Welcome to the 2014 edition of “Top Shelf Prospects”. As we go through the Summer of 2014 I will be featuring a team-by-team look at the top prospects in the NHL. I will go team by team through the NHL bringing you a look at each Teams Top Prospects. I will be following the order of the first round of the NHL draft (as if there were no traded draft picks) and you can find all the articles here. Since we had an extensive NHL Draft preview, I will not be reviewing the players who were drafted in the 2014 draft, as there have been no games since then, and my reports on them will not have changed. What I will be doing is linking you to those articles, as well as taking a look at prospects that were acquired before this year’s draft; their progress, and their chances of making the 2014-15 roster of the NHL team in question. I will also bring you one sleeper pick – a player who was either drafted in the 4th-round or later, or was an undrafted free agent signing who I pick as my darkhorse to make the NHL. For those wondering, the cut-off for what is or isn’t a prospect is typically about 50 NHL games played (including playoffs) or being 25 years old. These are not hard or fast rules though, and I may make some exceptions depending on the circumstances.
The Boston Bruins had a fantastic regular season, finishing first overall and winning the President’s Trophy. Tuukka Rask put up a Vezina winning season, Patrice Bergeron another Selke winning season, and Zdeno Chara was nominated for the Norris Trophy. The Bruins were clearly the Eastern Conference’s best team in the regular season, and many picked them to reach the Stanley Cup Finals or even to win the Cup. However, the playoffs saw the return of the Bruins biggest nemesis as the Montreal Canadiens upset Boston in a classic 7-game series.
The Bruins off-season has not gone quite as well, as the Bruins have seen Jarome Iginla, Chad Johnson, Andrej Meszaros, and Shawn Thornton leave as unrestricted free agents, while making no major additions to the NHL roster (at this point in the summer). However, even with the losses the team keeps its core intact and continues to look strong for 2014-15. The Bruins also get a “pseudo-addition” as Dennis Seidenberg, who is their second best defenceman, will be back from the injury that cost him the second half of last season. The Bruins should once again be a contender in 2015, and now it will be up to their youth to get some opportunities to replenish any depth that was lost. This is something that the Bruins did quite well in 2013-14 as the team used a number of youngsters, particularly on defence, to deal with injuries.
2014 NHL Draft Picks Reviewed by LWOS: David Pastrnak, Ryan Donato, Anders Bjork, Emil Johansson,
Graduations: Reilly Smith, Carl Soderberg, Torey Krug, Dougie Hamilton, Matt Bartkowski, Kevan Miller,
Top Boston Bruins Prospects
Top Prospect: Malcolm Subban, Goalie
Born Dec 21 1993 — Rexdale, ONT
Height 6.01 — Weight 190 — Shoots Left — Catches Left
Drafted by Boston Bruins in round 1, #24 overall at the 2012 NHL Entry Draft
PK Subban may be hated by the Bruins, and their fans; but the team made his younger brother Malcolm, a first round pick in the 2012 NHL draft. The middle brother in a trio of drafted brothers, Malcolm had his first AHL season with Providence in the AHL this year. He battled for the starting job with Niklas Svedberg all season long (Svedberg ended the year with more starts). While Malcolm Subban was brilliant in the regular season putting up a .920 save percentage, he struggled in the playoffs, with Svedberg taking over the net as Providence were eliminated in the 2nd round to Wilkes-Barre Scranton.
Subban is a tremendously athletic goalie. He has fabulous reflexes and is extremely agile. He is particularly quick sliding post to post and is able to make some very nice saves on one timers as a result. Subban is also extremely quick with his pads and effectively uses his quick feet to put up a wall in the bottom half of the net. Subban’s great skating ability allows him to come out of the net and challenge shooters, as he’s able to back up very quickly should they attempt to come in for a deke. He is also very quick with his glove hand and blocker and effectively covers the top of the net as well.
