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Post by SeaBass on Aug 16, 2022 12:28:27 GMT -5
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Post by SeaBass on Aug 18, 2022 10:21:47 GMT -5
Everywhere Riley Duran has gone, he has worked, and worked, and worked until he got himself to the next place.
That was true at Lawrence Academy in Groton, Mass., where Robbie Barker, his head coach and English teacher, watched him fail to meet his own expectations as a freshman only to become “one of the best players in prep hockey” as a junior on the ice, and re-write papers over and over again until he got the grade he wanted in the classroom off of it.
“He’s the type of kid that doesn’t take no for an answer. He’s the type of kid that is always working and when he’s working he gives everything he’s got,” Barker said. “Nothing comes easy to him but he’s got a go-getter mentality that has proven that if he does put his mind to it, he’s going to accomplish it at some point. It may not be as quickly as some of his teammates or his classmates but he’ll accomplish what he wants.”
It was true in Youngstown, with the USHL’s Phantoms, where after a difficult start under a new head coach, Brad Patterson, the sixth-round pick of the Bruins out of Lawrence Academy turned himself into one of the team’s “top two players on a nightly basis” in the last two months of the 2020-21 season — even when the numbers still weren’t coming.
“It’s not often where you’re not doing as well statistically as you’d hope, and there’s always a pouty lip or something, and Riley showed up every day and just put his best foot forward,” Patterson said. “He produced a lot, but maybe not on the scoresheet. And you wouldn’t have known that from maybe looking at the stat sheet. He’s a great example even talking to young players now of ‘just keep working and good things happen.’”
It was true, last season, in his 10-goal freshman year at Providence College under a third head coach in as many years, Nate Leaman (who will tell you that’s a “really good freshman season” and point out that all 10 of the goals were at even strength because he wasn’t on the power play), playing for a school an hour from his home under the coach that recruited him and never stopped believing in him — even when he could have.
And it was true this week, under that same head coach at the 2022 world juniors, where the 20-year-old didn’t just wear the Team USA jersey for the very first time but had a major impact in it, with his coaching calling him one of the team’s “most detailed players” and lauding his speed, work ethic, physicality and effectiveness.
While Duran’s career had not travelled along the same linear paths as most of his peers, he’d arrived at the same place as them.
So even when his experience with the national team didn’t end the way he’d envisioned it, with USA (after its perfect 4-0-0-0 round robin) falling to Czechia in the quarterfinals, when it was over it still meant a lot to him — maybe more than it did to those peers, the ones who were supposed to be there.
It still stung. That was the first thing he said as he stood in the Oilers Hall of Fame at Rogers Place moments after defeat: “It stings.”
But he could also appreciate it.
“It was definitely an honour, first time playing for my country, especially with a great coaching staff, a great team, and just playing with such great players and making the relationships. There’s a lot to take back from this,” Duran said. “It’s such a good team. But I mean, this is the game of hockey. It hurts sometimes and you love it sometimes. It happens.”
Standing in the Oilers Hall of Fame a day earlier on Team USA’s off day between the round robin and their quarterfinal, Duran was asked if he thought he’d be here a year or a year and a half ago.
“Not really,” he said, shaking his head. “I’m not trying to put myself down like that but Nate Leaman always thought I had something in me.”
Asked if he felt at the start of this tournament that he’d produce and make the kind of impact he has, though, he answered differently.
“I did,” he said.
And he was right: He had. The proof was in his five points (two goals, three assists) in four round-robin games, good for fifth on the team in scoring as an integral part of their bottom six despite being the team’s second-lowest drafted forward.
That’s because between now and then, a lot had changed for him.
A year ago he was wrapping up that season in Youngstown. There, he’d posted just eight goals and 19 points in 47 games while playing in a league that he was never drafted into. A year before that, he’d posted 22 goals and 44 points in 27 games with Lawrence Academy to be named the ISL MVP, and 12 points in 27 games with the Cape Cod Whalers 18U AAA team. His play with Lawrence Academy was enough to grab the attention of his hometown Bruins, who drafted him with the 182nd pick in the 2020 NHL Draft (it was also enough to get him ranked 95th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting on their final list that year).
Before Lawrence Academy, he was a player who had to work his way onto teams at USA Hockey’s selects festivals as a teenager — rather than the hotshot prospect who was just given a spot. He was cut from the selects team in his first year trying out in Buffalo, before making it his second and third years.
