After a training camp that feels like it went by in a flash, the 2023-24 regular season begins Wednesday night (Oct. 11) at the TD Garden for the Boston Bruins against the Chicago Blackhawks. Despite only one game being played, it was a busy week for the Black and Gold.
It’s time to fire up the latest Bruins 3 Up, 3 Down with plenty to breakdown for the NHL club and some of the prospects in college.
Stock Up: Bruins Go With Youth Movement With Poitras & Beecher
Following the elimination at the hands of the Florida Panthers last April, general manager (GM) Don Sweeney spoke about wanting to add some youth into the lineup this upcoming season. After an interesting training camp and preseason that saw a couple of prospects make the case to be on the Opening Night roster, the Bruins will begin the season with two prospects at center.
Matthew Poitras, whose situation is tough because he’s not eligible for the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL), and John Beecher both earned center spots with Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle. Boston has nine games to make a decision on Poitras on whether or not he stays or returns to the Guelph Storm in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for this season. Beecher is centering the fourth line and he had a strong camp beating out veteran Patrick Brown for the spot.
Stock Down: Jakub Zboril
Sweeney’s first draft pick as GM at the 2015 Entry Draft was defenseman Jakub Zboril, 13th overall. His development has taken longer than the Bruins would have hoped it would and after holding onto him last season in Boston as the seventh defenseman, the Bruins put him on waivers and he cleared, which means he’ll report to Providence to start the season.
There is a logjam of left-shot defensemen ahead of him, but entering his eighth season since that draft, it’s been a disappointment that he has not been able to crack the NHL roster. Right now, prospect Mason Lohrei has passed him on the depth chart and would most likely be called up to Boston before Zboril.
Stock Up: Bruins Prospects Have Strong Opening NCAA Weekend
College hockey kicked off the 2023-24 season on Oct. 6 and 7 and some of the Bruins prospects made immediate impacts. Boston College started the season with a 2-1 overtime win over defending National Champion Quinnipiac on Oct. 7 and Boston prospect Andre Gasseau got the scoring started with a shorthanded goal in the first period. Gasseau and Oskar Jellvik both got time on the first power play unit for the Eagles.
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Providence College split a series with the University of Michigan on the road to begin the season and two Bruins prospects played a big part in winning the opener on Oct. 6. Forward Riley Duran, who had a strong sophomore season for the Friars, scored a goal in the 4-2 victory with goalie Phillip Svedback making 30 saves. One night later in a 5-4 loss, Duran again scored a goal and Svedback made 32 saves. It was a good start to the season for the Black and Gold’s two prospects.
Stock Down: Calgary Flames Claim A.J. Greer Off of Waivers
One of the Bruins’ bottom-six forwards who had his ups and downs in camp and preseason was A.J. Greer. In the end, he was a casualty of the numbers game and Boston placed him on waivers and he was claimed by the Calgary Flames. In the end, Boston needed this to happen because of the contract problems they have and this will not end up being a huge loss, but you have to admire the grit and tough presence he brought to each shift. Good for him to get a shot in the NHL as he has earned it.
Stock Up: Danton Heinen
When the Bruins announced their roster ahead of the season-opener against Chicago, Danton Heinen was not part of it, nor was he part of the cuts. He was in camp on a Professional Tryout Agreement (PTO) and still doesn’t have a contract due to the numbers game and limited cap space. He is remaining in Boston and being patient as the team asked him to be while they try and make room for him with a contract. Heinen would be a good bottom-six option for Montgomery if someone went down with an injury as he has a little better offensive upside than some other options that are available to the second-year coach.
Stock Down: Mason Lohrei Sent to Providence
Jimmy Murphy of Boston Hockey Now recently reported that before the roster to begin the season was announced, Sweeney was working the phones trying to find a way to create a spot for Lohrei. He was unsuccessful and the young defenseman will begin the season in the AHL.
That’s too bad because he did everything he could to earn a roster spot. He played really well paired with Charlie McAvoy and showed that he is NHL-ready with his impressive skill set as an offensive defenseman and his strong play in the defensive zone. It’s only a matter of time before Lohrei is up in Boston, but he deserved to be there on opening night against the Blackhawks.
Training camp and the preseason flew by and it is good to see Poitras and Beecher on the roster as the two prospects certainly earned their way there. Now the question is, can they do it on a nightly basis against NHL players, something they didn’t always go up against in the preseason? We will find out soon enough.
