Zdeno Chara HOME-RUN hire for Bruins | Poke The Bear
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Once again, we are joined by the esteemed, the ever knowledgeable, the star, they say, of the hockey show on 95 the sports hub, Tyanna Sidden. What’s going on? What is happening, man? How’s it going today? Doing well, Ty. Uh, hockey is in full swing along with seemingly everything else in Boston sports. The Red Sox are in the playoffs. The Patriots stink, but they’re playing. Celtics got media day right around the corner. It’s it’s a busy time of the year, but dare I say also uh the most fun time of the year. It’s hectic, but four teams playing a bunch of four teams in the zeitgeist going right now. It’s a blast. And thank Christ the Red Sox are in the playoffs. I mean, October and April are like the two I I think personally the two best months of the sports year because you have you have you have either the playoffs starting in baseball and then the NBA and the NHL starting in in October and football is getting like real. September is always like a weird month for football in my opinion. Like bad teams could be good and good teams could be bad. The games aren’t that like they’re everyone’s like still in training camp essentially. Right. Right. And then, you know, April, it’s it’s the inverse. You have the playoffs beginning for the other ones and then baseball starting up again. And then you have the NFL draft. So, like March Madness, yeah, the Frozen 4. Right now, you got the RDER Cup, which like I got no idea how that works, but sure, people like it. I don’t know what’s going on there, but that’s all right. Um, but yeah, know it’s a great I believe it’s at I believe it’s at Pirates Cove this year. I don’t know if you saw that. Oh, hell yeah. Pockkins is going to be crazy. I think people are double pocking over the pancake man and like it’s a big show. Like you can’t even get can’t even get in and get your French toast which the game’s the game but yeah M’s menu but better you know. Exactly. That’s true. That’s all people are saying. Uh Ty, we do have some hockey to talk about. We’ve got two preseason games in the books. We got a third one that we’re recording this on Saturday morning. Um so we won’t have anything from that. But, uh, you look at that roster, it’s a lot of like either pretty established guys, some of the fourth line guys, or guys that seem to be on the fringes that aren’t the Lysels and the um, you know, trying to think other guys like Potra, those types of players. So, yeah, Minton, right? So, we won’t see uh, we won’t be talking about that game. We’ll have plenty to talk about that next week. But uh in terms of other stuff, tangible news to talk about, I think it’s good to start off with is Denochara officially being back with the Bruins. Gets the official title of hockey operations advisor and mentor. Um spoke a little bit on Friday about it. Says he’s excited to, you know, both help the current roster be kind of that liaison between the players and the coaching staff. Also help with development of of younger players as well. Work with guys like David Posanak and Charlie Makavoy as that next leadership group. And uh I think it’s you you look at what Char has obviously done in Cross’s career and this is usually when like you have like a an established legend of a sport come back to a team. There’s usually like that skepticism, right, of like all right, what fake role is this, right? Like what what does this person do? And they’re just posted up. They’re in like the luxury suites. They get, you know, they get their swag. They get a nice little quarter zip. They’re happy with the team, but how much do you really take away with it, right? Like like that’s Yeah. Yeah. Like Tuka is like you know essentially what do you say like after he got that job he’s like I’m just there to like shake hands at the golf course. Yeah. Which is what he’s done. Like that that is what he’s done. He’s stayed true to that you know he has no interest in being in hockey ops. You know so so there’s that like you know like David Ortiz I think has like a technical title with the Red Sox but like he’s just I think his title is just be David Ortiz and show up every once in a while which like is more than the right to do. Like he can do whatever the hell he wants. Like that’s usually what a lot of these jobs given out to these legends are. But I do think you look at Char’s body of work. And also just the fact that that guy throws himself into anything he wants to do, right? He’s like, I’m just going to become a marathoner and he’s now like running four marathons a week casually. He’s doing triathlons. I was talking to Evan about this. I’m like, if if Ziden Charo is like uh I’m gonna be an astronaut, dude would be like orbiting Neptune in like by December, right? So, like, so I do think this is encouraging both for the the Bruins. I think it’s a good fit for Charara, and it’s exactly the kind of guy I think you want to have, and even if it’s a pretty broad role, uh, they could use his help in all those different categories as they kind of go through this next chapter of the franchise. Yeah, I think with Char like coming into coming into the organization, like this was always going to be his path, right? like the Bruins I think when he retired outright said like when he wants a job we’ll figure it out, right? And sure enough, it it took about 6 months, but they figured it out. It this is this is what his role is going to be. This is how he’s going to work with the team. Um I like the role. I like it. I think it’s a I think it’s a good idea. You know, I think it’s interesting like hearing that he’s going to be a bridge between the players and the coaching staff. like does that speak to kind of the missteps that they feel they may have made in the past, you know, with Jim Montgomery or Joe Sacko or Bruce Cassie, whoever it is, right? That like you didn’t have strong enough communication there and you you want another party who is, you know, younger like Marco Sturm like but is not the head coach, right? and it’s not an assistant coach, but can be like that guy that you go to when you’re having a hard time or you you got to know how to tackle this situation or that situation. Like like I I know that there are there are times when the organization has tried to ask other players on the team to give a