Boston Bruins training camp begins Thursday, but the real action on the ice won’t start until Friday, when 53 players hit the ice at Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington, Mass.
Unlike camps in recent seasons, the Bruins have a couple of roster spots open, which will create plenty of competition between veterans and prospects over the next few weeks.
Here’s a breakdown of the four most notable position battles and the players likely to be involved.
First-Line Right Winger
Jarome Iginla’s offseason departure has created a void at right wing alongside David Krejci and Milan Lucic. Loui Eriksson is the most logical choice for this role after he averaged 29.5 goals as a top-six forward in Dallas from 2009-10 through 2012-13. In addition to his ability to find the back of the net, Eriksson is a quality playmaker and could help Krejci score more goals — something the Czech center wants to accomplish over the life of his new six-year contract extension.
“Chemistry you can create pretty fast, and if you have the right guy, a guy who listens, who likes to know what’s going on, how you play, then it could be easy,” Krejci said on Sept. 8. “And we played a couple of games with Loui last year, and I like playing with him. He’s a great player, he can pass the puck, and I feel if I play with him, I’ll have even more goals because he’s a great passer. But we’ll see what happens. Obviously I’m excited, I would love to play with him, and we’ll see how the camp goes and go from there.”
The only other candidate for the top-line right wing job is 2014 first-round draft pick David Pastrnak, an 18-year-old with the extraordinary offensive skill and top-end speed typically found in top-six forwards. Pastrnak is a rookie with no NHL experience, though, so it would be a little surprising if he started the regular season in this role, but we did see Tyler Seguin play on the top line as a sophomore when Nathan Horton suffered a concussion in 2011-12.
Third-Line Wingers
Carl Soderberg fit in perfectly at third-line center last season with his playmaking ability, physical strength and responsible defensive game. Chris Kelly is entering camp healthy after offseason back surgery, but he’s unlikely to replace Soderberg and win his old job back.
Both wing spots on the third line might be up for grabs during camp. These roster spots could be filled from a group of players including Matt Fraser, Justin Florek, Ryan Spooner, Alex Khokhlachev, Daniel Paille, Kelly and Pastrnak. If the Bruins are looking for more speed and skill in their bottom six, Spooner, Khokhlachev and Pastrnak are the best choices for the third line. Kelly likely will slot into the left wing spot, where he often played when him and Soderberg were in the lineup at the same time.
Fourth-Line Right Wing
Shawn Thornton’s free-agent departure created an opening at right wing, and it’s likely the Bruins will replace him with a more offensive-minded player.
Fraser would be a nice fit for this role because he provides the expected toughness and compete level of a fourth-line player, while also being able to score goals and battle for puck possession in front of the net and in the corners. Florek would bring many of those same skills, and he showed flashes of being able to excel in a bottom-six role during the 2014 playoffs.
Third-Pairing Defenseman
The Bruins have nine NHL-caliber defenseman in camp, but there might be only one spot open on the blue line. Zdeno Chara, Dennis Seidenberg, Johnny Boychuk and Dougie Hamilton make up the top four, and if Torey Krug signs, he’ll take one of the third-pairing spots. That would leave four players — Kevan Miller, Adam McQuaid, Matt Bartkowski and David Warsofsky — with a realistic chance of winning the other third-pairing job.
Miller is best suited to win the job as a rugged, physically imposing player who has penalty-kill experience and will drop the gloves when necessary. He also has the smallest salary cap hit of any Bruins D-man.
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