But after a 10-goal, 19-point freshman year saw him finish fourth on the Friars in goals and sixth in points, he knew that his status as a prospect had changed when Leaman told him in his exit meeting to keep in the back of his head as he trained that an invite to camp for the summer world juniors might be an option for him.
Then he got a call in June from Leaman to officially extend him the invite.
“Just play your game, don’t think about anything else,” Leaman told him.
By the time the camp was over, it wasn’t just Leaman, or former Providence assistant Kris Mayotte (who is now a head coach at Colorado College but worked on the Team USA staff as an assistant), or Providence director of hockey operations Theresa Feaster (who worked with Team USA as their video coach), who were sold either. When Providence assistant coach Joel Beal asked Leaman how Duran was doing during tryouts, Leaman told him everyone could see what they saw.
“Nate didn’t have to go in there and beat the drum for Riley. It just took everyone else watching him closely for a couple of days and they’re like ‘Oh yeah, this guy’s got to be on the team,’” Beal said. “So it was actually coming from the other guys in the room and not necessarily from the people that know him, which speaks a lot to Riley’s game.”
Duran calls getting his USA Hockey gloves, gear and t-shirts “unbelievable” because he was one of the only players on the team who didn’t have any prior.
The Bruins taking him was also a “dream come true” because he’s a kid from nearby Woburn, Mass. Both of his parents, Jim and Lori, work at Woburn High School in town and the entire Duran family lives on Duran Drive, their own family street all to themselves. He grew up playing street hockey outside with members of his extended family (his sister, Kayla, now plays soccer at Brown University, too).
“Everyone played hockey. I was the youngest so I was always the one getting beat up when I was little until I hit a growth spurt and then I started beating up on them,” Duran said.
When they host their development camp, it’s just 15 minutes from his house and he jokes that he could do laundry at home between skates if he wanted to. If he needs anything from the team, or wants to speak with someone on staff, he can just meet with them instead of calling them.
Since getting drafted, that has included regular meetings with Jamie Langenbrunner, the Bruins’ now-assistant general manager and director of player personnel who was, until recently, their director of player development.
In Duran, Langenbrunner sees a player who is defined by his “motor and ability to play through people.”
“He can finish a hit, he can play through stick checks, he can get himself to the difficult areas consistently because he’s able and willing,” Langenbrunner told The Athletic on a phone call Tuesday. “And he has what I would consider adequate skill to make enough plays to be effective. It’s not going to be the highlight one that ends up on Twitter but it’s going to be the one that’s effective in games.”
Even in his post-draft season in Youngstown when his stats didn’t look like that of a kid who’d later become an important part of Team USA at the world juniors, Langenbrunner could see those things. He may not have been where he would have liked that year, but Langenbrunner insists “his game was solid, he was doing the right things, and that was the messaging from (the Bruins) the whole time at that point.”
“The points are going to be what they are at times, especially as a player playing the style that he does. But you can still have an impact on the game and now he’s starting to get rewarded for it. Last year, I think you’ve seen it even here (at the world juniors), the ability to shoot the puck. He had that going at Youngstown but he was missing, he was hitting crossbars. And the team was average that year, so that all kind of played into it a bit too,” Langenbrunner said.
“I think what you’re seeing is the growth of the player in the development process. So often, we get caught up on drafts, and timing, and we’re in such a hurry for these kids to be finished products. They’re not. They take time to develop. And he has continued to add strength, and continued to work on his skills.”
When the staff at Providence watched him in Youngstown that year, they always thought he was “still playing really well” too.
“He was still impacting the game in a lot of different ways and that offensive production just wasn’t there. And then when he came in with us, for whatever reason I just think his game translates better as he moves up from level to level,” Beal said. “The game gets a little tighter, the game gets a little harder, but that kind of accentuates all of the different things that he does really well.”
Duran’s game worked right away in college, with none of the slow uptick he’d needed at Lawrence Academy or in Youngstown. He registered an assist in his first game and his first goal the next weekend in his third.
“He always plays a really heavy game in terms of heavy being on the puck, heavy being on the forecheck, finishing every hit. So he’s always going to bring that sort of tenacity and in-your-face, hard-to-play-against style of game. And then with the puck, he just keeps getting better and better. His stick is better than a lot of people give him credit for. I think he can really finish around the net. And that’s what allows him to play up and down the lineup, because he’s smart enough and his stick is good enough to play with our top players but he’s heavy enough and hard enough that you can put him in a checking role and he’s really good at that too,” Beal said.