helping hand to a younger player and they can do that. Sure. But like do they have the same cache or resume as Zenoara? No, they don’t. Right? Like few do, right? And so to have that as another sounding board, another, you know, another person to talk to, to lean on, like I think it’s huge for them, right? And they clearly love that core and that era and rightfully so. It it’s the most success they’ve had in the modern era. Uh probably should have had another cup or two to go with it, but you know, be that as it may, like you loved the culture you had during that era, right? and and to bring in somebody that’s not a knock on Adam McQuade or Chris Kelly, but to bring in the captain of that era, I I think just carries a bit more weight, right? And this is the start of of what could be a a I think a lengthy career for Char uh in this realm. I I think, you know, to your point, like he can do anything he wants, you know, like I love the story about how he was injured and during the three weeks that he was out, this is when he was playing for the Bruins, during the three weeks or whatever that he was out, he got his real estate license cuz he just wanted to like like he is one of these guys that I just feel like, you know, can do anything they want to do. And if he wants to be a team president, I think he’ll be a team president. If he wants to be a GM, I think he’ll be a GM. like like he feels like that kind of guy, you know, for this organization if he wants to be that guy. And you know, you mentioned like like Tuka and and his role and and what Charus could be. Like I go back to when they brought Neie in. They brought Neie in as a vice president. His job the first three years was basically being a figurehead. It was basically being like a, you know, look at look at him in the press box cheering like a fan, you know. Yeah. Yeah. Like and then it became, oh, he’s the team president. like, oh no, he has a lot of say and so I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s kind of the trajectory that Char is on now. Is he going to be the team president? I don’t know, but I think he could be. But like I think it really comes back to how involved he wants to be, right? And and he is somebody to your point, he doesn’t halfass anything. And so I’m just curious like what like what his aspirations are, you know, say two years from now, what what are they, right? And that’s that’s something I’m I’m dying to know and we’re going to see it obviously play out in real time, but like given that resume you’re talking about and given that what he’s done in his career, like this is a really intriguing hire in my opinion. Yeah. It’s almost like Char’s like, you know, some people are on like a plane and they like brush up on like a different language as like a hobby like go and like do a lingo like Char like built builds like Rosetta Stone. He like built the software for it. Like he just had free time. He learned coding on like a flight flight back to Slovakia. But no, like I I feel like he’s going to be such a great resource in terms of like as much as there are like some familiar faces on this team, right? The Makavoys, the Posternox, the even like Mako Storm who’s been here before, like you still got a lot of guys that are in uncharted territory, right? Like we all know that like Posternok and Makavoy are like the deacto leaders, but still there’s a lot on your plate going into a year. We saw how much like I think it was not a burden but there was a clear weight that I think Brad Marian felt right taking on that role you know it’s one thing to just be around a lot to learn from guys like Berseron and Charara when they were playing here um and it’s another thing to like actually have the sea on your sweat and have to be that guy and navigate the ups and downs and there’s a lot more downs and ups last year for Brad Marshian and so it’s going to be I think like a learning process for both Makavoy and Postark so to have a guy in char who has that that presence and that weight, but also a guy that like they’ve played they played with before, right? He’s like a familiar face. It’s not like they’re just bringing in, you know, um you know, some you know, like they said Cam Neely wasn’t a part of this franchise came back like everyone knows Cam, but like it’s not like a teammate of yours. And I think even like to have Marco Sturm like his former teammate, a guy that he obviously revered quite a bit, to have him be like a resource to like talk to the players and to have that line of communication. And I think it just makes it easier for everyone to get settled into what these rules are going to be when you have such a I almost feel like the the biggest thing with Charara, whether it’s his presence on the ice, off the ice, is just like steadying, right? That’s like all he’s been he’s been like a a foundation of this team ever since he he first signed here. So I think having that that resource is going to help out a lot of guys like even if it’s you know Sturm has mentioned that he’s his focus is being a guy that’s very open direct communicator and I think that is a strength of his but once you get into the season and like some guys are getting frustrated or like all this stuff happens to every coach right it’s the ups and downs of an 82 game season having Charara as a to help you out as well to be like hey you know this guy’s feeling this way or maybe you change the approach like that that can only help the Bruins over a stretch here where if you’re looking at this roster and there’s just so much uncertainty even like now two weeks into the or a week and a half into the the preseason still don’t know really what to make of this roster and I don’t think the team really knows yet there’s still it’s trial and error having someone like Charara who I think can you know observe help out this team both on the NHL roster the coaching staff and even as they start bringing in younger players having like Suzanara being one of the guys you meet early on helps you out it’s like the same thing is like during dev camp when these guys are all wideeyed coming in here and you got Brad Marshian working out like a a psycho next to you like oh oh this is how it is here like it can only help having a guy like Charara in that in the in those facilities again. Yeah. And I also think like the other part of it too here is that you know Char’s