Are the Bruins building their team for the playoffs? | Pucks with Haggs

Are the Bruins building their team for the playoffs? | Pucks with Haggs

welcome to another edition of the pucks with hags podcast powered by prize pick the exclusive daily fantasy partner of the clns media Network this is the 105th episode of the puck with hags podcast thanks for joining us I’m your host Joe Hagerty you can find my work at Joe hager. substack docomo I write columns on the Boston Bruins for Boston Sports Journal uh so to go to Boston Sports journal.com and check that out as well um as I said this is the 105th episode of the pucks with hags podcast it’s going to be a mailbag episode today we’re going to answer some of your questions that you’ve sent in all right let’s get into the mailbag um not a ton uh at this point to really go over uh development Camp finished solid development camp for the Boston Bruins this past week at Warrior Ice Arena well attended lots of kids there which is always great lots of families um you know lots of prospects uh it was a wide array you know Dean Loro was there as 18-year-old kid um fresh out of you know Prep High School in Canada and going to Boston College next year and I think it was a bit of a eye openening experience for him uh going against older players going against uh men in some cases 23 24 year olds guys that were AHL veterans um but you know he he held his own he had some skill plays he showed he can use that six foot seven body for uh Puck protection and Puck possession um he showed a good really good shot as far as I was concerned some people had said you know he wasn’t a Tage Thompson Ty type because his shots not that strong I saw a very strong shot that might have been the best part of his game um that I consistently saw through the entire week was his ability to onetime pucks his ability to get shots off quickly um and his ability to to you know hit places on the net where he was going to score uh and do it you know with a with a lot of velocity and a lot of snap coming off his his uh stick so I I liked that part of his game actually I thought that was the the most developed and the best but I think I also come away from that camp thinking that uh it’s G to be a slow ramp up for Dean Loro at BC I think going to Boston College and Hockey East is going to be a very big step up for him competition wise um and I think they’re gonna they’re GNA slowly uh bring him along I don’t think he’s going to be you know playing with Oscar jelic and and um and gaso right off uh right off the bat um you know I don’t think they’re gonna have some kind of Bruins Prospect Boston College line going on there um I think he’ll probably start lowering the lineup and and work his way up and I but it’s going to be good for him like he definitely needs to be dropped into that level of competition whether it was the USL as originally planned or now uh Boston College with Will Smith moving on to uh San Jose and opening up a spot for him on the Eagles for next year so I think it’s going to be great to be able to watch him it’s good that the Bruins are going to be able to have eyes on him um very regularly and you know maybe help him along in his pathway along with Boston College but um very encouraged by what you saw out of him just knowing he was entering a camp where he was gonna be challenged quite a bit and it was gonna be some of the best hockey he’s ever seen uh best player at development camp for me was Oscar jelic uh skilled extremely fast created a lot of offense for himself and others when they broke into like three Onre competitions and small area games and things like that game like comp uh game like situations thought he was very good um a few other players too I really liked actually Jonathan mllo um another draft pick uh from this past year and he was only 17 years old the youngest guy in that development camp and I thought uh he did well and more than held his own and and looked pretty good um uh don Lu melis I thought looked very good made some nice plays Elliot gronwald who was another draft pick actually I I liked a lot of the Bruins draft picks uh this year I thought they got some good players uh and did well with the picks that they had Elliot Grunwald um going to Quinn aak a Vermont kid um I thought he was you know very he looked like a future NHL defenseman he just very smooth handling the puck um big uh definitely played defense and didn’t shy away from the physicality had a couple of times where he got time and space to shoot pucks and was Roofing bullets uh top corner and and bar down like he he’s got a lot of skill and he looks like somebody that um to keep an eye on and even better Vermont KY grew up a huge Boston Bruins fan so um being drafted by that organization being part of that organization is going to be big for him um and is going to just encourage him more um anybody else that I really liked or I thought stood out I think that that that was that was about it there were some other good players um that did well also uh but those are the ones that that come to mind immediately obviously there was a lot of eyes and a lot of people watching Loro and that was the biggest person you were looking for uh to see how they did and and I thought he fared pretty well even the two things