Brian Ferlin made a positive impression on the Bruins staff at their recently completed development camp. Now he'll get a chance to shine in another important camp this summer.
On Thursday, Ferlin, the Bruins' fourth-round pick last month, was one of two players added to the 2011 USA Hockey National Junior Evaluation Camp, which will take place in Lake Placid from August 6-13. Ferlin and Scott Mayfield join 42 other players already invited to audition for a spot on the U.S. squad at the 2012 World Junior Championship in Calgary and Edmonton from Dec. 26-Jan. 5.
Ferlin is a Jacksonville, Fla., native but played last season with the Indiana Ice of the United States Hockey League, where he posted 25-48-73 totals in 55 games. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound left wing was also a plus-25 and added five points in five playoff games.
He'll attend Cornell University in the fall, but left a lasting impression at the Bruins' development camp, where he was a standout in the scrimmages playing on a line with Ryan Spooner and Justin Florek.
"I think there's a lot of room for growth on Brian," Bruins assistant general manager Don Sweeney said of Ferlin during the camp. "He's got tremendous upside athletically. I think he'll continue to get more and more comfortable on the ice as he plays more and more hockey. … As he plays more of that athleticism will start to show up. He's got good speed. He's got good size. He's got good skills. He'll understand now in terms of how to utilize those even better as he plays with better players and moves forward. We're excited. I think he's a nice project and a nice piece to have to continue to go to work with and then see where he takes it."
Ferlin will be reunited in the U.S. evaluation camp with fellow Bruins prospect Jared Knight, a 2010 second-round pick and Battle Creek, Mich., native who was among the original 42 players invited.
There will also be a strong New England flavor to the camp. Forwards Bill Arnold (Needham, Mass./Boston College), Connor Brickley (Everett, Mass./University of Vermont), Charlie Coyle (East Weymouth, Mass./Boston University), Kevin Hayes (Dorchester, Mass./Boston College), Matt Nieto (Boston University) and Kenny Agostino (Yale University) and defenseman Adam Clendening (Boston University) are among the invitees.
Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma and former Bruins coach and current Rangers assistant Mike Sullivan will be among the coaches at the camp, while University of Nebraska Omaha coach Dean Blais will serve as the club's head coach in the tournament.
