Who the hell is Justin Brazeau?

[PatriceBergeronFan]

Opposing tough defensemen are rather shy when he is in the crease.

Excellent find. A long term bottom 6 piece for Boston.

 

[SImpelton]

Opposing tough defensemen are rather shy when he is in the crease.

Excellent find. A long term bottom 6 piece for Boston.

Wouldn't go quite that far JUST yet. I'd say that the role is his to lose. And I hope he continues his strong form at least through the playoffs. After that, he'll get his chances and go as far as he earns the right to go.

 

[Over the volcano]

Maybe but I can show you highlight reel goals from other 4th liners. Gregory Campbell had a banger of a 3 on 5 shortie, he was still a bottom 6 forward. Shawn Thorrnton had 11 goals one year, but he was definitely a 4th liner. He was just a well balanced 4th liner with some legit skill to go with his pugilistic talent.

It's not an insult to describe a guy as having bottom 6 talent at the highest level of his chosen profession. Those guys are still NHL players. They're at the highest level of the sport and they belong there. They make good money. And they often contribute a lot more than their slot on the depth chart indicates when playoffs come around and the top 2 lines get smothered.

Sure - but he's also like 20 games into his NHL career. Might be worth giving him some time before saying he's just another big body bottom 6 guy to park in front of the net. He's shown he's got more than just size and hockey sense.

 

[SImpelton]

Sure - but he's also like 20 games into his NHL career. Might be worth giving him some time before saying he's just another big body bottom 6 guy to park in front of the net. He's shown he's got more than just size and hockey sense.

Dude we're talking about a guy who this time last year was seen as an AHL guy. Improving to the level where he's being looked at as a stable (edit: bottom) 6 guy is a HUGE step up for him. Calling him a bottom 6 forward is not a knock on Brazeau -- not at all. Not considering where he was 12 months ago.

Also the fact that he's 20 games into his NHL career is why I'm adding a lump of caution to the mix. We've all seen guys like Byron Bitz sneak into the league for a couple years, look pretty good in a bottom 6 role for awhile, but just... not stick longterm.

I hope brazeau doesn't follow that trajectory, and early signs look good, but the lack of sample size is why I am leaving myself some room to be disappointed and not rushing to proclaim the guy as the next Dustin Byfuglien just yet

 

[Dicky113]

He’s been really good. He’s huge and he’s pretty fast which is a scary combination.

 

[HandshakeLineRespect]

Another bird brain move by Dufus to let this guy go. Their professional scouting has proven to be some of the worst mismanagement in modern sports history.

 

[Mick Riddleton]

Another bird brain move by Dufus to let this guy go. Their professional scouting has proven to be some of the worst mismanagement in modern sports history.

According to Pronman the Bruins have the worst talent pool in the league; we should call him Wrongman.

 

[Bounces R Way]

He's a great fit for the Bruins. The things he does well are mostly what Boston builds their success on. Own the boards, get to the slot, retrieve pucks down low and get it out to the point. Great hands on the big fella.

 

[Over the volcano]

Dude we're talking about a guy who this time last year was seen as an AHL guy. Improving to the level where he's being looked at as a stable (edit: bottom) 6 guy is a HUGE step up for him. Calling him a bottom 6 forward is not a knock on Brazeau -- not at all. Not considering where he was 12 months ago.

Also the fact that he's 20 games into his NHL career is why I'm adding a lump of caution to the mix. We've all seen guys like Byron Bitz sneak into the league for a couple years, look pretty good in a bottom 6 role for awhile, but just... not stick longterm.

I hope brazeau doesn't follow that trajectory, and early signs look good, but the lack of sample size is why I am leaving myself some room to be disappointed and not rushing to proclaim the guy as the next Dustin Byfuglien just yet

Allllll I'm saying is that he's got better speed and hands than he's been given credit for. The goal last night makes that pretty clear.

He's already shown that he's more than just a big body to park in front of the net. But he can certainly do that too.

 

[crowi]

Justin Brazeau is perseverance.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

To be fair, it's not like he gave the Leafs organization any reason to keep him around.