I would say about him that he needs to work on are uh the competitive component I saw him give up on drills a couple times before the coaches blew the whistle and the other player just kept going um that’s something you can’t do at at any pro level um and that’s just being a pro that’s something he’s gonna to have to figure out so I think that was one where there were times you would have liked to have seen a little more competitiveness out of him consistently um and I think that you know was part of the reason at times I think you didn’t notice him as much in some of the drills uh there were was shifts during the three on three where you really didn’t notice him at all and you wouldn’t expect that as much uh from a first round pick uh but I think that you know is part of being young and and figuring that out and I think that’s what’s going to change over the next couple of years and also just you know part of it’s being six foot seven part of it’s being young but I saw him multiple times getting knocked off the puck and just knocked on his butt completely off the Skates um which I think he realized at the end of the week too that the physically it was a much bigger challenge um he’s going to need to meet that challenge oh also I should mention Matt ptra was there looked healthy looked good um victory for him just coming back from shoulder surgery and being part of that camp and sort of ramping up um to NHL camp and and what’s where as much more is expected of him you know a few months from now did not take part in the scrimmage the last day of camp uh purely precautionary I didn’t want him taking body checks or you know full-on contact uh after coming back from shoulder surgery but no setbacks or anything like that um but he he looked good not great not dominant um didn’t I would have thought somebody with that kind of NHL experience last year where I think he was the only guy in that camp with NHL experience would have stood out more and he didn’t but I also think that’s part to do with just rust and not having played much in the last you know or really at all in the last five months and just coming back from shoulder surgery so he gets a little bit of a mulligan there um but it was just good to see him on the ice all right um let’s get some of the questions from the Bruins hag bag mailbag pucks with hags podcast how did the Bruins lose out on Danton Heinen seems like they really wanted to keep him I know he’s from Langley British Colombian supposedly took a discount to play pay play for the Canucks but I find it baffling that he chose the Canucks over the Bruins and that’s from BKK pkt on uh Twitter I don’t think it’s B Ling um I think he went where he got a couple of years and decent money and certainly going home I think is is an attractive option um I I I think the Bruins liked uh obviously what he gave them uh certainly they liked it at uh you know a guy that came in on a training camp invite and they got to sign for one year less than a million dollars like they it was nothing but benefit for him uh and he actually got you know top six minutes the second half of the year uh certainly he got favorable treatment from Jim Montgomery as former College hockey coach uh and he had a great year nice bounceback year and he he parlayed it into a multi-year deal with the Vancouver Canucks the one thing I would say um about the Bruins philosophy and what I can gather from what they’ve done this offseason and just talking to people um is that the Bruins are placing uh more and more emphasis a much heavier emphasis on who has done what in the playoffs and who is going to help them in the playoffs who’s going to be effective in the postseason what they’ve learned about the playoffs and the direction that it’s going and what kind of players are going to be effective in the playoffs say against an opponent like the Florida Panthers and I think the determination was that Danton Heinen might not be the kind of player that’s going to be a Difference Maker is going to be really effective uh in during playoff hockey a good regular season player versatile um you know can put a few Pucks in the net has become a very well-rounded player good two-way player all those things um and helps them in helped them in a lot of ways last year I mean him playing with pasten zaka that was a good line uh towards the end of the year but I think the determining factor for a lot of players that have moved on from the Bruins and the players that have come into the Bruins the over this year and over the last few years frankly is the Bruins are understanding with much greater detail what wins in the playoffs what’s successful in the playoffs what you have to have to be successful in the playoffs and really push into the later rounds and it’s bigger heavier stronger nastier players it’s you know you’ve got to be big you got to be physical you got to want it more you got to want the puck um you’ve got to wantan to you know be willing to uh you know blow the other guy up and and hit him through the the glass and take the puck from him and things the Florida Panthers were doing on a reg regular basis to win those games you got to be willing to do that just as much as they are and just as hard as they are uh if you’re going to hope to win those kind of Series