first year here was 0607. What you saw a year ago was very reminiscent of 0607 in my opinion. Just not a great team. a lot of trades, a lot of young players. And then 0708 is when they got back to being competitive and they got they they snuck into the playoffs as the eight seed. They pushed the number one seed to a seven game series. You know, there’s a lot that Marco and Sado can can call back to with especially the roster complexion, right? Like you go back to 0708 like Char second year as a captain, you know, really learning how to establish his voice, his presence, all of that. Berseron was a young leader. Um and and you had younger players emerging that 0708 year. You had Craig. Um you had Chuck Kobasu who was a younger guy emerging. Um you had Vladimir Sabodka. Um you you were a younger team back then, right? And so you can remember some of those challenges that you had while having a mix of established players and younger players and how to bring them together to get back to being a competitive team. And I think that is sort of that’s probably I would say most valuable about Sturm and about Charara is that they themselves went through where the Bruins are right now as players and they went through it early, right? And so you hope that brings them some value and it allows them to be more patient and to be more hands-on because they live that and they saw it firsthand, you know. No, I thought it was great. Like you were you were uh we were we were at practice the other day and you asked Sturm about Freddy Brune and and he immediately Sturm did compared it to a player that he had Angus Booth in in Ontario. And it’s like he’s already doing that in his head of like, oh, this guy reminds me of this guy and this is what I did to make that player get better or to further him along. like he’s already drawn comparisons, right, that that he’s going to need, I think, to make some of these players, you know, kind of progress and further along and accelerate their development. And just having Char back there, I think, is another It’s just like I if I can have somebody teach guys how to play defense, like I I’m happy that it’s Charara, right? If Nick Lipstrom’s unavailable, all right, and Nether’s unavailable, all right, give me Big Z, you know? Like I I’m what I’m dying to know is the conversations potentially between Charara and Nikita Zidorov, right? And if you go back to Charara’s 067, ton of penalties, ton of penalties and you know, he was fighting, he was trying to set the tone and he eventually became like a much more like steadying kind of defenseman. Yeah. You know, not to say that Nidorov wasn’t steady last year. A plus 25 on a team with like a minus 60 is is good. I don’t care what you think about plus minus. Like that’s a good number. That’s that’s a wacky stat. Yeah. So we you don’t ignore that, right? Uh but if he can get him to be like a steadying, you know, kind of presence as well as what Nikita said about Sturm and comparing him to Daryl Sutter, like you might get a a good defenseman out of Nikita Zidorov there, you know, not that he’s not a good defenseman now, but like you know, can you elevate him by by having Cher be in his ear and tell him how to best utilize his frame, his mentality, all of that? And so it’s just it’s value ad across the board. Bring in a guy like Charara. It’s just, you know, I I just I wonder I wonder what the aspirations are. I wonder if he does he want to be a GM. Like I’ve always felt personally that the natural success succession plan for the Boston Bruins is probably Bersron and Char taking over for Cam and Dawn at whenever they want to do it. And now now we’re seeing Char take that first step. And so we we’ll see what happens next now. But, uh, it absolutely I always say the Tony Stark of of of hockey, you know, it can do no, he can do everything basically. And so, we’ll see what happens here. And I even think like like my last point on Charara is just like as much as you look at just how many different responsibilities he’d have like even like being involved with the development staff I think is huge too because it’s you know sometimes these like elite superstar players hall of famers get into these spots and it’s like how much can you really impart when it’s like Wayne Gretzky just do what I did like okay I can’t really do that or like you know like you know Pedro Martinez like helps out with some of like the kids in like the the Dominican Republic right like usually a lot of the international free agents and like you know you can get some pointers from him. You’re not throwing like Pedro Martinez. I I do think that like you know Don Sweeney made a good point the first day of training camp talking about Char’s like legacy is that like you know he was you know he was always as big as he was but he like made himself into an elite franchise defenseman. Like it wasn’t like he just had those tools and it took him a year or two like he worked his ass off to become what that what he was. like he he wasn’t just like a you know top 10 pick you know it wasn’t like a kill macar like he you see him in college and you’re like this guy’s going to be a star like he he worked to get to that point so I think whether it’s a guy at the NHL level like Zidorf or you know Mason Lauri like these guys or even just that next wave of guys I have to imagine the Bruins are probably going to be bringing in a right shot D in the draft pretty soon right like I do think having a guy like Char who molded his game into what it was that, you know, made him a first ballot hall of famer can also help this team. I feel like we’re just wax and poetic. But if there’s ever a guy to bring into the team in terms of needing to check off all these boxes for what this team has to do to reestablish themselves, like Char’s the guy for what that what those roles are. Yeah. And like in and your point and Don’s point is bang on about that. like he was with the Islanders as like you know kind of a goon out of the gate like like he was and not to say that he was always that guy but like he had to be that guy to stick in the NHL and and you know Craig Barubi was a guy that took him under his wing and another great guy that clearly that you’d want to learn from right is Craig Buby granted it was as a player not as a coach but you know another you know tough customer who knows the game in and out