“He’s a really low-maintenance player and low-maintenance kid. It doesn’t matter what we ask him to do or what we ask him to work on, he just says ‘sure’ and then he just goes out and he just does it and he keeps improving. He brings the same work ethic and attitude to practice every day and the guys love being around him. If we want him to work on the penalty kill, he’ll fill that role. If we want him to jump in on the power play, he’ll fill that role. If we want him on the second line, he’ll fill that role. If he’s on our fourth line, he’ll fill that role. And he’ll always help the team win no matter what.”
Once Langunbrunner got to know the kid, he also knew he’d put in the time and effort to get to where he has, too.
“He’s an excellent kid. He’s very humble, he’s hardworking, he’s very open to feedback, and he just wants to get better,” Langenbrunner said.
Barker saw those qualities firsthand in the classroom, as well.
“He’s the type of kid who is extremely respectful, he’s the type of kid who has friends in five different friend groups because he gets along with everyone. The kid is awesome. He’s awesome. I love him,” Barker said.
According to Patterson, the Bruins’ and Providence’s belief in him after that tough year in Youngstown was well-founded, too.
The tools were always there for the 6-foot-2, 180-pound winger.
“Making the jump from prep into the USHL, there’s going to be struggles. Maybe not from a play perspective, but usually from a point perspective. You’re not going to put up huge, gaudy numbers. And he came in and he was a physical force, an awesome kid, an awesome teammate. Like he checks all of the boxes in terms of that stuff away from the rink. And then he just put his nose down and went to work every day,” Patterson said.
“The effort’s always there, he’s got a motor that never stops, and when I say physical force, he’s not only put the work into it but a lot of it is god-given and then he puts it to good use. His compete level is high and anything you ask him to do, he’s willing to go out and try. I thought he developed a ton over his time but it was maybe in areas that you don’t see on the scoresheet every single game. Now it’s happening for him.”
Along his winding young career, there has been one person who has been a constant for Duran: Rangers prospect Brett Berard.
Duran and Berard played against each other growing up, and have played with each other since they were both 15 years old. That began with the Whalers AAA team and it has continued at Providence and now with Team USA.
Only when Duran was at Lawrence Academy, Berard was with the national program following that more linear path. And when Duran was in Youngstown post-draft, Berard was playing his freshman year at Providence.
So while they’re the same age, Berard has been there, at Providence and then in Edmonton, to help support Duran through some firsts in his journey.
“There’s just kind of a little connection going. He’s a great buddy of mine. Here too, he knew a lot of the guys from the (national) program when he grew up playing here and he really brought me in and introduced everyone to me,” Duran said.
But the feeling is also mutual.
“I’ve known him forever. I’m so happy he’s at Providence and I’m definitely happy to have him here. It gives me someone I’ve grown up with and a familiar face. He’s definitely one of my best friends,” Berard said.
He also knows Duran’s game as well as anyone. And he’s proud of his friend for becoming what he has.
“I give all of the credit to him. He’s such a hard worker. And he’s an awesome player. How much he has developed over the past three or four years is extraordinary. He had a great freshman year at Providence. It’s hard coming in as a freshman and having a big impact like he did and now at world juniors he’s playing a super big role for us and our team. That gives a lot of credit to him as a player and the way he has matured over the years,” Berard said.
“He’s reliable defensively, down low his game thrives, he’s a big body, he’s a big kid, when he has the puck on his stick it’s hard to get it off of him, (and) he’s got a shot — I mean, you’ve seen it in these games, he’s got a rocket of a shot.”
Berard’s not the only one who is cheering Duran on either. He has turned all of Leaman, Beal, Patterson, Barker and Langenbrunner into fans and believers.
“I think he’s going to find an opportunity for himself at the next level no question just because he worked for it. Nothing has been given to him. He kicks the door down and he keeps earning new opportunities and I think he’s going to keep doing that,” Patterson said. “It doesn’t jump when you just watch the games. And then all of a sudden you’ll be like ‘Wow, I just keep seeing him, he’s doing something right.’”
Beal said that because of his “wide range of tools” Duran has found a way to make an impact at every level he has played at (prep, junior, college and now the world juniors) and believes he’ll do the same in the pro game.