against those kind of teams and that’s why you know I think you saw players like Danton Heinen moving on you saw players like Matt grizzli moving on um you know Jake debrusk is a good offensive player and I think the Bruins would have liked him if it was a much lower number for a fewer years but you know another player that is not a super heavy um you know dirty mean and nasty kind of player um those kind of guys moving on a bunch of them ironically enough all going to the Vancouver Canucks at the same time guys like Derek forbort uh Jake debrusk uh Danton Heinen and you see them bringing in players like Dan Castell uh Max Jones um you know Elias Lindholm is a strong player I wouldn’t say he’s super heavy super physical but I think he’s going to be an effective uh Frontline Center uh in a playoff series and he showed that frankly uh in the playoff performances he had for the Vancouver Canucks Nikita zadorov uh super heavy super physical super dirty me nasty player and uh the kind of guy that you could do a compilation video of 10 minutes of all of the you know crushing hits that he’s had um when he picks his spots to just blow somebody up as a defenseman when they’re trying to come into the offensive zone with speed that what you’re seeing is the Boston Bruins are loading up on those players and and it happened a couple years ago at the trade deadline when they got Demitri orof when they got Garnett Hathaway when they brought in players that were heavy physical players playoff style players now it didn’t work out that year obviously um but I think your their understanding at Pat maroon last year at the trade deadline I think there’s an understanding that you need to bring in those kind of players year in year out uh in order to be effective in the postseason and in order to really you know score goals get the inside ice defend um all the things that you want to do in order to have success in the playoffs you need big heavy physical players that are willing to play that style you know Matt grizzli uh a great Puck moving defenseman uh a great story as a Charlestown kid that uh played at beu you know was a hero in the bean poot drafted by the Bruins had a great career for the Bruins had a nice long run for them and I’m sure for the family you know it’s tough to move on um at this point just because they’re so intertwined with the Bruins organization but you know that you can’t win in the playoffs with 5 foot eight 175 pound 180 pound defenseman you just can’t do it uh you saw the last play that Matt grizzli will ever be on the ice for for the Boston Bruins was John dvz picking his head up with a puck seeing that grizzli was the only thing between him and the net and tarz just putting his head down and bulling his way to the net um and just knowing that he was going to be able to get there against grizzli trying to stop him one-on-one and you know tarz didn’t score the goal but it created the chaos in front that ended up uh leading to an overtime winning goal and you know that’s that’s what happens when you have smaller defenseman in the playoffs when you look at the Boston Bruins now across the back end it’s 6′ one 6’2 all over 200 pound PS uh the biggest ones obviously zadorov who says don’t call me big Z because I I don’t want to be compared to char and I shouldn’t be compared to Chara credit to him for saying that by the way uh 6 foot6 250 pounds maybe even more than 250 pounds but uh just massive and extremely physical gonna make you pay a price to get to the front of the net gonna pound you physically uh gonna wear you down over the course of a series the Bruins needed that kind of intimidating uh force on the back end and uh you know they had it to a degree and Charlie McAvoy but I think it wore him down trying to be that guy and play that way all the time um and to bring in a Bruiser like zidor that can play that way all the time and potentially play with makoy I think is a big deal and I think is is a great sign and I think it’s something where I the Bruins fully understand now what they need to do with the players they have to get the best out of them and to have success in the playoffs and I think that’s what you know this is all about I I think and getting back to the Heinen question I think that’s what the decision was the decision was good regular season player not going to be a great playoff player we need to get better playoff players we need to get guys that are going to be more effective in the postseason and not be a team that has these great regular seasons and then doesn’t look like the same team in the playoffs when you start throwing them against uh the best teams in the league when it’s just a war for seven games and the team that um has more will more toughness more physicality wins out at the end of the seven game series and I think they understand now that you know they need some more of that element uh in order to be successful and they need to base a lot of their decisions personnel-wise on what’s going to help us in the playoffs versus what’s going to help us in the regular season because I I just think based on you know Jeremy Swan and that Charlie McAvoy and hampus linol on defense um in zidor of now and Carlo uh having pck marand zaka now allias Lindholm Charlie Coyle like they’ve got