Jakub Zboril has appeared to pick up right where he left off with the Bruins, and it’s catching the attention of Jim Montgomery.
The Boston defenseman was playing some of his best hockey last season before tearing his ACL in December. He missed the remainder of 2021-22 season, but has been a full participant in Bruins training camp since it began.
Zboril saw action in both of the B’s preseason games and figures to slot into the lineup Saturday afternoon against the Philadelphia Flyers at TD Garden.
After another strong day of camp Friday at Warrior Ice Arena, Montgomery had heaps of praise for Zboril.
“Zboril has been outstanding,” Montgomery told reporters. “He’s been one of the top-five players in camp.”
When asked why he believed that, Montgomery didn’t hesitate to answer.
“Why? He’s been really good,” he told reporters. “As a coach you trust him. You know he’s gonna check really well, you know he’s gonna build momentum for the team because he’s hard, he’s physical and he does things the right way.”
Zboril is making quite the case to make the roster and not be the odd-man out. With Connor Clifton, Derek Forbort, Mike Reilly and Zboril fighting for three spots, and Reilly looking really strong even after offseason ankle surgery, it will be tough to leave Zboril out of the lineup.
Montgomery noted the next round of cuts will come either Sunday or Tuesday, but we’d be willing to bet that Zboril will not be part of those.
The Bruins play their third preseason game Saturday afternoon against the Flyers. Puck drop from TD Garden is set for 1 p.m. ET and you can watch the game on NESN+.