Subban shows excellent technique in the net. He is almost always square to the shooter and in position to make the first save. His movements in the crease are controlled and smart. This allows Subban to recover quickly and to get himself in position to make a second save. It also ensures that he covers the maximum amount of net possible. Subban is a natural leader who inspires a sense of quiet confidence for his Bulls teammates when he is in the net. He excudes a calm demeanor that makes him a natural leader and he rarely gets flustered, bouncing back quickly from goals against.
Like many young goalies, Subban does need to work on his rebound control as he can sometimes have trouble with low shots. However we don’t think this is a major issue. It’s definitely something that should improve with maturity, and we’ve heard that Malcolm possesses the same Subban family work ethic that helped PK transform himself from a draft prospect with defensive question marks to a Norris Trophy winner in the NHL. We also think Subban could work on his handling the puck when he leaves the crease.
Subban has recently stated that he is going to Bruins camp to try and win the backup role in Boston. However I see this as unlikely, giving his age and the fact he can go back to the AHL without having to clear waivers. Subban has only 39 pro games under his belt and needs the playing time of being a number 1 in the AHL as opposed to sitting behind Rask in the NHL. That said, if the unthinkable happens and Rask were to get hurt, Subban would have a good chance to pass Niklas Svedberg on the depth chart and get starts for the Bruins.
#2 Prospect: Joe Morrow, Defence
Born Dec 9 1992 — Sherwood Park, ALTA
Height 6.01 — Weight 206 — Shoots Left
Selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in round 1, #23 overall in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft
Acquired by the Bruins in July 2013 in a trade with the Dallas Stars.
Joe Morrow was traded twice in a matter of months last season. First going from Pittsburgh to Dallas in exchange for Stars captain Brenden Morrow (no relation) and later to the Bruins as part of the deal for Tyler Seguin. Despite being traded twice, he shouldn’t be looked at as a prospect that teams are giving up on. Rather he should still be seen as a top prospect who is in high demand and an important part of these two huge trades.
Morrow settled in with the Providence Bruins this year and put up 29 points in 56 games in the regular season. Morrow was in the top 10 of AHL defencemen scoring until a February knee injury cost him some time, and then he struggled when he came back. However he really took off in the playoffs with 7 points in 10 games.
Morrow might be the best skater out of all the prospects I profile in this series. His stride is textbook, graceful and fluid. He is very fast, possessing both excellent top end speed and the acceleration to hit this top speed in just a few strides. He loves to lead the rush and is always a threat to go coast to coast with the puck. Morrow has excellent agility and great use of his edges. His pivots are crisp. This allows him to make quick cuts and to be mobile in every direction, which is useful both offensively and defensively.
Morrow is a natural on the powerplay. He is calm and poised with the puck on his stick and keeps his head up looking for the smart play. His mobility at the line breaks down defenders and opens up passing and shooting lanes. He is a crisp and accurate passer, setting the table for teammates. When shooting Morrow has an absolute rocket of a slapshot and is especially lethal with his one timer.
Defensively Morrow has improved over the past year but is still a work in progress. On the plus side, his great skating ability makes him difficult to beat one on one. His puck moving skills and great passing allow him to move the puck quickly and efficiently, removing it from danger in his own end. He is also aggressive in his own end, a good body checker and someone who wins board battles and clears the front of the net and has even been known to drop the gloves on occasion.
On the downside, Morrow is a bit of a “Riverboat Gambler”. He can sometimes make bad decisions rushing the puck, or pinching at the blue line that can lead to odd-man rushes against. He also has a habit of looking for the big hit a little too often, which also gets him out of position and creates issues defensively. Morrow will need to rein himself in going forward.
Expect Morrow to be with the Bruins AHL squad this season. He still needs more polish in his game and with all the youngsters who cracked the Bruins the Bruins blueline recently, and with Dennis Seidenberg back from injury, it will not be easy for him to find his spot until he learns to pick his spots and play a more defensively responsible game.