enough talents there and they’ve got the goal tending in the defense where they’re going to be a regular season uh playoff team you know they’re going to be a team that’s going to get enough points to qualify for the regular season they need to start fortifying and um making damn well sure they have enough weapons uh to go in the playoffs and they’re playing the style of play that’s going to be successful in the playoffs and I think they’re I think they’ve they’ve got it now I think they’ve they’ve figured it out to a degree um and these Personnel moves are are are based on on that and and they went from I think a few years they tried to pick up these players at the trade deadline and think that was the way to do it is give yourself uh give the team a shot in the arm physically towards the end of the year to help them get over the hump in the playoffs now I think they’re just going to bring in these players from the very beginning of the year and let them help the team get through the entire regular season and not allow them to be pushed around and really physically um play at a different level uh throughout the regular season season and I I personally like that strategy I personally think that that’s the right way to do it I would I’m really looking forward to seeing Max Jones and and mark cellic on the um fourth line as very physical heavy players uh along with Johnny beer I think it’ll that’ll be a really effective and fun fourth line uh to watch and you know I’m intrigued to watch this Bruins team uh a lot of it is going to come down to Jeremy Swan being able to maintain his performance for you know 60 plus games uh during the season and you know be the guy that he was last year for longer extended periods of time but frankly I think he can do it at this point let’s also thank game time uh your best place to get Red Sox tickets at Fenway this summer if you’re well and actually they’re winning some games so you probably do want to get Red Sox tickets at Fenway summer although uh for me I might use game time for I saw yesterday that uh joury and uh de leopard and Hart are going to be playing at Fenway Park in August so I made game time to go see the that three because I went and I saw poison uh mle crew de leopard and Joan Jet last year at Fenway or it was two years ago I can’t remember that was like one of the all-time great concerts like de leopard was unbelievable I would definitely go I I mowed a lot of lawns in Middle School uh with the Walkman playing de leopard in my ears Evan back in the day young Joe Hagerty was like 12 11 years old game time is a great place to get tickets for concerts baseball um all that stuff right now uh seat views you get a panoramic view from your seat in the app before you buy lowest price guarantee or game time will credit you 110% of the difference Zone deals you save even more when you choose a section and let game time choose the seats this is just good stuff so take the guest work out of buying MLB tickets with Game Time download the game time app create an account use the code clns for $20 off your first purchase terms do apply but again create an account download the app and redeem the code CNS for $20 off download game time today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed uh all right next one hey hags love the direction the bees are going especially if we ink sway to a long big long-term deal we need to build the back and in front of him if lindol doesn’t have chemistry with pasta do you feel like we have enough scoring depth five on five to compete in the playoffs from Martin K 3737 I do think they’ve got enough scoring uh um depth to compete in the playoffs um I there’s a a very strong school of thought that you know um Elias Lindholm the best season that he had in Calgary the best NHL season that he had he had over 40 goals and 80 points was with Johnny GD and Matthew kachuck as his Wingers and putting him with pav El zaka and David Pastak while not you know the same Firepower level as gdo and kachuk puts him in the category of a player that is well it puts him in the category of a center playing with um one Elite Winger and one pretty solid Winger um where that’s gonna up his offensive game certainly I don’t think he’s gonna have a down year like he had last year in in Calgary and Vancouver where even he admitted I think the trade rumors and the trade speculation was was bothering him and he was having a hard time with so um and it affected his production I think and certainly the quality of players he was playing with too and the quality of teams he was on uh affected it as well espec especially with Calgary I mean uh yeah Calgary I think that was just not great teams and he was you know his production went down as soon as they sort of stripped down their roster through no fault of their own uh and and tried to start over so I think putting him in a position like he’s going to be with the Bruins um having Co and Martian together that and obviously a big factor is going to be who they put it right wing with Brad Martian and Charlie Coyle if it’s Fabian lysel if it’s Trent Frederick if it’s Morgan geeky if there’s somebody they trade for at the trade deadline um to come in and be you know a Hired Gun on the wing to score goals I think that’s going to be the