Zach Senyshyn is trying to stick in the NHL, and he made a positive impression Thursday night.
The 2015 first-round pick got his first call-up of the 2021 season for the Boston Bruins' eventual 4-0 pummeling of the New York Rangers, skating in his seventh career NHL game.
Playing on the fourth line with Sean Kuraly and Jack Studnicka, Senyshyn looked good. It was noticeable how comfortable he seemed, particularly with the puck on his stick.
Bruce Cassidy was pleased with what he saw.
"Well, he's got good speed," the Bruins head coach said after the game. "Defensive zone coverage led to some opportunities for him to transition the other way. Their line was good, they created some turnovers, they had good sticks in lanes that forced some errant plays by the Rangers. He got through the neutral zone in a hurry, made two really nice plays to Kuraly -- one for essentially a tap and took a shot on the other one, which I thought was a good shot, so made good decisions with the puck on the attack. I thought he battled well on the walls, got pucks out when he was supposed to."
Providence head coach Jay Leach raved before the season about how Senyshyn has gone about his business, and what resulted was a hot start to the season in Providence, with whom he scored five goals with four assists in 11 games before getting called up.
Cassidy can't help but think that gave him some of the confidence he needed when it came time to play in an NHL game.
"We'll look at it again for the little details, stick position, etc., routes, all those things. But I certainly thought he impacted the game with his foot speed offensively and didn't hurt us at all defensively," Cassidy said. "Again, we'll go through it, but I liked what I saw, a little more of a confident player. I think scoring goals down in Providence on a regular basis here early on, probably being one of the older guys -- I know he's got a letter on his jersey -- has probably made him feel better about his game overall down there and I think it translated here tonight."
All told, the 23-year-old played 11:46 against the Rangers, putting three shots on net. It's probably best for the player and team if he gets a few more opportunities to play so everyone can tell where he's at, and his next chance to get in will be Saturday afternoon against the Blueshirts.