#3 Prospect: Ryan Spooner, Centre
Born Jan 30 1992 — Kanata, ONT
Height 5.10 — Weight 180 — Shoots Left
Drafted by Boston Bruins in round 2 #45 overall 2010 NHL Entry Draft
Ryan Spooner had quite the audition for the Bruins playing 23 games when injuries hit. However his transaction listing shows that it was a yo-yo type of year with four separate callups over the course of the year. While he didn’t score a goal in that time, he did pick up 11 assists. With 46 points in 49 games in the AHL (and 57 in 59 in 2012-13) he’s shown some real offensive potential at the pro level. He also put up 15 points in Providence’s 12 playoff games.
Spooner is an excellent skater. He has a great first step, and extremely good acceleration and top end speed. His stride generates power and he is able to fight through checks despite his size. He is also very agile, and has very good edgework, allowing him to elude defenders and find open spaces in the offensive zone. He is a good stickhandler who can control the puck and extends plays for his teammates to get open. When they do, he finds them with his good vision and tape-to-tape passing ability. He is much more of a playmaker than a goal scorer, but has good hands in tight. His shot is accurate but could use some added power and a quicker release. Bulking up to be better on the boards and in front of the net would help him stick at the NHL level.
Defensively, Spooner has improved but is still a work in progress. He struggled in the faceoff circle last year, but with Doug Jarvis, the Bruins should be able to help him improve as he has done for the majority of their pivots. He works to play in the defensive zone, but he needs work on proper technique. Positioning is an issue as is the fact he can get caught flat footed and beaten when defending one-on-one. Needs to get stronger to contain opponents off the cycle game down low.
There is at least one forward spot available in the Bruins lineup come training camp and Spooner will try to win that full-time spot. Unfortunately for Spooner though, that spot appears to be on the wing, and he is a better centre than a winger. He will have to work to make sure his playmaking translates to the wing in order to have a real impact.
Super Sleeper: Brian Ferlin, Right Wing
Born Jun 3 1992 — Jacksonville, FL
Height 6.02 — Weight 201 — Shoots Right
Drafted by Boston Bruins in round 4 #121 overall 2011 NHL Entry Draft
Ferlin put up 27 points in 32 games as a junior with Cornell last season.
Ferlin has a very strange, choppy skating stride. It certainly isn’t textbook, but it is effective as he generates good speed out there. He has good balance, and is strong on the puck allowing him to be effective down low. Ferlin also has very good hockey sense and makes the smart play or pass most of the time out there. He also has a very good shot and takes the puck to the net effectively. Ferlin looks like more of a goal scorer than a slick playmaker, but he does get his assists out of playing a strong cycle game, and the smart quick passes he makes. Ferlin plays a very simple game, he isn’t likely to dangle defencemen, but it is effective at the NCAA level.
Ferlin also displays two way ability, being strong on the backcheck, winning board battles, providing support for the defence and cutting off passing and shooting lanes. He isn’t afraid to take a hit to make a play, and is good at clearing the zone and starting the transition game.
Ferlin has choosen to leave school and signed and ELC with the Bruins. He likely starts his first pro season with the Providence Bruins, where he will look to develop into a solid grinding winger in order to make the NHL.
The Bruins system is not quite as deep as it was last year at this time. This is natural though for a club that had six players graduate during the regular season. A strong draft has helped add to that depth, but the 2013 picks are going to need time before they are NHL ready. In terms of other notables in the system, Niklas Svedberg is a young goaltender expected to backup Rask this season. On defence, there have been so many graduations that there isn’t a lot behind Morrow, but the best player is likely David Warsofsky, an undersized defender who did get some NHL time last season. Meanwhile, Linus Arnesson continues to develop in Sweden. Upfront the Bruins do have depth and look to Alexander Khokhlachev, Seth Griffith, Craig Cunningham, Matt Fraser, and Justin Florek to also challenge for the open spot in training. Jared Knight must bounce back from a tough season, while Anthony Camara looks to find his game at the AHL level.
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