A revamped Boston Bruins roster is getting near the beginning of the NHL season subsequent week. Boston opens on the highway in opposition to the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Oct. 8.
Though key offseason acquisitions Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov are anticipated to instantly influence the franchise, a number of younger gamers within the group are poised to take the Bruins to the subsequent degree with their development within the 2024-25 season.
Listed below are 4 gamers to control this season:
Matthew Poitras
Poitras is wholesome and bulked up through the offseason by including greater than 10 kilos of muscle. His playmaking poise and imaginative and prescient ought to prime him to make a authentic run at a top-six spot on the roster. His versatility at middle and wing would additionally give Bruins coach Jim Montgomery the posh of shifting Poitras up and down the lineup, permitting the teenager time to construct chemistry together with his teammates. The 20-year-old ahead earned a spot on the NHL roster final season after an impressive coaching camp. Poitras suited up in 33 video games for Boston, tallied 5 objectives and 10 assists, and averaged 13:24 minutes of ice time earlier than shoulder surgical procedure lower brief his marketing campaign.
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Mason Lohrei
Lohrei brings a particular mix of offense and skating means to the Bruins’ blue line. The 23-year-old tallied 4 objectives and 9 assists in 41 video games for Boston final season, and his emergence within the postseason ought to solely give the younger defenseman extra confidence heading into what ought to be his first full NHL season. He is an effective puck-moving defenseman, which ought to permit him to see extra time on the facility play this season.
John Beecher
Like Poitras, Beecher made the Bruins roster out of coaching camp final season and proved to be a helpful member of Boston’s fourth line. He amassed seven objectives and three assists in 52 video games for the Black and Gold, however his biggest asset was his measurement and pace. With the addition of Mark Kastelic within the offseason, Beecher will most probably transfer from middle to wing, which ought to truly assist the 6-foot-3, 216-pound ahead’s sport. A bodily, imposing fourth line has been a staple for the Bruins since Shawn Thornton, Daniel Paille and Gregory Campbell fashioned the Merlot Line. Beecher, Kastelic and Max Jones ought to give the Bruins that hard-nosed, bodily checking line they’ve turn out to be accustomed to.
Brandon Bussi
With the continued Jeremy Swayman contract negotiations saga nonetheless hanging over the Bruins because the common season opener]attracts nearer and Joonas Korpisalo being named the Recreation 1 starter, Bussi is in line to turn out to be the backup goaltender to start the season. In three preseason video games, Bussi has stopped 51 of 58 pictures. One of many issues surrounding the 26-year-old goaltender is his rebound management. Nevertheless, as Bruins followers have discovered all through the years, goaltending coach Bob Essensa has a transparent monitor document of mentoring Bruins’ backstops to profitable tenures in Boston for twenty years, and rebound management typically comes with expertise. Bussi posted a 23-10-5-1 document with the Windfall Bruins final season with a 2.67 goals-against common and a .913 save proportion.