right and so I I think that you I I I I like that like that point about like they’re going to have to draft another defenseman soon, you know, like like this is this is a good first step and and this is not too dissimilar from Don Sweeny’s first foray into into his post playing career. When Don Sweeney first joined the Bruins, he joined them as like a player development kind of guy. He was Yeah. He was running the camps at at at back then it was Rushia for dev camp. he was running that and he was a player personnel guy and that’s that’s what he did and became the AGM and then became the GM like you know so so it is similar in in that regard and and so we’ll see what happens there but you know I I I think that where they are right now they need all the leadership they can get right and and I’m curious how it how it plays a factor with Makavoy and Posterno and you know allowing them to find find their voices as leaders and and even secondary leaders because you need some of those to emerge as well, you know, like they they go out and they bring in all these veterans in the offseason because they don’t have those guys. Well, Charara is very good with younger players and he’s very good with making them feel heard, right? And so, you got to have some of the younger voices emerge here both as players and as potential, you know, lead leadership types, you know, like a Frazzer Minton is a guy I look at like like the people I talk to in Toronto are like, “Oh, great kid. Great kid.” And I was like, “Really?” that they’re like, “Oh, he’s so hardworking. He’s a he’s like a young player that like other young players will look up to.” And I’m like, “Cool.” That’s it. Yeah. So, like, I want to see that like and I want to see that voice be, you know, empowered and and, you know, allowed to to speak up and, you know, guys like Char will help players like that find their voices despite their age. Yeah, without a doubt. We’ll talk more about Fraser Minton and some of the other younger players. Before we do that, let’s take a quick break here from our friends over at Prize Pix. This episode is brought to you by Prize Pix. You and I make decisions every day, but on Prize Pick, being right can get you paid. 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Um but a lot of guys in that group B, right, the the group that it was pretty telling that for the last two practices during group B session that it wasn’t even Marco Storm coaching, it was Ryan Mujanel. I’m like, all right, well this about sums it up. So, some of the guys that have been in that group are guys on the bubble. You got Johnny Beecher who had a rough game on Tuesday against New York. You have Fabian Lysel, Dann Losis, um some of these other players. Are you surprised that it’s already kind of you’ve already had this pretty clean split, especially with guys like Lysel, Merculov, some of these players that going into camp you wanted to see maybe a little bit more of them or you wanted to see maybe them for four or five preseason games, but it feels like there’s already going to be that fracture between these two groups. Yeah, I mean, working backwards here, it it I mean, I I I want your opinion on this, too. I feel like the Bruins are done with Merkov. I feel like they they they believe that he is what he is at this point, right? Like I agree. It just feels like he got four games or whatever it was last year. Uh he got one game with Joe Sacko basically. They put him on the top power play and then they sent him right back down. Uh we didn’t see him again. I don’t believe maybe did a couple more times. Last year was a blur, dude. And it was a bad blur. I don’t want to relive it. Um so it feels like they they just think he’s like a quad A kind of player, you know, and so I agree. I was shocked that he resigned here. I really was. I was like, “He’s staying.” Sure. Okay. Um, Lysel, I mean, listen, like there are people in the organization that are not big fans of him. For whatever reason, they they are not big fans of him. And so, he was a player who I thought had to begin training camp with production. They didn’t. And so, you know, and as the preseason goes along here, the games will get more veteranheavy. Um, and that makes it harder. I thought it was really telling that they get the overtime uh power play in New York on Tuesday. They keep the first unit out there the entire time. No Lysel didn’t even get a look at him on the power play in overtime. A four on three. You know, a situation that you think would seemingly be built for him. They did not put him out there once. And so that kind of tells you something there, right? He was a guy that I thought needed immediate production. Didn’t get it. And when you pencil in Victor Robertson for a top six role right out of training camp and you say David Posnog obviously is is a topline right wing where’s he playing then you know and if he’s not going to produce and you got guys like Frasier Minton who are producing right now and you got Matt Potra get getting a chance there on the wing like it’s going to be harder for a guy like Lysell the stick. Um Beecher I mean that game was that game was rough on Tuesday. You got to be quicker. You got to be quicker with with your thinking. He gets the puck right inside his own blue line and he holds on to it. You’re a fourth liner. Right. Right. With Gabricov right there. I was like, “Oh, no.” But like you not a guy you want not a guy you want to skate into. No. No. But you got to be like you’re a fourthliner who your game is predicated on your defensive knowhow and your speed. The the the thinking’s got to be quicker there. It’s got to be quicker in that moment. And it’s not. And he had a bad year a year ago. He took a lot of penalties late in the year, I thought. And again, that hurts you as of someone who’s a defensive specialist, right? And a PK specialist. You can’t be in the box and be a PK specialist. Uh, and when they signed Carali, I mean, Carali still has wheels and he’s a better faceoff guy. I mean, that kind of the writing’s on the wall. He’s an elevated He’s an elevated Johnny Beecher. That’s what I thought like when Johnny Beecher first got up here. cuz I thought that’s what he could turn into of like a 63 really strong skating centerman who’s going to win faceoffs and like just off of playing to his strengths could be like a 18 to 25 point guy kind