place where they’re going to look to upgrade at the trade deadline that’ll be the one area they’re probably going to need a players on the wing to to put the puck in the net and I’m sure there will be plenty of those uh at the trade deadline and uh somebody you could very readily in with Charlie Coyle and and Brad Martian but I think that’s I think they’re going to have enough scoring I think having high level of scoring having an offense that can get you to the Stanley Cup Final and win a Stanley Cup I think it’s going to be predicated on what they can do at the wing with Marian and Coyle because I I think zaka lindol and pck are GNA be good I do um I think that’s a line that’s going to be effective that’s a line that’s going to play good two-way hockey um I just think if you want to be elite you’re going to have to have two lines that are really going all the time and they’re going to need help on the right wing with Coyle and Martian and if you have a third line that’s um at the end of the day is like Morgan geeky Trent Frederick um and in a third player uh if it’s brazo or you know somebody else um lysel uh Patra if he’s there well you know whoever emerges on that third line if you can have a third line that’s got some got young Talent maybe maybe if brazo and and ptra are there and somebody else Trent Frederick or whoever geeki um I think that would be interesting and I think that’s that’s when you start talking about okay they’ve got something here especially if Jones and Castell really work on the fourth line and kick in some offense um you could see the potential for this being a much better offensive team than they were last year and certainly in the playoffs they could be because a lot of the num the name of the game in the playoffs is just wearing the other team down physically wearing down their defense and that’s how you get a lot of your offense is by just like pounding them into submission and I think they’re gonna have a lot of players they’re going to be able to do that and it’s exactly what Florida has done to be successful the last couple years so um I think just based on Personnel based on the way that they’re going to play um based on the coach that they have that’s thinking offense all the time and continues to preach that that um and based on you know zadorov being there is going to free up guys like Lindholm and McAvoy I think to think more offensively and to create more offensively I think that’s going to be a big part of it too um and Mason lowai let’s not even forget like a year of him fulfilling his offensive potential uh with the Bruins in a low pressure botting pairing role to start like gonna love to see that I think that’s going to be um really good as well so yes long story short I do think they have uh scoring depth five on five to compete in the playoffs and I’m really interested to see what they’re going to be able to do uh this might be hard to get answered but does Mark mlin have any chance of making it with the Bruins or being an everyday NHL player as a bill ricka resident I’ve watched him and followed his career and I’m hoping he makes it to the NHL thank you that’s from mpec one uh I don’t think he’s going to be in every day NHL player with the Bruins um you know based on the way that they bring in fourth line players based on the way guys like Johnny beer have kind of hopped over him developmentally uh and getting those shots at the NHL level I would assume that he’s not going to consistently um get that shot I think he’s the kind of play move up if there’s injuries uh if there’s opportunity because of injuries because of a numbers sort of game uh that he’s going to be able to come up like obviously has played really well when he’s gone up to the Bruins and a couple years ago had a great camp and thought it was a shame that he didn’t start the year in the fourth line but I think there’s a limit um to what he can do offensively there’s limits to his offensive skill set uh and his value is based around hustle winning faceoffs killing penalties uh you know just playing rugged hard-nosed fourth line kind of minutes and being sound uh two ways and you know there there there’s room around the NHL for players like that but I think you know he probably needed needs to move to an NHL team with less organizational depth uh if he’s going to be a regular at the NHL level and that frankly means it’s probably going to not be as good in NHL team and I think that’s part of the problem here is Mark mclin’s playing Bruns organization that makes the playoffs every year that is very competitive um that the the 12 forward spots are all their legit players uh that end up making it um with the Bruins and they’re really good at identifying um NHL or AHL guys and other organizations that have NHL Talent the Justin brzo of the world and you know those kind of players kind of hop over you too uh depthwise uh when they come into the organization but you know trading for marelich that’s kind of the kind of player that Mark mcglaflin would be at the NHL level or viewed that way anyway and when you trade for a guy like cellic that basically puts a roadblock right in front of a player like mlin who I think does the right things works hard says the right things um goes about his business the right way is