The Bruins have had a number of stars don the Spoked-B, however there are others who followers cling to because the quintessential gamers to grace the Black and Gold.
Boston on Monday traded Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators in alternate for ahead Mark Kastelic, goaltender Joonas Korpisalo and a first-round decide on this 12 months’s draft. The deal marked the tip of the goalie tandem with Jeremy Swayman, who ascends to the No. 1 position for the Bruins, and it gave common supervisor Don Sweeney and his workforce extra cap house to work with within the offseason.
Korpisalo profiles as an honest backup for Swayman, however Kastelic could possibly be the sneaky seize of the commerce. The 25-year-old didn’t gentle up the stat sheet throughout his three-year tenure with the Senators; he scored 14 objectives and recorded 11 assists for 25 factors in 144 video games.
Nonetheless, an vital stat final season was his 54.5% faceoff win mark and he’s received 56.3% of his faceoffs in his profession. In distinction, Pavel Zacha and John Beecher have been the one Bruins who received over 54% of their faceoffs final season. It’s why Beecher turned a key playoff contributor and in addition what led to the B’s troubles within the postseason.
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Kastelic and Beecher each can play middle or on the wing, so the previous Ottawa ahead’s seemingly placement on the fourth line shouldn’t deter Beecher’s improvement. And at 6-foot-3 and 210 kilos, Kastelic ought to present the bodily presence that was a lot wanted in opposition to the Florida Panthers within the second spherical of the Stanley Cup playoffs. His youth is also a plus in comparison with Pat Maroon, whose physicality made him a fan favourite amongst Bruins followers.
The middle additionally just isn’t all present as he’s logged loads of fights in his NHL profession. It shouldn’t take the TD Backyard crowd too lengthy to understand Kastelic’s physicality and willingness to drop the gloves.
Kastelic additionally has private connections to Boston. His father Ed Kastelic performed for the Hartford Whalers through the peak of their rivalry in opposition to the Bruins. Mark Kastelic’s grandfather Pat Stapleton donned the Spoked-B from 1961-63.
Boston could have sufficient flexibility so as to add extra to the roster when free company begins subsequent Monday, and the acquisition of Kastelic may trace at buying extra grit that would show priceless within the postseason.
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