of like what Carelli was in his prime and just hasn’t manifested that way and so like it’s not surprising it’s just like I just wonder like I know Beecher is on the roster for Saturday’s game against Philadelphia do we see Lysel again doesn’t feel like Rihanna you know but like But this is the the challenging part for these younger players. And and you know, listen, I I make no I make no bones like about it. Like I want to see Fabian Lysel do well because I do think his skill set, the speed, the the the pain in the ass that he can be at times with his speed and with his, you know, his his his kind of swagger at times. I think it could be value ad for the Boston Bruins. But I also have to acknowledge that he had to start off camp with production and he didn’t really do that. And so that’s a problem when it’s a first-time head coach and you got to make that first impression. And so that part of it is frustrating, right? But it just feels like what you’re seeing right now with group A and group B, like the roster feels borderline set right now for the for the Bruins when it comes to NHL roster. But I do want to pick your brain about Frasier Minton. If they move Casey Middlestat down to the third line wing, where does Minton play? Like that’s what that’s what I wonder. like like because if you look at the game that he had on Tuesday, I don’t know if he had a point, but man did he stuff that box sheet, that box score. If you look at the box score, it was like it was like three blocks. Three blocks, five shot attempts, three of which landed on net. Um he I think he had I he went just under 50% of the faceoff dot. But like if you look summary, he’s got something in every box. Yeah, in the first preseason game I think he was six to seven on faceoff. So I think for like the preseason he’s like maybe like 54% or something. It’s like 12 of 19 or something. I’m sure that math is horrifically wrong, but he’s on the winning side of it. Um but no, he’s been he’s been productive for what a spot is. Again, you want some production, but man, he’s checking off every single box of what you want, especially if like you’re trying to find like a way to incorporate younger guys into the team. putting Minton at 3C and just letting him cook and going with the ups and downs. If there’s yet to do it, it’s probably now, but it just feels like there’s so much up in the air with this roster construction where I think you can like map out the different like scenarios and I don’t think there’s one roster configuration that you look at and you’re like, “All right, this team actually could surprise some people, but like there’s ways you can see like the pros and cons of all of it.” Like if you want to put Zaka and Middlestead both down the middle, I could get that. Like if you’re trying to make Zak to be like a 3C shutdown guy and you want to put Middle in a spot where you can really put him with like some productive players whether it’s you know um Harbertson and Blue Mel or just like some shot ready guys and you can get 50 points out of Middlestat. I get that. But also I could see like if this is a year to really lean into the younger players, put you know Zaka, Middlestat, Arbertson together and make that 3C Minton Jano on the left and then take your pick, right? Blumel or Potra or something like that. Maybe that make that third line more of a younger kind of group. But it does feel like it and it comes down to like what we’ve said before of like I think Marston wants to incorporate younger guys into the team. I think it’s promising that like, you know, he’s said that he’s liked what he’s seen from Lucendino. They’re clearly giving like Blume Mel who’s not really a prospect but young enough, right? Like it see it feels like they’re clearly like we think we might have something with this guy, so we’re going to lean into it, which I find promising, right? Like you need to find these kind of other conduits of five on five scoring. So, I’m glad they seem like they’re really committed to that. But also as a coach, you have to weigh like, all right, I know the long-term health of this team involves maybe some of the growing pains of putting Minton in a 3C spot and maybe like putting Potra with him or, you know, Blue Melon at a top six role, but also as a coach, you want to start off strong. And so there’s also that appeal of like, well, how about we stabilize the lines with Zaka and Middlestead each driving play, right? So, it does feel like it’s a group and like a lineup that like I don’t think whoever it gets settled before October 8th in Washington, there’s not going to be a lineup you’re going to look at and be like, “This is the group. This is I’m liking this group.” Like there’s still going to be a lot of question marks however they want to spin it. But where the Bruins, you know, line of thinking is right now still seems like to be determined as to which way they’re going to lean there because you I think if you’re Marco Sturm, especially and you’re a first year head coach, you can look at in a variety of different ways as to what you’re trying to look out of this group. Yeah. And I think there are recent examples of them going younger and it working out and then going younger and it not working out. I think right 201718 they begin opening night with Andres Buork and Jake De Brusk and Charlie Makavoy and you know they all produce in in opening night they win against Nashville and they have a great game. All three of them did and then you go to the the following season they open the year with Ryan Donado and and Forsbaka Carlson and they end up trading uh Donado and they end up demoting Forsbaka Carlson and they go out and they acquire Coyle and Johansson because those guys weren’t weren’t doing enough for them. And so I I I think that there are two ways of looking at it. You know that it can go really well or it can go poorly. And so um I mean that’s obvious. That’s anything, right? But uh it does come back to your point though. This team has to squeeze something out for the long term. Like let’s break it down simply. If the Bruins have it their way, who is here for a longer duration of time? Casey Middlestad or Frasier Minton? It’s Frzier Minton. Like that’s that’s who they hope is here longer and long term. And so you got to put that guy in a position to succeed and to stick with the roster long term. And so you hope