Langenbrunner says we’re now seeing why the Bruins scouts were happy to get him in the sixth round.
“He shows attributes of a guy who can play in the bottom part of a lineup,” Langenbrunner said.
From afar during the world juniors, Barker watched and taped the games so that he can use Duran’s game as a model for his team when they return to school in the fall.
“It’s stops and starts, it’s finishing every check, and it’s competing the 200 feet of the ice. And that’s the type of kid that he is. There are no shortcuts for him,” Barker said. “I know he understands the process where maybe his first year at (this) level it’s not going to be all sunshine and rainbows but he’s always going to eventually find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. And now people are starting to see what he can bring to the table. He can play in a top six, he can play in a bottom six, (and) his game’s not going to change wherever he is.”
Duran?
He’s proud of himself.
“I just kept working,” he said.
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Post by kjc2 on Aug 20, 2022 7:30:05 GMT -5
I watched the Sweden/Finland game last night and Sweden looked like crap. I think coaching was the issue with those guys. They had a 5-3 for more than a minute and a half and I swear Lysel was wide open back door a half dozen times and nobody got him the puck. Just bad decisions all over the place and no chemistry.
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Post by kjc2 on Aug 20, 2022 16:12:20 GMT -5
Nice high speed wrap around by Lysell this afternoon against the Czechs.
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Post by orym on Aug 22, 2022 11:57:23 GMT -5
Nice high speed wrap around by Lysell this afternoon against the Czechs. Lysell's beauty at around the 30 second mark. Worked his ass off there!
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Post by nfld77 on Aug 22, 2022 13:50:15 GMT -5
Lysell looked decent at the WJC but the entire team didnt look good..He's much better than what we seen out of him in this tourney..
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Post by SeaBass on Aug 26, 2022 7:00:13 GMT -5
Brett Harrison #44
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Post by nfld77 on Aug 26, 2022 10:06:28 GMT -5
That is SO awesome!!!
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Post by SeaBass on Aug 29, 2022 6:30:24 GMT -5
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Post by SeaBass on Aug 29, 2022 6:31:50 GMT -5
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Post by madmarx on Aug 29, 2022 18:32:53 GMT -5
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Post by nfld77 on Aug 29, 2022 20:26:35 GMT -5
2021 Draft, the Bruins selected Brett Harrison in the 3rd round 85th overall..Born June 7th 2003, he's still only 19 yrs of age and has looked pretty good since we drafted him.. BUT what I have to question is this:: Is Harrison looking like a capable Top 9 player because he simply looks like he's destined for the nhl or is it just the way we see him because we lack upcoming star prospects other than Lysell and Lohrei?? Sweeney desperately needs a late bloomer cause his drafting since he took over isnt that good plus all those early picks gone for rental players that are no longer with the Bruins..As Bruin fans we need SOMEONE to talk about besides Lysell and Lohrei..Studnicka, Steen and Lauko to name 3 have yet to make a name in the NHL and I was really high on Lauko..Hopefully Montgomery does a great job with the kids and gives them some breathing room IF they work their asses off and deserve it..Once the season begins we need some kid to really surprise us, the Bruins need it and if I had to choose one player that could make an instant impact, especially with McAvoy and Grzelyk missing maybe 2 months, it's Jakub Zboril!!
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Post by SeaBass on Sept 2, 2022 7:24:39 GMT -5
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Post by SeaBass on Sept 6, 2022 6:49:46 GMT -5
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Post by SeaBass on Sept 6, 2022 6:50:57 GMT -5
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Post by SeaBass on Sept 7, 2022 7:00:32 GMT -5
Ottawa Senators will be streaming Prospect Challenge vs Bruins on their YouTube channel. (Next Fri)
Pittsburgh Penguins will be streaming Prospect Challenge vs Bruins (details yet to be released) (Next Sat)
New Jersey always streams their games on their YouTube channel (Mon 19th vs Bruins)
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Post by SeaBass on Sept 7, 2022 11:12:25 GMT -5
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Post by SeaBass on Sept 9, 2022 9:47:51 GMT -5
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Post by SeaBass on Sept 9, 2022 10:28:53 GMT -5
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Post by nfld77 on Sept 9, 2022 12:55:45 GMT -5
Getting closer and closer group..I REALLY wish Pasta would either sign longterm or Sweeney is FORCED to trade him for good young talent..This COULD work out really well for the Bruins if it's done the right way, sorta opposite what we got for Jumbo Joe..VERY anxious to see what happens here cause thers no way Pasta can play with Bruins this season without a contract for after this season..Yet somehow I have this feeling Sweeney lets Pastrnak play this season without a new contract and we either lose him for nothing OR get minimun by trading him as a rental in Feb-Mar..Damn hope it dont come down to that..Could set us back for years!!!