He had only 5 points in 22 games for the Marlies

 

[Over the volcano]

To be fair, it's not like he gave the Leafs organization any reason to keep him around.

He had only 5 points in 22 games for the Marlies

The Athletic article gets into what a mess that COVID season was for the Marlies. 48 different players saw the ice for them and it was only a 35 game season. He spent more days in isolation than he did playing games.

 

[barkovcanfinnish]

I gotta hand it to Boston. They always seem to end up with guys who go under the radar and break out in a big way. Great scouting and development over there. He’s a small bit of proof to that.

It really pains me to say all of this

 

[24 others]

He’s a small bit of proof to that.

I see what you did there.

 

[4ORRBRUIN]

Great story. Another Leafs L.

I actually can't believe how many fantastic players have gone through the Leafs system and have blossomed elsewhere. Guys that would fix their problems, too.

Forget Rask. If the Leafs didn't sign Tavares, and instead kept Verhaeghe, Marchment, Kadri and Hyman around? Plus Brazeau?

Cap wise - Tavares covers Kadri + Hyman with some change. Verhaeghe instead of Bertuzzi covers that. Crazy.

Verhaeghe-Matthews-Nylander
Marner-Kadri-Hyman
Brazeau-Jarnkrok-Marchment

Hell of a forward corps. They would have flattened Boston. It'd be sad if it wasn't so funny how often this keeps happening.

How do you know what the Bruins line would have been if if if oh great one lol

And forget Rask? lol

How many series would the leafs won with Rask as the goalie? Forget Rask?

 

[Stringer Bell]

Great story. Another Leafs L.

I actually can't believe how many fantastic players have gone through the Leafs system and have blossomed elsewhere. Guys that would fix their problems, too.

Forget Rask. If the Leafs didn't sign Tavares, and instead kept Verhaeghe, Marchment, Kadri and Hyman around? Plus Brazeau?

Cap wise - Tavares covers Kadri + Hyman with some change. Verhaeghe instead of Bertuzzi covers that. Crazy.

Verhaeghe-Matthews-Nylander
Marner-Kadri-Hyman
Brazeau-Jarnkrok-Marchment

Hell of a forward corps. They would have flattened Boston. It'd be sad if it wasn't so funny how often this keeps happening.

You're missing Dakota Joshua.

 

[nbwingsfan]

Great player who I believe was a dance teacher before finding his passion for hockey again

 

[HockeyWooot]

Lohrei, Beecher, Brazeau.

Never heard of them , how do the Bruins keep churning out players like this?!

 

[McDrailers]

Growlers legend.

 

[WarriorofTime]

Opposing tough defensemen are rather shy when he is in the crease.

Excellent find. A long term bottom 6 piece for Boston.

Will be 27 year old UFA after 2025. May be able to re-sign him for very cheap, but it's likely his only opportunity to "cash in" if he has a solid season so likely would want to at least put out feels.

And of course, given age, possible he could just not play that well and fall back out of league entirely.

 

[2014nyr]

was he like installing kitchen cabinets 6 months ago?

 

[Rude Dog]

A little too much hype for what this guy is. But good for him not giving up. Hope he proves people wrong

 

[Over the volcano]

Between him and Wortherspoon the Bruins are killing it in the 26 year old rookie market.

 

[BruinLVGA]

Lohrei, Beecher, Brazeau.

Never heard of them , how do the Bruins keep churning out players like this?!

The Bruins have almost a complete allergy to tanking. So, they have to find jewels where they can. Bergeron was a 2nd round find, Marchand 3rd round, for example.

 

[Mad-Marcus]

Brazeau/High Hockey IQ > Nick Ritchie/Low Hockey IQ There will always be a place in someone bottom 6 for a smart, driven player with less than ideal wheels. He could give you 10 PP goals/yr(given opportunity) and another 10 on 5vs5. It's not that unrealistic.
Guards the puck well, soft hands, pretty good vision. He wouldn't be the 1st late bloomer to pass through Boston. (Mike Knuble)