It didn’t take long for a pair of newcomers to catch the eye of Joe Sacco.
Axel Andersson and Jakub Lauko, the Boston Bruins’ top two picks in this year’s NHL Draft, earned high praise from their assistant coach after Sunday’s 2-1 preseason win over the Washington Capitals at TD Garden.
“I would put those two guys, as far as young guys, in the same category as getting off to a good start for their first game overseas here playing against a team that was obviously missing a lot of players,” Sacco said, via NHL.com’s Michael Tolvo. “But they came out hard, especially in the second half of the game. They started to pressure us, and they handled it well, both those guys.”
Lauko netted a nifty goal in the first to get the scoring started for the Bruins and logged 14:21 of ice time with three blocked shots and two hits in Sunday’s victory.
“He played well. He played hard, 18-year-old kid, didn’t seem phased by anything out there really,” Sacco said. “Competed, obviously scoring the goal is a bonus, but just the way he played the game, the way he approached the game tonight. It was a good start for him.”
Andersson, meanwhile, was paired with 41-year-old Zdeno Chara, and Sacco liked what he saw from the other 18-year-old.
“(He) seemed really poised back there,” Sacco said. “Wasn’t nervous, went back for pucks, didn’t seem to get rattled or anything. Even when the pressure came on him a few times he didn’t seem to back off, he stuck with it.”
Though both players likely are to begin the 2018-19 season with the Providence Bruins, the future certainly is bright for them.
