For a while now, the Boston Bruins have been searching for a player who can fit in well on David Krejci’s right wing.
It’s possible that Marcus Johansson and Noel Acciari, both wingers, will depart this offseason in unrestricted free agency, which could result in some training camp competition for their roles.
Following the completion of Bruins development camp Friday, general manager Don Sweeney was asked if Jack Studnicka and/or Oskar Steen would get a look in training camp to fill potential vacancies on the wing. He didn’t entirely rule it out.
“I would possibly look at that,” Sweeney told the media, via a team-provided transcript. “Again, Jack’s a natural centerman. Oskar’s played both. He did have a really good year and productive year at center, so we want to make sure he’s coming over to a new environment he feels very comfortable at, but I do see the fact that he has a lot of attributes as a winger that would translate.
“Jack, I think we’re going to leave him in the middle of the ice,” Sweeney continued. “We talked to the head coaches. He has a skill set that we would like to see develop offensively. He’s talked about players in Krejci and such that Jack has a lot of similarities, being able to slow the game down or play with pace, protect the puck and gets pucks to people in offensive situations. I would like to see him develop that rather than try to fast track his opportunity. You know, play a game or two or whatever the situation is. If he’s the right guy, then fine, we’ll move forward. He’s perfectly comfortable doing it, and Oskar is as well. Our idea is to leave Jack at a comfortable spot, a natural spot.”
Free agency is set to begin Monday, and at that point, the Bruins’ roster for the upcoming season will become a little clearer. Still, it will be interesting to see if Studnicka and Steen are able to compete for an NHL spot this September.
