Justin Florek Steals Show As Prospects Entertain Packed House in Wilmington With First Scrimmage of Development Camp

WILMINGTON, Mass. — After three days of fitness testing, power skating and endless drills, the Bruins prospects participating in the club's fifth annual development camp finally got a chance to play some real hockey on Sunday.

In the second session of the day at Ristuccia Arena, the campers were split into a pair of 10-man squads for a scrimmage sandwiched around a shootout and some power-play work. Each side played with two forward lines and two pairs of defensemen, with the three goalies in camp rotating between the two squads.

"We still had the first hour of drills, so that was tough," forward Jared Knight said. "Then an hour scrimmage with only two lines, so the legs definitely caught up to us today."

It may have been tiring, but the players definitely enjoyed the chance to compete in a game-like situation, and the Bruins coaching and management staff on hand enjoyed what they saw from the youngsters.

"You come to camps and all the kids are probably chomping at the bit to scrimmage a little bit," Bruins assistant general manager Don Sweeney said. "[It was] a little bit choppy at the start, but once somebody scores a goal and you start to make some plays, guys kind of settle in, and that's where the hockey sense and the stuff that our scouts and people see all year long start to materialize. And that's probably the enjoyable thing. I mean, that's again not the main focus of this camp but it's always a nice little piece that kind of toward the end of it you see these kids in the setting that they're most comfortable in, while the game's being played."

Anthony Camara scored the lone goal for the White squad in the opening period, but Justin Florek stole the show, scoring a pair of goals and setting up another to lead the Black squad to a 3-1 victory before a completely packed house in Wilmington.

"I think we were all ready to get out there and scrimmage," Florek said. "Get away from all the power skating and just be who we are out there, be ourselves in a scrimmage."

Florek is proving himself to be an intriguing prospect. Drafted in the fifth round in 2010, Florek put up 13-15-28 totals in 39 games last year at Northern Michigan University, where the 6-foot-4, 194-pound left wing will return this fall for his senior season.

"Well I mean you look at the physical size and he isn't even done filling out that frame," Sweeney said of Florek. "So there's a lot of room there. You look at the drills, look at the power skating, it's hard for him because he's not a kid that's a fluid skater. But he gets there, and he's heavy when he gets there. And he's heavy around the front of the net and then you see the release when he gets one chance. Some guys need three or four or five, right? But he gets one and buries it. That's the stuff that you kind of say, 'OK, if we can continue to work on the other stuff, and he's willing to work on that stuff, then you know you could find a player there for sure.'"

Florek buried his first chance with a perfectly-placed bullet from the left face-off circle, beating goalie Zane Gothberg short side. He then set up linemate Brian Ferlin with a perfect crossing pass for a tap-in at the right post, and finished the scoring with a rebound in front.

"We had a couple guys driving the net, so that forced the d-men and the goalie to respect them a bit," Florek said of his first goal. "It opened up that top corner for me and I just fired it in there. I got into a groove there and just felt great with those two guys.

"It was a lot of fun out there," Florek added. "It was a great scrimmage playing with Ferlin and [Ryan] Spooner, two great players. Setting each other up like that was a lot of fun."

Florek even nearly created a scoring chance shorthanded during the power-play drills, forcing the attackers back into their own zone and almost coming away with the puck in the corner. And that was with the penalty killers playing with their sticks reversed, holding the blades with the butt of the stick on the ice.

"I just wanted to turn it over and take off a couple of times, but unfortunately I couldn't," Florek said. "I kill a lot [of penalties], almost too much, my coach [Northern Michigan's Walt Kyle] says. That's one thing he's going to try to tone me down a bit this year so I can play a little more 5 on 5 and have a little more energy offensively."

As a college player, Florek had to pay his own way to come to the camp because of NCAA rules against accepting any benefits from a professional team. He's been working in his hometown of Marquette, Mich., taking care of the town's baseball and softball fields to make the money he needed. He's applied that same work ethic on the ice and in the classroom, where he's pursuing a degree in secondary education.

"My dream job after hockey would be being a high school teacher and a hockey coach," Florek said.

Florek is getting some practical experience in that field this week as he helps mentor the younger kids in camp. His own experience in his first camp last year has helped him come into this camp with more confidence and poise.

"I'm sore, but I've felt pretty good," Florek said. "Being here last year really helped because I'm more comfortable this year and just more confident and I've had a better chance to show who I am this year."