Forwards Zach Hamill, Vladimir Sobotka and Brad Marchand were all in the lineup Saturday and walked off the ice still maintaining hope that they may be able to crack a roster that had minimal openings when training camp started two weeks ago.
“A little nervous," Marchand said after clinging a shot off the post Saturday night and scoring two goals in five preseason games. "This is where decisions are made, [so I'm] nervous in that aspect, but yeah, [I'm] real excited to get things going here."
Marchand said he probably wouldn’t sleep much until he learns his fate, but either way, he is grateful for another NHL training camp experience.
“I’ve learned a lot, you know, and I know I can play in this league, and that’s the main thing,” he said. “I am very confident now that at some point I am going to get my opportunity. It is a very tough league, and you really see how little mistakes you can make in the game and capitalize on that, and I guess that’s the difference between this league and the American League. That’s one thing I am always going to worry about.”
Prior to the game, Hamill shared the same thoughts and had no regrets. For Hamill, this has been another step in the right direction.
"You know, it’s been another great experience,” Hamill said. “Do I think I played well enough to make the team? I hope so, but there’s always things to improve on. I know my strength needs to get better, and I’m still working on being better in the corners, winning the battles for pucks and doing the little things. But I’m happy with the way I’ve approached things, and I know it will help me either way.”
As Julien said prior to the game, the fact that this young trio was still in the lineup with the big club spoke volumes and signified that they still could possibly sway him and the Bruins' management team to keep them up in Boston.
“I think that as long as you’re in there, your chances of making it are a lot better than the guys that aren’t in there today," Julien said. "So it’s up to them to show us what they can do."
Julien used Sobotka as an example of someone who wasn’t impressive early in camp but took advantage of his opportunities with the increased game action.
“We’re going to use Vlady as an example,” he said. “At the beginning of camp, he was putting so much pressure on himself. He looked more like the Vlady of last year that put him back in the American League. But the last couple of games, you start to see him playing his game again like he did for us a couple of years ago, and now you’re able to evaluate him. He’s definitely played well enough to stay on this team, so that’s the difference that those games can make.”
Julien also made it clear that due to the uncertain injury status of players like David Krejci and Marco Sturm — who are coming back from major offseason surgeries — these bubble players need to keep working hard and playing as if they’re at the NHL level, even if they don’t make the team out of camp.
“Since I’ve been here, I’ve felt really comfortable with the depth that this organization has,” Julien said. “We’ve called up guys from Providence, and the coaching staff over there has done a great job with them. But even our scouting staff has done a great job of giving us those kinds of players that can come in and help us out.
"We’ve run into injuries at times where probably some other teams or organizations would have really started sliding. We haven’t because those guys have stepped in there. So it’s important for those guys to come in [now], and whether they’re with us at the beginning of the year, at least we know we can call them up and feel comfortable with their play.”
