It didn't take very long for Bruins first round draft choice Jordan Caron to see how passionate Bruins fans truly are. The 25th overall selection of the 2009 NHL draft class experienced some rookie jitters when he first took the ice at Ristuccia Arena for the Bruins Development Camp two weeks ago.
“I didn’t know there were going to be a lot of people like this for a practice,” he told bostonbruins.com. “But I think it’s great. “The fans are great in Boston…and I think everybody knows Boston is a great town for sports.
The 18-year-old center from Quebec notched 36 goals and 31 assists last season for Rimouski Oceanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Despite being one of the biggest names in camp earlier this July, the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder was hoping to learn from the experience, not just strut his stuff.
“What I want to get out of this week is to have fun, improve on myself, work hard, and learn a lot,” he said prior to the mini-camp. “[This week] I’m working on my skating and…getting to know the coaching staff and the guys better.”
Following the week, where 25 of the B's prized prospects took in both on and off-ice training as well as a trip to Fenway Park, director of hockey operations Don Sweeney had great things to say about Caron.
“I believe he had a really good week,” Sweeney explained. “I think that if you asked anybody on our staff, they’d say that they were very, very excited about the fact that he was available where we [drafted him, because] we probably would have had him at a higher level. [He’s got] size and strength and a great release that…is going to give goaltenders a lot of trouble.”
Next season, Caron will remain in Juniors where he will have time to develop his talents and physical strength. Prior to the draft, NHL Central Scouting ranked Caron as the top North American skater in the QMJHL, which may not surprise many who have watched him light the lamp for Rimouski. In three seasons, Caron has 74 goals and 76 assists (150 points) in 161 career games.
Because of his knack for scoring, Caron is listed among the offensive greats to wear an Oceanic jersey — a list that includes Sidney Crosby, Brad Richards and Vincent Lecavalier. As a boy in Sayabec, Caron even had season tickets for Rimouski and remembers watching Crosby play.
"I saw [Crosby] play a lot during his two years in Rimouski," Caron told NHL.com. "I have season tickets with my dad, so I saw him play. I live 45 minutes away from Rimouski so I was there almost every game during his time in Rimouski."
Hopefully, if and when the Bruins draft another Sayabec local in the coming years, he will think back and tell reporters of watching the great Jordan Caron lace 'em up for Oceanic as well. But in the meantime, Caron is just looking to improve, adjust and learn.
"I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself," Caron said. "Playing hard every game is the key. If I try to focus on what I have to do every shift, that's how I'm going to do good."