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Post by SeaBass on Sept 12, 2022 7:00:45 GMT -5
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Post by SeaBass on Sept 13, 2022 8:26:49 GMT -5
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Post by nfld77 on Sept 13, 2022 13:33:48 GMT -5
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Post by orym on Sept 13, 2022 15:29:17 GMT -5
Sniping ginos in the Oshawa General's preseason? Thought he'd be on this roster too WTF?
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Post by SeaBass on Sept 13, 2022 18:15:46 GMT -5
Sniping ginos in the Oshawa General's preseason? Thought he'd be on this roster too WTF? Broken leg in preseason game.
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Post by nfld77 on Sept 13, 2022 21:40:49 GMT -5
Sniping ginos in the Oshawa General's preseason? Thought he'd be on this roster too WTF? Broken leg in preseason game. Damn, that sucks for the kid, really feel bad for him and what a terrible time to break a leg, in preseason!!
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Post by SeaBass on Sept 15, 2022 8:35:02 GMT -5
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Post by SeaBass on Sept 15, 2022 8:35:18 GMT -5
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Post by SeaBass on Sept 15, 2022 12:19:12 GMT -5
Their destinations and futures to be determined, top prospects John Beecher and Fabian Lysell were among the 25 fresh faces in Brighton Wednesday for the official start of Bruins rookie camp, which will shift to high gear Friday when the wide-eyed frosh begin play in a three-game tournament in Buffalo. The speedy Lysell, 19, arrived in town three weeks ago after suiting up for Sweden in the World Junior Championship in Edmonton, Alberta. The 6-foot-3-inch Beecher, 21, trained much of the summer in Ann Arbor, Mich., using his time to trim some 15 pounds, hoping a leaner look will improve his speed, endurance, and overall shot at landing a varsity job.
Both young forwards are long shots to crack an experienced, veteran Bruins roster, but it’s getting on late-September, Maggie, and they’re here to prove they couldn’t have tried anymore.
“Absolutely … I’m here to make an NHL roster,” said Beecher, asked if could see a clear path to securing a varsity job. “That’s been my dream ever since I was a little kid, so whether that’s a couple of weeks or a couple of months from now, all it takes is one injury, a call-up, and give it everything you’ve got to be able to stick. The biggest thing is to keep at it no matter where I’m at this year.”
If one or both were able to make it, the pressure could be squarely on Nick Foligno and Craig Smith, the veteran free agent acquirees who combine for $6.9 million in cap space. General manager Don Sweeney has the contractual elbow room to deal both, though Foligno, who put only two pucks across the goal line last season, has the right to nix deals with 16 of the other 31 NHL teams.
Lysell, chosen No. 21 in the ‘21 draft, is a right winger, the same as Smith. Beecher is a natural center, a spot new coach Jim Montgomery is expected to fill with Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Charlie Coyle, and Tomas Nosek. The only vulnerable one in that lot is Nosek, but if Beecher proves worthy of making the show, he could bump Foligno for a spot on wing.
In ‘22, cap consequences often factor, sometimes quite significantly, into transactions.
Ryan Mougenel, coach of the Providence Bruins, led the frosh through their paces at Warrior Arena and will again Thursday morning before the trip to Buffalo. Post-workout, he offered typical first-day accolades for Lysell and Beecher, but also acknowledged the difficulty in knowing any youngster’s trajectory.
“I’m not going to stand up here and tell you I have all the answers when it comes to the growth of a player,” said Mougenel. “Nobody knows that other than, you know, people that are exposed to it every day ... looking at Marchy [Brad Marchand]. I don’t know what his first year was in Providence, but if the coach got up here and said he thought he was going to be one of the best players, I would have been, like, ‘Really?’ ”
Focusing for a moment on Lysell’s chances, Mougenel added, “I think he has a lot of the makings to be a player. So do a lot of the other guys, too, right? I think how you approach every game, how you approach every day, that’s a big part of the growth of a player.”