you do, right? And you you you you got to again you have to put him in positions to succeed. And if you know he’s going to stuff the box the box score like that, then I find it you know it’s incumbent on the Bruins to give to give him the the you know 20 game sample. Let’s see what happens here. The expectations for this team have never been lower. They’re just not like you ask around town, they think they’re a playoff team, but you ask around town and people are not high on this team. I don’t think they’re going to be a bottom five team in the league again, but I do acknowledge that it’s going to be hard for them to score goals. So given that, like give a guy 10 games, 15 games, you know, like I I just you got to break out of the cycle, Connor, of of just giving guys five games and if not, they get buried to hell forever. Like that’s not going to work for anybody. It’s just not. And so you do hope that they break out of that. And this year you have all the reason to break out of it. You just do. Like intern internally you might think you’re a playoff team, but externally the the expectations are very low. Use that to your advantage. You know, give some younger players some rope and and just see what happens here. And uh real quick on Blue Mel because you brought him up. Where do you think his shot ranks on the team right now? like just like potency, power, it’s already top four. He was he was he was zipping it around during like the power play. Like I know like he scored that goal, but I think like it’s more impressive like even like the first game where the Bruins didn’t do much. Like he was I think surprised me in terms of how strong of a skater he was. like he looked like a guy that could actually be like a transition threat and then like he’s got that like heavy wrist shot that like I mean pasta geeky Zaka when he wants to shoot because he’s got a cannon when he when he launches it but and yeah probably like but like that that’s that’s sort of I think you know I heard you and Evan talking about it like he’s a lock for the team and it’s like yeah because you don’t have another shot like that in your pipeline. No one else has that kind of shot and you need that because of what we’ve talked about them being offensively starved. And so I I also like that he’s a dual threat in the sense that he can play left or right wing. Yeah. So so I and he likes being on his right side for the one-time on the power play as you clearly saw on Tuesday night. But but he he the dry title shot as Marco Storm calls it. Yes. He is meticulous though when it comes to analyzing his, you know, it’s the baseballification of of the NHL, but the launch angle, the angle of which you’re you’re shooting, you know, like how to get the most power behind it. Like, he’s very into that. He’s very into analyzing that. And so, if that can make him an incredible shot from from from that slot, then I want that on my team. I just do. I I feel like you need that on your team. And so, um, it’s going to be really interesting to see see how that transpires, but I would like it if you had three younger forwards on on your night one lineup. I just don’t know if your current roster construct allows that to happen because of Middlestad, because of the term you’ve committed elsewhere on the roster. You’re not going to sign a guy to a two-year deal and then wave him out of training camp. Nor nor should you given the way that Isimont played on Tuesday night. And it’s a 5-year commitment for Tanner Jano with a full no move. He’s here for at least at least two years in my opinion. So, right, it does limit how many guys you can carry, but I do want to see one of these younger guys break through. You got to have it, I think, in my opinion. Yeah, without a doubt. Uh, we’ll talk a little bit more about this training camp. Before we do, again, want to say please subscribe to our Bruins Ringside YouTube channel. We have daily content between poke the bear. Bruins beat with Evan Marinowski who’s still at Fenway potting at Bleacha. Pucks with hags. We have covered every step of the way this Bruins season. It’s not just the Bruins on the CNS media network. Please subscribe to our channels. Patriots All Access, Celtics Press Pass. I think I messed that up. I believe it’s Celtics All Access and Patriots Press Pass. Both of them have an in Yes, both of them have an insane amount of content. Uh, you know, the the crew over there has you covered every step of the way, especially with the Celtics. uh ramping up and even during the offseason uh the crew over there were had pretty much daily content out there. So if you want to get all the latest updates on uh the Celtics, Patriots, even the Red Sox, Bobby Manning, who does everything for CLNS uh has been at Fenway seemingly every single time I’ve been there, he’s been posting an insane amount of content. So shout out Bobby, shout out to CNS Media Network. Please subscribe to all the channels over there. Uh, Ty, looking at, you know, training camp and where we are right now and to your point about the younger guys getting um some looks here, what’s kind of been your your biggest surprise, either good or bad, about what you’ve seen from this group so far? And I feel like that’s kind of can be a bit of a tough question because it does feel like there still is so much up in the air. But has anything kind of changed your opinion, your approach of what you’re seeing out of this team or um what’s kind of been your one thing going into the year that has maybe changed over the last week or so? Yeah. You know, I don’t know if anything’s necessarily changed because we still have another I I still don’t know what to make of this team. I mean, that’s how I feel. Like I I I I do wonder about just how aggressive they’re going to be in terms of getting more offense out of the back end. I thought Jordan Harris um was really aggressive on on Tuesday. I like I think he’s your seventh D right now and uh but clearly like if we’re talk like we’ve spent podcasts all summer and even today like talking about how they’re going to have to find ways to score more goals. You know, the back end didn’t produce enough a year ago. It actually had the fewest amount of points out of any back end in the NHL last year. I think only San Jose I think they were tied with San Jose or Calgary for like the fewest points from defenseman. So like you