WILMINGTON, Mass. — Ryan Button never got the chance to play in a postseason game in his junior career.
He spent four seasons in the Western Hockey League without a sniff of the playoffs. Not even a trade from struggling Prince Albert to Seattle last January could give the young defenseman a chance to show what he's capable of doing when the games mean the most, as the Thunderbirds also fell short of qualifying.
Button even joined Providence for a handful of games after his junior season ended, but the Baby B's were all but mathematically eliminated from the playoff run before Button arrived in the Ocean State. But Button isn't worried about his lack of postseason experience. He figures that joining the organization that just won the Stanley Cup means he'll get his shot in the playoffs sooner or later.
"It's been a little frustrating," Button said after the second day of workouts at the Bruins development camp at Ristuccia Arena on Friday. "But being a part of this organization, I know playoffs are going to come. This year obviously they were Stanley Cup champions. This town is made for winners and the organization is all about winning. It didn't quite work out in the Western League, but I'm where I want to be now. That's behind me and I'm looking forward to next year."
Button, a third-round pick in 2009, is participating in his third development camp this week, but he doesn't mind the frequent trips to the Boston area. He's hoping for an even longer stay when he returns to compete for a job in the main training camp in September.
"Any time you get to come to Boston it's a great experience," Button said. "I've been to two development camps [before this] and two main camps, and it's always a lot of fun. The veterans at main camp are always awesome. They're always helpful and friendly."
Button is just 20, but in this development camp he's playing the role of the helpful veteran trying to aid the younger campers as much as possible.
"They haven't really talked to me about it, but I've kind of taken it upon myself," Button said of the leadership role he's taken on. "I've been here for three years, so I've just been walking around the dressing room, talking to the new guys, making sure they feel comfortable here, being a leader on the ice, leading warm-ups and stretches. Just anything to make them feel more comfortable, I'm going to put that on myself as something that I need to do."
Button has made strides in his own quest to reach the NHL, coming off a season with 5-30-35 totals split between Prince Albert and Seattle and making a solid first impression in the pro ranks with one assist in seven games in Providence. But the 6-foot, 185-pound Button knows he still has plenty to work on and is willing to put as much time in at Providence as needed.
"When he was drafted he was a great skater and he still is," said Providence head coach Bruce Cassidy, who is helping run the development camp. "[He's] very mobile, can push the puck up the ice. He's got decent hockey sense. That's an area that most kids come out of junior and, if they're good skaters, get away with being able to do certain things because they can recover and that's what we saw last year. Some of the things he probably got away with, with cheating up in the neutral zone to try to pinch off some plays, he got exposed a couple of times, and he knew it and he learned.
"We just want to see him, again, we talk about consistency in a defenseman because every mistake gets magnified when you're back there, so he'll have to go through that process," Cassidy added. "But he's stronger than he has been, and that's natural, every year at that age you get a little stronger, so that will help in his battles. That's an area that he's going to have to be a good contributor in, as a defensive, shut down type of guy. And then maybe he'll grow into the other part of it offensively."
Button has already gotten a head start with his brief stint in Providence in the spring. It was an opportunity he had long awaited, and it proved worth the wait as the Bruins signed him to an entry-level contract after the audition.
"I was waiting for that call to come from Providence and eventually I got it," Button said. "It was just the best two weeks. I really thought I played good hockey and I eventually signed after that, which was a bit of a relief. I just can't wait until next year. I'm really excited to start my pro career."
Having logged seven games in Providence last season, Button also has an idea what to expect in the pro game, and some extra confidence in his ability to compete at that level.
"It was huge," Button said of his stint in Providence. "Coming in, going out for the first warm-up you look over at the other team warming up and you kind of think that you're almost there. You're a little bit scared obviously because these guys a quite a bit bigger, but once the game gets going, it's just like any other hockey game. The speed's a little quicker and the guys are a little bigger, but in the end it's just hockey. So if I go out and play my game and do what I can do, I can be effective at that level. That will help me this year."
