photo credit: providencebruins.com
By: Mandi Mahoney | Follow Me On Twitter @phoneymahoney
This morning, Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney announced that the team has recalled 21-year-old defenseman Jeremy Lauzon up from their AHL affiliate in Providence on an emergency basis, as blueliner Brandon Carlo is questionable for tonight’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Lauzon, a left-shot defenseman, was chosen by the Bruins in the second round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. At the time, he was skating in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League for the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. He played there for a total of four seasons and captained them in 2016-17. In 200 games in the Q, Lauzon totaled 130 points, with 35 goals and 95 assists. The 2017-18 season was his first in the AHL, where he played 52 games and served as an alternate captain for Providence. In those 52 games, he notched seven points, having scored one goal and assisting on six others.
The 6’3″ defenseman has the ability to play a two-way game and is currently at 4 points (one goal, three assists) in 8 AHL games this season, and he scored a goal against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in a 5-4 overtime loss. Lauzon was called up earlier in the season, making his NHL debut on October 25th against the Philadelphia Flyers. In his four games, Lauzon played well but was sent back down to Providence once Matt Grzelcyk and Torey Krug were both ready to go back in the Bruins’ lineup.
During his previous call-up, Jeremy Lauzon played four games for the Bruins: one win each over Philadelphia and Carolina, and a loss against both Montreal and Nashville. He played well positionally but was not able to get on the scoreboard while playing 48 minutes across four NHL games. He took two shots, both of which were blocked, but he blocked one himself. Lauzon also had zero giveaways, and two takeaways in those four outings. It’s a small sample size, but these are not bad numbers for a rookie defenseman in his first call-up from the minor leagues to the big show.
It is not guaranteed that Lauzon will be in the Bruins’ lineup against Vegas tonight, as Brandon Carlo may or may not be ready to go. Since Charlie McAvoy, Kevan Miller, and Urho Vaakanainen are all still injured, if Carlo cannot go tonight, it is possible that Matt Gzelcyk will be moving up to play alongside captain Zdeno Chara on the Bruins top pair, as the two played well together Saturday night against the Maple Leafs. If this is indeed the case, expect Lauzon to play on the third pair with usual seventh defenseman Steve Kampfer. This will leave the second pairing of Torey Krug and John Moore intact.
If Carlo’s injury is not long-term, and it doesn’t like it will be, Lauzon’s call-up probably won’t be very long. Charlie McAvoy has already resumed skating, and Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy says third pair defenseman Kevan Miller may be back in the lineup by the end of the Bruins’ upcoming road trip, which begins in Colorado this Wednesday, and will end November 21 in Detroit.
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