got to get that on the on the uptick here. And it’s one of the things that I thought Sterm did a good job of in Ontario is developing offensive minded defenseman for the LA Kings. And so you hope that you can unleash more of that. But I thought that a guy like Jordan Harris, like you look at the the second uh Eimont goal, he activates and really just takes away a lane for the Ranger defenseman. They turn it over. Boom. Feeds it to to Is he scores a goal like like that’s aggressive. If you go and watch that shift, that is an aggressive pinch by by Harris. And so part of that may be the player versus coaching, but uh that’s how they’re going to have to squeeze offense out of this. I mean, Zidorov, I mean, you got the full Zidorf experience in overtime, too, where he almost gives the game away, but then he activates the other way, gets in all alone, scores a goal, and does a walk-off, you know, like like it it it was Manny Ramirez walk-off, you know, just undoing the the gloves while he’s walking off, you know, walking down to first base. But like like that is probably like their their internal cheat code to get more offense. It’s just getting your your defenseman more involved. And there’s risk in that, of course. But I do want to see how aggressive they choose to be because I don’t think we got a the aggressive version of Jay Leech a year ago. I thought it was very pack it in, stay at home. Yeah. And so, you know, Sturm has talked about guys not being too risky, but I saw a pretty risky group on Tuesday night, honestly. So, I want I I’m curious where it goes from here. Yeah. And I would say probably my not like surprised, but one thing that I’m at least um encouraged to see has been like again every training camp, every preseason, you’ve got like the principles and the mandates that a coach wants to see out of his group to to help address a deficiency, right? How many times do we go into the uh a season under Bruce Cassidy where he mentioned like generating more offense from the blue line and it’s like yeah, like respectfully no But then like you still felt like an arduous process. I think it’s clear that like you know Sturtorm has been pretty candid and transparent about this team is going to have to really work to get its uh five on five offense beyond the top line. We know that. So what has been like the the equalizer or the focus has been a lot of got to get the power play going. Like we have to get that into you know not saying we’re going from 29th overall to top five. We don’t probably not doing that. But hey, if we get it to 16th in the NHL and the margins are so narrow and swinging bounces back, that’s our that’s our formula for what we need to do. We’re going to figure along the way of maybe a guy like Blue Mel or Middle or someone can step up, maybe surprise us with more five on five than we expected. But the template we need to follow is getting the power play up and running. And I think you saw on Friday um Bruins started practice early and it was literally just Steve spot running like a 20 minute power play session and a lot of it was like not just um working in the ozone. It was them as like a group of five coming up the ice and it wasn’t like you there weren’t any drop passes of David Posock. It’s like completely kind of reworking their breakouts, their entries, which is probably the thing that probably plagued them the most is like, you know, half the issue with the power play wasn’t even just like the the inability to get a shot off or like the predictability and all that stuff wasn’t great, but half of it was like you’d get one look, one and done, and then half of the time on your power play, the two minutes you’re back in your own end trying to get through across the neutral zone again. So, I think them clearly making that a priority, devoting a lot of time and practice to it. And then even like just what they’re doing in the ozone where David Posternok, they’ve mentioned they want him to be kind of more of a rover, right? Like you can’t have him just be the the guy waiting at the the left circle. He’s operating up high. He’s operating down low. He’s drawing guys away. And I think, you know, not to draw parallel because it’s a tough comparison, but when the Bruins were in their heyday with that top five power play and you had Bers in the bumper and Tory Krug working up high and yeah, you had David Posnock and a lot of plays ended with him getting that one-time off, but it’s because that group is so unpredictable. You could have Marian going wherever he was, have him switching off up high with Tory Krug. Like that group is so unpredictable that you got four guys on the PK out there. You can only do so much that sooner or later you’re going to stretch out enough that that that seam pass to Posanak is going to be there. All right, you’re probably not going to have that luxury now with David Posic, but having him move around and creating more unpredictability, I think that’s encouraging to see. So, I I think it’s good that the Bruins are clearly seeing that the power play is an area that like unlike getting really strong production out of the middle six, which you hope you can have, but that’s probably asking a lot. You have the personnel to make your power play go from 29th to middle of the pack. And that’s what they have to do. And it’s good that I think they’re really honing in on that. So, I’ve been encouraged by what I’ve seen from that so far. And we’ll see once they get into the later stages of the preseason if that once that top unit is out there especially see if they can do a little bit more damage because sure feels like you can only go up from where they were last year. Yeah. And to your point as well like just kind of watching at practice and you know players hit the point where they kind of dick around and they’re just having fun out there. Uh Victor Arvdson is really good at tipping pucks. I did not realize how good he was at that. You know they’re just messing around. He is just getting all I I swear I I was watching I was like tracking at one point and he was like he was like eight out of eight of 11 on on tipping it home like and I think the biggest thing is like to get to what you’re talking about right to have that unpredictability and that that dangerous kind of level of like your power play production and the options you have presented. You can’t be