a really standup guy credit to him um and his hockey upbringing in Bill R and also like uh you know learning his craft at BC and they always seem to crank out players like that that are good solid Pros good people uh good organizational team members like all that stuff so you know he’s a plus for the organization I just don’t see him uh getting a long run here I think the best run he had uh will have ended up having with the Bruins is probably the the first run he had the first couple years uh and then they they started to bring in more sort of depth players around him and more waves of young players I think people just passed him on the organizational depth chart so like a fresh start would probably be be the best thing for him at some point in the next couple of years and he’ll get there um you just hope that the next place he goes he’s able to to push through and and carot a role for himself uh at the NHL level because I’m not sure it’s gonna happen for him uh in Boston unfortunately uh from four or four Hey Joe how has ptra been on faceoffs this past week at development Camp thanks well he was fine um but two things uh not a ton of faceoffs taken at development Camp it’s much more skill-based Edge work skating work um fundamental stuff for a lot of the practices and then the last couple they do more sort of battle drills and game situations but really even the three Onre tournament at the end um not not really not faceoffs no faceoffs taken except for the very beginning um and the scrimmage like a handful of Face Off and like not only were there not a lot of faceoffs taken but I would also say that um you’re not gonna be able to gauge a guy like Matt ptra and his Faceoff ability and him taking faceoffs until he’s doing it against NHL guys the reason guys like Patra struggle when they’re 19 years old in the NHL and faceoffs is because they’re going against veterans that have been taking faceoffs for 10 years and Pros that know all the tricks and and you have to sort of learn who they are learn what they do have scouting reports on those guys have a book on all those guys you go up against in the faceoff Circle and have your own go-to moves that you know we going to win all the time and sort of develop your craft that way uh so it’s an uphill battle for young kids like ptra I mean everybody like even Sydney Crosby I think struggled with faceoffs when he first came into the league It’s Kind it’s a learning curve for all those guys um so you’re not going to be able to tell much about Patra and whether he’s improved in the faceoff Circle if he’s going against you know Dean Loro who is coming from Canadian High School hockey basically and is going to go to BC next year like him him winning faceoffs against somebody like that is not going to help him at the NHL level so uh not a way to tell anything about Patra in the faceoffs he did acknowledge um a couple of things during the week one was that he needs to get physically stronger he said he added eight to nine pounds to his frame uh since the shoulder surgery back in February which is great news because he definitely needs to get bigger and stronger I think he also needs to get faster and he needs to work on his skating and I think that’s the biggest and I talked about this earlier in the week with Mick I think that’s the biggest element um that ptra needs to work on is because he’s never going to be the biggest guy in the world um but his mind is great his hands are great he just needs to work on the skating and the edge work to make sure he’s getting there faster he’s getting in and out of danger faster he’s separating from Defenders faster getting up the ice faster as a center like he’s going to need all that stuff he’s going to be effective at the NHL level if he doesn’t improve his skating speed and his ability to quickly separate from uh opponents and get the ice up get the puck up the Ice Fast even if he’s got like the counter moves and the East West game and a lot of the stuff that he likes to do you do need a certain level of speed um in order to get there and be able to do that and I just don’t think he’s there uh right now like he’s got some a lot of C in his game and crei was never the fastest guy in the world but I think Cree increased his level of skating speed and his Edge work as he went along in the NHL enough to survive and move the puck up the ice as a center and and you know get it consistently enter the offensive zone even though he did play East West as well and you see ptra is going to need a little more of that just like a little bit more separation speed and a little bit more skating speed Edge work um in order to to to get himself time and space in addition to the creativity he has and the way he thinks with the puck and you know the way he’s able to find open space he does a good job of that when he has the puck um but skating speed’s going to only help him in those areas so I think that is is a big part of it and working on the faceoffs and you know getting physically stronger all those things are going to help him um didn’t see a ton of that at U development Camp thought he was good not great not dominant uh but he now he’s got the whole summer and he’s healthy to be able to work on those things and really hone them in for you know frankly