Matt Grzelcyk Intro

For those of you who have not yet heard of Matt Grzelcyk (GRIZ-lick) store the name in your memory bank.  A native of Charlestown, MA and former student-athlete at The Belmont Hill School, Grzelcyk is currently lacing up the skates in his freshman year at Boston University after spending the last two seasons with the United States National Development Program.  Last summer Grzelcyk became one of the few hockey players who can say he was drafted, getting selected by none other than his hometown team, The Boston Bruins (3rd Round, 85 Overall).  As if this wasn't already a great story, Grzelcyk's older brother is a security guard at the TD Garden and his dad drives the zamboni there!

Now that's all well and good, but I'm more interested in Grzelcyk as a player than a "feel-good" story.  Fortunately, Grzelcyk doesn't just have a great story, he is a terrific player.  He would be fairly undersized for a forward, but for a defenseman he is TINY, standing at only 5'9 and 171 lbs.  Don't let his size fool you though, he is constantly seen pushing around much bigger forwards around in the corners; Grzelcyk has devised a perfect strategy to combine the use of his core strength and low center of gravity to his advantage.  In addition to his strength, he possesses incredible poise and excellent decision making with the puck on his stick, which are complemented by his above average skill in the offensive end.  Despite being the last player cut from the US Under 20 World Championship Team, a decision I disagree with Coach Phil Housley on (though you can't argue with a gold medal or Housley's 1232 NHL points), Grzelcyk has continued to be a strong presence on the blue line for the Terriers.  With 18 points in 27 games this year, don't be surprised if we see Grzelcyk leave Coach Jack Parker before wearing the cap and gown.

Draft Day News

Resources:
bruins.nhl.com
hockeydb.com
Photo: bostonherald.com

Name Change!

I have decided that I should branch out past the P-Bruins and analyze Bruins highly toted prospects from all levels.  Junior hockey and College hockey will be included as well as a continued effort to provide updates on the minors.

Brian McGrattan Set to Return

http://www.providencebruins.com/View/PressReleases/595

Check out this article to read up on the newest member of the Providence Bruins.  McGrattan will provide the minor league club with the fighter they've been lacking.

Jamie Tardif's Call-up

Drafted in the fourth round of the 2003 NHL entry draft, Jamie Tardif's NHL aspirations seemed quite realistic.  At 6 foot, 205 lbs he possessed the size that scouts look for in a player, and the skill level seemed to be there as well.  Unfortunately, things haven't turned out quite the way Tardif planned as he has become somewhat of an AHL journeyman, spending the last seven seasons in the minor league.  Though he has been somewhat of a consistent scorer throughout his minor league career he has never put up the outstanding numbers that typical NHL call-ups produce.  Additionally his plus/minus ratio could be higher for someone who is not a star caliber point scorer, as he is more of a "three zone" player.  Despite playing for so long without ever getting called up to the big league for even one game, Tardif has put his work in both on and off the ice, and kept a positive attitude.  All of Tardif's hard work paid off two weeks ago when he finally got called up to play for the Boston Bruins.  After injuries to some of the Bruins' regulars, most notably Shawn Thornton's concussion, Coach Claude Julien and General Manager Peter Chiarelli decided to pull Tardif up as insurance.  Tardif made his first NHL appearance on February 5 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, his childhood favorite team.  When interviewed post game Tardif said, “I’ve been waiting for a chance at this for a while, I’m going into my eighth year pro, here, so I’m just fortunate. At the same time, I [was] excited, go- ing back to my hometown of Toronto, definitely very exciting."^  Tardif would appear in just one more game, a rivalry matchup with the Montreal Canadiens in which he had one shot on net, before being sent back down to Providence.  Though his stay in the NHL was short-lived, Tardif will remain positive, and hopefully we will see him back in action with the big club for end of the year call-ups.

^Prospect Update
References:
hockeydb.com
bruins.nhl.com
Photo from ECHL.com

Torey Krug Update

After three dominant years at Michigan State, defenseman Torey Krug (undrafted) signed an entry-level deal with the Bruins last April.  He is yet to appear for the big club this year, but has been doing some exciting things in Rhode Island so far.  In 37 games with the P-Bruins he has 20 pts (7 g, 13 a) but this is no surprise as he is well known as an offensive defenseman.  The aspect of his game that has the Bruins staff excited is his emergence as a solid presence in the defensive end.  He has been improving his d-zone coverage skills and is expected to get a shot in "the show" very soon.

Welcome!

Welcome Bruins fans!  Over the course of the 2012-13 season you can come here to see how the boys on the farm club are playing this year.  You will find videos, interviews, and articles about the P-Bruins, but most importantly there will be breakdowns of each of the players' progress along with comments from the team's staff and local media.