tied for 3rd best record in the NHL that year. So there was really nothing sub par about it at all. After a year in PRO because of the lockout, the next two seasons (when Bergeron scored 70+ each season) the B's were bad, but Bergeron was already a fixture on the team by then.

Not saying that Pastrnak will make it on a deep B's team, but Bergeron did.

 

[GloryDaze4877]

These games are throwaways -- not real good for assessment purposes. I recall Seguin looked terrible in these games in the summer before he made the Bruins.

Hopefully Pasternak will break camp with his Swedish squad in a week or so. Those exhibition games will be a better indication of where he is at.

Agreed.

Also, if the Czech team is bad, it's even harder to judge individuals based on these results. His NHL teammates will not be nearly as outclasses as his CZE ones have been.

 

[reffree]

Ha - I watched about 58 minutes of tonight's Canada-Czech game. A few comments:

-- Canada won 6-2 and that score was generous for the Czechs. I don't watch much junior hockey so maybe my expectations are inflated but the Czechs looked really bad again. The amount of unforced turnovers, terrible decisions, and just inability to complete simple plays was painful to watch.

-- Overall Pastrnak got off to a rough start (fanning on shots and flubbing passes) but stood out much more tonight -- though by no means would I say he dominated. He showed his speed and stickhandling a number of times -- though the plays usually just fizzled out as the D beared down. His passing didn't seem quite as crisp tonight but he did almost set up an early goal with a nice steal behind the net and feed to the slot. He scored on a 5-on-3 PP when the puck squirted to him in front of the net with the goalie down...give him credit for being in the right place at the right time and burying it.

-- He got some time at the left point on one power play but did not look too comfortable there as he whiffed on a one-timer and then fell down at his own blueline with 2 defenders on him (luckily the puck flipped into the bench or else a breakaway was imminent). After that he was moved to the left half wall on the PP where he looked much better.

-- It looked like he got one shift on an early PK and actually made two nice plays. But I didn't notice him on any other PKs after that.

In sum, I came away from this game with a better impression of Pastrnak's abilities -- though, based on what I saw against U20 competition the last two nights, the chances of him making the NHL this season seem like a longshot in my opinion.

The Czechs play Canada again on Friday afternoon but I definitely will not be watching that game.

Totally agree and nothing bad against it, a 18yo late 1st round pick is not expected to make the team before 2-3 years. All the good to him if he beats the odds.

 

[DoubleAAAA]

Corey Pronman @coreypronman · 15h
In first liked: Morrissey-WPG, Fleury-CAR, Reinhart-BUF, Duclair-NYR, Hawryluk-FLA, Dickinson-DAL, Pastrnak-BOS.

Good to hear he's making a bit of an impression at least.

 

[Danton Heineken]

Strong at second rounders- knight, Koko, and Spooner are all second rounders

One of these things is not like the others.

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

I still think he's Brian Dobbin part 2
NHL minimum and not a penny more

I spent too long trying to figure this one out. I finally gave in and looked up Brian Dobbin.

This one is too obscure for a young Bruins fan at the the opposite end of the continent before internets brought us all so much closer together. Looking at just statistics, I'd agree with you.

 

[zaYG]

Agree with all you said, particulary with the bold. I was kinda expecting him to try to do to much with his dangle full speed and was happy to see he can slow down the play to give it to his teamate. But, he is really careless with his passes. Often he would make a good move to buy him time and space just to immediatly force a pass who isn't there. But like you said, the Czech were clearly the inferior team and he didn't had much to work with and even if he is our latest cool 1st rounder he is still an 18 yo on a match full of 19 yo, so expecting him to dominate might not be fair.

Lucic is one of the most careless blind passers I've ever seen and Claude still plays him with 1st line minutes.

 

[DoubleAAAA]

Lucic is one of the most careless blind passers I've ever seen and Claude still plays him with 1st line minutes.

The old Lucic "blind, behind the back, at your own blueline, right on the defenders stick" outlet pass.

 

[Stone Clode]

The old Lucic "blind, behind the back, at your own blueline, right on the defenders stick" outlet pass.

That's the move I pull in intramural floor hockey...except I pass it between my legs.

 

[Saxon Eric]

I spent too long trying to figure this one out. I finally gave in and looked up Brian Dobbin.

This one is too obscure for a young Bruins fan at the the opposite end of the continent before internets brought us all so much closer together. Looking at just statistics, I'd agree with you.

Life was good back in 1991

 

[GloryDaze4877]

One of these things is not like the others.

Yup, KoKo is Russian, the other two Canadian, you nailed it.

 

[DominicT]

Yup, KoKo is Russian, the other two Canadian, you nailed it.

Actually, Koko is Russian. The other two: 1 American and 1 Canadian.

 

[member 96824]

Yup, KoKo is Russian, the other two Canadian, you nailed it.

Your Jared Knight fan card has been revoked

 

[Beesfan]

Yup, KoKo is Russian, the other two Canadian, you nailed it.

How about: One is European and the other two are North American.

 

[DKH]

Yup, KoKo is Russian, the other two Canadian, you nailed it.

Joe, no free 'Battle Creek Basher' T shirt for you- Danny yes, and your wife gets the 'Knight Knighty' but your out