what’s a big um training camp for him and a big season next year for him where you know the Bruins are hoping that he’s going to be uh a third line Center maybe you know and if if he’s going to do that he’s gonna really have to be like he was last year where he hit training camp on with a lot of momentum and ended up winning a roster spot and surprised everybody at 19 years old uh he’s gonna have to have another camp like that to hold off uh The Challengers and you know start the year in a very key spot as a third line Center on a team with Stanley Cup aspiration uh and and continue moving forward uh but he’s 20 years old so like you know he’ll get more chances if he’s not up for the challenge this fall um and if other guys sort of hop over uh him uh in the battle for those positions but he’s also like he’s getting to an age now where like he’s now he’s learned it at the NHL level and he’s seen what it’s all about and he should be able to use that information and help himself uh win a spot and and keep it so it’s it’s on him and it’s going to be fun to watch because the talent is there there’s no question about it and uh they could use an offensive playmaking Center like Matt ptra who could eventually even push up uh further in the lineup so uh it’ll be fun to watch and uh you know you hope he brings the same kind of magic and enthusiasm he had a year ago uh when they hit training camp in the fall uh Joe Dean Lono is the is great outside the box thinking I was hoping Cam and Don would do do this the kid is six foot five Wing Mega range now if Cam can turn him into a beast that would be awesome kid has range 10 feet left 10 feet right right Thomas blackington I love the pick because they were uh taking a swing for the F fenses they were U overlooking the um competition level um saw the dominant 6′ s center with uh great offensive skills headed to BC um you know produced at the level he was at and and really you know put himself on the map with the way he played up in Canada um and you know has the frame to put on a lot more weight is going to be a much bigger Pro we’re talking about a player that is going to be huge uh at 6 foot7 when he gets to the NHL level and you know he was saying to reporters Up in Vegas after he was drafted that he thinks he’s going to be at BC for a year or two I don’t think that’s the case I think he’s probably G to be at BC for three years maybe um because I think he’s got that much development to do before he’s ready for the pros I I think you could see that just physically um and and competitively um I think you could see that at development camp that he’s got some work to do and he’s has to consistently play against better competition against tougher Harder Faster stronger players and in order to steal himself and in order to really you know become that himself um but the talent was there you know he he made a bunch of great offensive plays um you know he certainly was noticeable at times um when he looked determined like he was going to use his size and he was going to make something happen and he was going to win battles and he was going to be involved when when you saw him on a shift when they were playing three on three where you could see in his mind he was determined I’m gonna make something happen here he usually did um there were just other times where you could see that he was not in the I’m going to make something happen here sort of mentality um and you know maybe never touched the puck maybe touched it for a second and that was it and you know there was one play where he and Don Lock melis both went to the sideboards to battle for a puck and Loch melis just easily won the battle won the puck away from him with momentum going the other way and turned into a goal where he roofed it backhand I actually put the video on my Twitter account um during the three on three but like that’s a situation ation where you’re 6′ seven along the boards you can’t be beaten by Don Lu melis that cleanly where he can just pick the puck go the other way with speed and beat everybody down uh the ice and flip one past the goalie like you got to put on more of a battle there there was another play too where uh Elliot gronwald scored um spun off his Defender behind his own net like as soon as the defender got there he SP off him and took off up the ice and you could see because it was three on three it was man on man and all of a sudden it was lono’s job to leave his guy and to kind of step up and stop Grunwald as he was skating towards mid ice and and towards uh the offensive zone and it was a really like just perfunctory like not even challenging him at all um when he was skating up on him and Grunwald just like skated sidest stepped him and had enough time space confidence like knew he wasn’t going to get hit or challenged and absolutely blasted a rocket top Corner P the goalie because he knew he wasn’t G to get stopped um those are the kind of things like that can’t happen if you’re you know 6′ s and you’re strong and you’re you’re big uh in addition to being skilled offensively you just want to see a little more compete in situations like that and like I said there was another play play where there was a one-on-one drill and um the puck went away from the net and he just basically stopped skating