Today, we will be taking a look at how the Boston Bruins’ right-wing depth may turn out.
The right side is likely to be filled with several young talents looking to either breakout or improve on their success.
First line: Anders Bjork / Projection: +9, 10 goals, 20 assists, 30 points
Putting a rookie on the first line along Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron may be a bit bold, but it makes sense.
Anders Bjork would thrive alongside elite talent and bumping David Pastrnak to the second line could prove to be very beneficial (more on that in a bit).
Bjork elected to forgo is final year of eligibility at Notre Dame and sign an entry-level contract with the Bruins.
He steadily improved over his college career, increasing his offensive production each season. The young winger capped his junior with 52 points.
A strong development camp showed that Bjork is ready for the NHL level. Pairing him alongside two wily veterans would help ease the learning curse and hopefully give the Bruins another top goal scorer.
Second line: David Pastrnak / Projection: +12, 35 goals, 39 assists, 74 points
David Pastrnak is in a complicated contract situation at the moment, but so far there has been no indication that he won’t be resigned.
The 21-year-old right winger is coming off a breakout season where he scored 34 goals and recorded 36 assists.
The Bruins are looking to create more scoring opportunities in their second through third lines so it’s possible Pastrnak could be moved down in favor of a rookie. The second line would become an all David line.
This is a move that would benefit both lines. While a rookie such as Anders Bjork learns alongside Marchand, David Krejci and David Backes would have a legit weapon to work with.
In the end, this move would balance the two lines to make a solid one-two punch.
Third line: Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson / Projection: +2, 5 goals, 7 assists, 12 points
Right wing on the third and fourth lines is a bit up in the air right now, but we’re gonna take a crack at it anyway.
Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson is going to be fighting for minutes and could find himself on Boston’s third line.
The 20-year-old has only played a single NHL game, but his minutes were minimal so there isn’t a lot to go on.
His natural position is center, but with Ryan Spooner and Riley Nash on the team, the Bruins are going to use him as a winger for now.
If Spooner doesn’t pan out, it’s possible we could see Karlsson take his spot in the future.
Fourth line: Noel Acciari / Projection: -1, 5 goals, 8 assists, 13 points
Noel Acciari saw some playing time toward the end of the 2016-2017 season. His numbers didn’t stand out, but he played well enough to earn himself a roster spot.
Acciari was forced to miss some due to an upper-body injury at the end of the season just as he was starting to get going.
The Bruins have a couple of players who could end up in the 4th tight winger spot, but this writer feels Acciari is the front-runner.
The Bruins resigned him to a two-year deal in the offseason which suggests they plan on using him in some capacity.
Other names to keep an eye on
- Justin Hickman
- Zach Senyshyn
- Jordan Szwarz