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Post by SeaBass on Sept 15, 2022 12:34:42 GMT -5
Georgi Merkulov’s favorite player growing up was fellow Russian Pavel Datsyuk, but the 21-year-old Ryazan native knows he’s no Pavel Datsyuk.
Oh, Merkulov certainly has some flash-and-dash to his game, which he displayed in his one year at Ohio State and in his brief stint with Providence after the Bruins signed him last spring. But it’s the other part of Datsyuk’s game – the one that won him three straight Selke Awards from 2008-2010 – that Merkulov admittedly falls short. But it’s not for a lack of trying, or self-awareness.
“That’s been an issue since I was like 13 years old,” said the centerman, who is making his Bruins’ Development Camp debut this week. “I’ve been working on that in school, in juniors. Even when I played for Youngstown, the coaches would say scouts always ask about you but they don’t like how you play in the D-zone so you have to be better and you will have success.. Same as here in Boston. They always say ‘D-zone, D-zone, D-zone.’”
Former B’s defenseman Adam McQuaid, now working in the team’s player development department, saw quite a bit Merkulov last season as he tracked one of the B’s top prospects, defenseman Mason Lohrei, who will be headed back to play his sophomore season with the Buckeyes. McQuaid said the 5-11, 181-pound Merkulov’s skill level “is something you can’t teach.” And Merkulov has flashed some of those shake-and-bake moves at the B’s camp. But the parts of his game that are less natural to him will need a lot of work..
“I think it will be somewhat of a daily process for him,” said McQuaid. “He’s playing in the middle of the ice and we know that, especially here, you have to be good in your own end to play the middle of the ice and play that 200-foot game. Those will be things the staff here will be working with him moving forward. It’s nice that he’s recognized it himself and he wants to work at it, so it seems like he’ll be a good fit that way.”
For Merkulov, the message over the years has been familiar.
“They always say it’s the small details, that I get distracted. I always cheat. I want to get the puck and go on offense as quick as possible and sometimes I just force it. That’s the biggest thing,” said Merkulov.
If Merkulov works at his defensive game like he has in overcoming the language barrier he once faced when he first arrived here to play for Youngstown of the USHL in 2019, the B’s might have something in him.
With the belief that the college route would be the best development path for him once he aged out of the USHL, he knew he had to learn a passable English, and he has done so very well. His goal to start was to learn 50 new words each day. He also picked up what he could from YouTube and television. ‘The Big, Bang Theory’ was his favorite.
“You start with ‘dog, cow, grass’ then you go up and up,” said Merkulov. “When you start, you’re like a baby. You can’t speak, you can’t understand, you’re just quiet and you listen. Then a couple of months go by and you start to understand more, then a couple more months and you try to express yourself. Then you have (bad) pronunciation. No one can understand you. But you can’t give up. You just keep working, working and after a year, year and a half, I was all right.”
He never got drafted, but he opened the B’s eyes with a 20-14-34 season in 36 games as an older freshman for the Buckeyes. That was good enough for the B’s to offer him a contract, and the offer was good enough for Merkulov to jump.
“I was impressed, to be honest with you, that Boston offered me,” said Merkulov. “I talked to scouts, talked to coaches, talked to my parents. I wasn’t drafted in the NHL, so for me it would have been a risk coming back for my sophomore year. I thought if I come back and don’t have a good year, or get injured, I might not have a second chance to sign.”
He played eight games for Providence last year, notching 1-4-5 totals. With the injuries the B’s are facing, he hopes to make an impression on management. At the very least, he’d like to meet Patrice Bergeron.
“I hope sometime this training camp I will, because he’s a master of the D-zone,” said Merkulov.
He may need help in that department, but at least he knows where to look for it.
Lazar headed to open market
As expected, UFA Curtis Lazar will be headed to market when free agency opens on Wednesday at noon. With the B’s tight up against the salary and wanting to bring back Bergeron and possibly David Krejci, there’s little room for Lazar, especially with a number of candidates vying for fourth line time. A solid, versatile pro, Lazar should earn a bump in pay from the $800,000 he made last season…
Just what kind of player 6-foot-2, 194-pound Jackson Edward develops into remains to be seen, but his hard-hitting reputation seems to be well-earned. The seventh rounder from the London Knights almost put fifth rounder Frederic Brunet into the bench with a big check on Rimouski Oceanic D-man on Tuesday….
After the on-ice session on Tuesday, the prospects were headed out to do some rowing on the Charles River.
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