and it was against Frederick brune and brune just went to the corner kept going and then you know flipped the puck out of the Zone because it was a one-on-one and he was the defender and and Lono was the offensive player and it just looked like Lono just gave up on it uh and the other player wasn’t going to give up on the play until the refs blew the whistle the puck was out of the zone and you know for Lono you want him not giving up on a play until the ref Blows the Whistle or the puck is in the net and he just doesn’t rest until the Pucket is in there and you know you live and you learn he’s an 18-year-old kid they’re going to make mistakes like that but it’s just like when you’ve been watching enough and you see things like that you’re like all right he needs to have a little more um a little more doggedness uh to his approach uh especially in a in a NHL you know development camp like setting where you’re trying to impress people and show them what you’re all about um but Talent is there uh you can’t manufacture that he’s 6’7 very skilled and that’s why he was taken in the first round uh somebody told me he’s probably more like a Jumbo Joe kind of player than Tage Thompson kind of player which is perfectly fine I take Jumbo Joe all day long or even a poor man’s Jumbo Joe um you just hope it’s not a Joe colbourne type player instead uh who was kind of passive like that too and he was a big body and that’s why he never really consistently made it it’s because that fire just wasn’t burning in there um and you hope that isn’t the case with a kid like Dean Loro and and frankly he’s got plenty of time to prove that that it isn’t uh that he has that fire inside and you know he’ll start doing it next year at BC so like that’s why you can’t judge too much by what you see at development Camp you can make observations about okay I saw this I saw that I like this I like that I liked Loro shot I liked his big frame I liked his ability to possess the puck and use his body well against Defenders like he knows how to do that already um some of stick skills were pretty good uh but I would say the skating is okay um can definitely be better uh the physicality definitely needs to he needs to get stronger and bigger and um I just think he needs to have more of a Killer Instinct uh when he’s like involved in game situations and in drills and things like that um can’t just sort of float offensively and wait for his opportunities has to be really dig in offensively and defensively um if he hopes to have consistent success but uh either way I I like the pick um I like that they went for the big offensive upside there um some people were mentioning this kid Green Tree Liam Green Tree I think his name was that got taken right after the Bruins pick as somebody that um you know might have been an option might have been a good player and looks like a pretty good player but I I like taking the six foot seven Center that’s going to BC that’s going to be kind of a long range project maybe like three years four years down the road uh we’ll pay dividends for the Bruins because I don’t think they’re in a hurry I think they want to find the next great Center and you know you need to you need to swing for the fences you need to you know go for the big potential there if you’re looking for the guy that’s going to be your franchise Center uh for the long term and I think they lessened a little bit of that urgency by signing Elias Lindholm so now they can afford to be patient with Dean Loro and watch him develop at Boston College so I like the pick too I agree all right that is it for uh questions for this week thanks for joining us [Music]

Joe Haggerty opens up the Hagg Bag mailbag for a Pucks with Haggs mailbag edition where he answers your burning questions.

Haggs dives into the Boston Bruins’ strategic moves in preparation for the playoffs, shedding light on standout prospects from the recent development camp like Dean Letourneau, Oscar Jellyk, and Elliott Groenewold. Hagerty discusses the team’s shift towards prioritizing playoff effectiveness over regular-season performance, leading to decisions like Danton Heinen’s departure.

With a focus on enhancing scoring depth and chemistry, particularly Elias Lindholm’s potential partnership with David Pastrnak, the Bruins are gearing up for postseason success. Stay tuned as we explore how the Bruins are building a roster tailored for playoff competitiveness and the future prospects like Dean Letourneau shaping the team’s path to the Stanley Cup Final.

How do the additions of Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm prepare the Bruins for the playoffs? Would they be able to make it past the tougher teams like Florida?

0:00 – Intro
3:27 – Oscar Jellvik’s performance at camp
6:32 – Matt Poitras’ healthy return
9:02 – Bruins’ playoff strategy
10:43 – Players moving on from Bruins
12:22 – Importance of physical players
14:28 – Bringing in intimidating force
19:24 – Scoring depth for playoffs
21:37 – Upgrading at trade deadline
23:20 – Offensive potential of players
27:49 – Matt Poitras’ faceoff development
32:00 – Future prospects
35:11 – Determined mindset in games
37:27 – Importance of not giving up
39:01 – Developing a killer instinct

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