Bruins Notes: Charlie Coyle's Thoughts On Sean Kuraly, Nick Ritchie As Linemates

Maybe not to the degree of David Krejci, but Charlie Coyle has dealt with his fair share of linemates since coming to the Boston Bruins.

His latest? Sean Kuraly and Nick Ritchie.

In part because of David Pastrnak’s and Ondrej Kase’s delays in returning to training camp and working out with the full group, Coyle has been pivoting Kuraly, historically Boston’s fourth-line center, and Ritchie, who arrived from the Anaheim Ducks at the trade deadline.

While Kuraly and Coyle have played on a line together in games, as has Coyle and Ritchie, the trio never has been used together. But there’s plenty of size between the three, and it’s a unit that, at least in the short-term, the Bruins are interested in trying out.

“We’ve had a few days now to kind of get acclimated and get used to each other,” Coyle said Thursday over Zoom. “They work hard. You know what Sean can bring: a lot of energy, a lot of speed. And Ritch is a big guy, skilled and he’ll get in there as well. Three big bodies, we should be all over that puck protecting it, make it hard on most teams to take it from us and go the other way.”

It’s challenging to envision this group staying together if both Pastrnak and Kase are ready to go. That’s in large part because of the way Anders Bjork has played during camp thus far, and should he crack the lineup, it’ll be easier to just put him on the third line, bump Kuraly back to the fourth and scratch Par Lindholm.

But uncertainty will surround the remainder of the NHL season. So at this point, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Ritchie-Coyle-Kuraly trio get extended run together — especially in the short term.

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Here are some other notes from Thursday.

— Both Pastrnak and Kase were expected to take part in Thursday’s session, but neither of them were present. The reason for the absences remains a mystery.

As per new league rules, coaches aren’t allowed to explain why a player is out, meaning they instead just have to deem a player “unfit to play.” As such, that was the designation for Pastrnak and Kase, both of whom returned to practice for the first time Wednesday.

A clearer picture of the situation might come into focus Friday when the team is scheduled to have another full practice, but that remains to be seen. Conversely, Cassidy said at this point he isn’t planning on not having either player available for the round-robin tournament or playoff games.

— In due course, Jack Studnicka and Coyle project to be the Bruins’ top two, or maybe second and third, centers.

Right now, Coyle is a big fan of what he’s seeing.

Studnicka was called up to the NHL team for training camp, meaning most players are getting a longer look at him than they have before. Following practice, Coyle gave a glowing review of the 21-year-old center.

— While the addition of Pastrnak and Kase probably would’ve shook up the lines, the absences mean changes were few.

Studnicka was given an opportunity on the second line right wing, skating alongside Krejci and Jake DeBrusk, while Bjork and Karson Kuhlman took turns skating on the first unit with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.

Connor Clifton participated in the second session, so John Moore and Jakub Zboril formed the extra defensive pairing in the first.

— Here are some highlights from Thursday’s session.