Even with Marc Savard shut down for the season, Boston had 14 forwards on the ice at practice on Tuesday at Ristuccia Arena. One of those forwards was Daniel Paille, who isn't eligible to play for another three games as he finishes serving his suspension.
But even with Paille out of the mix for now, there's still one more healthy forward who will need to take a seat in the press box. The choice will likely come down to two rookie centers with first-round pedigrees in Tyler Seguin and Zach Hamill.
Seguin, the No. 2 overall pick in last June's draft who turned 19 last week, has played in all but two games this season, missing one with the flu and another as a healthy scratch back on Dec. 15. Seguin has had just three goals and four assists in 24 games since returning to the lineup, with just one point in his last 11. He's also seen his ice time shrink to under 10 minutes in each of the last four games as defensive lapses and stretches of indifferent play have led coach Claude Julien to shorten his bench and keep Seguin glued to it late in close games.
Now Julien also has the option of seeing what Hamill can do. The eighth overall pick in 2007, it's been a much longer road to the NHL for Hamill. Yet after a slow start to the season in Providence, the 22-year-old center improved his play significantly and earned a call-up last week. Hamill, who played one game with Boston last season and had an assist at Washington, made his Garden debut on Saturday against San Jose and is slowly feeling more comfortable and confident at this level.
"As time goes by you gain confidence with the team," Hamill said. "Every day you want to come in here and be more a part of the team, and that's what I'm trying to do. Every day you want to get better, and I'm just going forward from here."
Julien had both Hamill and Seguin skating with Blake Wheeler and Michael Ryder on the third line in Tuesday's practice, while fellow rookie Jordan Caron joined the fourth-line group after Seguin had played with Greg Campbell and Shawn Thornton on that unit on Saturday.
Assuming Patrice Bergeron is cleared to play after taking a puck to the chin early in the workout, then either Hamill or Seguin will likely be the healthy scratch against Montreal on Wednesday.
Julien didn't shy away from the idea that the two youngsters are in direct competition for playing time.
"They're both highly skilled centers, and that's what you should expect out of them," Julien said. "There's one guy that's got a little more pro experience than the other one. There's an age difference obviously. But those are guys that definitely play the same kind of role, and if they're competing against each other, it probably makes them better."