so one and done like you were a year ago, right? And this is where you hope a guy like Arbitson who can win plays, extend plays, win pucks behind the net, front of the net, whatever it is, you hope that that value is there, right? Because they have really, in my opinion, missed that since they let Jake de Bruss go, you know, like they never replace that quality, right? Like Coyle wasn’t great at it. Brazo was almost too big for it, as weird as that. Like he just he couldn’t get in there without risking taking a penalty basically just given his size. And so like you got to have somebody who can do that for you, right? And and Arbitson, the veteran savvy, you know, not huge, but but good enough at getting in there to kind of win battles. Like he had, we talked about before, but he had 23 points in the power play in LA a couple years ago. Like if you can get him back to that level, it completely changes the dynamic of your power play. And so he’s a huge factor in all of that as well. Um, right? Like there’s always that delicate balance there between like you’re good at the net front but you’re not you’re not blocking your own shots necessarily like like Nick Richie kind of had a habit of like blocking like the shot and you’re like that’s a goal that’s a goal if he’s not in the way you know like like and so like you got to have that balance and I feel like Arbitson is a guy that may fly under the radar you know in terms of of being able to provide that balance and provide that that extra power play pop and boy You hope he can because, you know, 15 goals and 27 points a year ago in Edmonton, not great. Not not great, right? And you’re locking this guy into a top six role. So, you really hope that the power play can kind of juice his numbers up a little bit here because uh you know, if that’s your best option on line two, you might be in some trouble there. Yeah, not what you’re looking for. So, we’ll see what happens going into uh this third preseason game on Saturday and obviously a lot more next week back over at TD Garden. We will both be there for that. So, uh, Ty, before we let you go, where can we read your stuff? Where can we hear you on the airwaves? Little birdie told me you’re on 98 the sports hub on Saturday. So, where can we read your stuff? Yeah, so the hockey show is back. Today we did a uh season preview show. I was by myself, but next week uh the gang will be all there. uh myself, Ryan Johnston, uh Bob Beers, we will be uh covering the Boston Bruins with you, uh the callers, everyone else, uh from now until when the season is over every Saturday. So So that’s going to be fun. I You know what? I would love that. I would love if we’re doing this in June. I I you know, I I have some mild hope that we’ll be doing it into late April. Um I I I don’t know, man. like like like I have not been at camp every day. I was in Chicago for the start of training camp so I can’t speak to the practices. I just feel like there’s a natural elevation that is going to happen for from just getting Hampus Lynholm back, getting Charlie Makavoy back. I can’t imagine that their goalending is an 885 again as a team like it was a year ago. Like I like this was the worst goalending they’ve had in 20 years, right? Like it like like actually maybe 30 years honestly, right? Like it’s just so many things happened last year where we were going we were covering games and we would look at each other and go, “Oh my god, this is the first time this has happened in 35 years. This is the first time they’ve done this since 2010 when they lost 11 games in a row. This is the first time this has happened since the in the modern era.” Like so many things went wrong last year, right? But let’s keep in mind that they were still only six points out of a playoff spot on March 29th. Yes. Almost a whole month. Not the trade deadline. Like my Yeah. Almost a full month after trading half the freaking roster, they were still in it. People underestimate how bad you have to be to be non-competitive. I think this team will be competitive. I just I do. I’m not trying to be like a you know, you know, wear my Bruins pajamas and and get my foam claws on and like they’re going to be good, but like I’m telling you, like they’re not going to be bottom five. I just have a hard time seeing that. I just the NHL is is probably the hardest league to like outright tank in. You you have to do it by design. Like I’m talking you got to give 8 million to Tanner Jano and you’re like actually you’re going to be playing defenses here Tanner. Like it’s just hard to do like and so I think they’ll be competitive so long as they’re healthy. I just it’s a weird feeling that I have about this team right now. Yeah. No, I agree. I I feel like every time I’m over at like Celtic stuff or Patriots stuff or over at Fenway, people are asking me like, “Oh, what the team’s going to be? They’re not going to be that good this year.” I’m like, “Check in with me in a few more weeks to see what I think because I still don’t know what to make of this team, but they should they can only go up from here.” So, uh, we will see. It’s got a lot more of training camp to go, a lot more preseason to go. We’ll have you covered every step of the way. Um, Ty, thank you for joining us. Appreciate it. Again, for anyone who’s uh who’s following along here, again, please subscribe to our Bruins rings YouTube channel. Daily content, poke the bear, Bruins beat, pucks with hags, have you covered every step of the way. Again, this episode is also brought to you by Prize Pix. The best way to win cash this football season. Download the app today and use code CLNS to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. That’s code CLNS to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup. Price fix. It’s good to be right. Uh, also, if you want to read my stuff over on boston.com and the Boston Globe, please do that. We have you covered every step of the way this brewing season. If you want to follow me on Twitter, X, whatever it’s called, you can at Conor Ryan_93. Again, this is episode 364 of Poke the Bear. You fans have a great rest of your week. [Music]
In this episode of Poke The Bear, Conor and Ty discuss Zdeno Chara’s new role with the Bruins, Boston’s split training-camp roster, and the top surprises through the first week of camp.
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