By: Jason Cooke | Follow me on X @cookejournalism
It may be the dawn of September, but the Boston Bruins’ forward depth chart is far from being set in stone. Despite the offseason addition of dynamic two-way centerman Elias Lindholm, Boston’s offensive combinations are still very well in the works as training camp approaches.
While veterans Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, Lindholm, Pavel Zacha, and Charlie Coyle are expected to remain engrained in Boston’s top six, the rest of the roster is wide open—specifically a middle-six wing slot. While the likes of Morgan Geekie, Fabian Lysell, Georgii Merkulov, or even Riley Duran are likely in the front running to don the role, there will certainly be more prospective hopefuls knocking on the door.
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One of those players is Marc McLaughlin, an experienced cog in Boston’s developmental pipeline who yearns for a permanent stint with the big club. The undrafted free agent and Boston College product has suited up for 14 contests with the Bruins since his debut in 2022 but has yet to establish himself as a real threat to earn a long-term role. But following 135 games in the American Hockey League and appearances with the Bruins throughout three separate seasons, the time is now for the Billerica, Mass. native to make a push to crack Jim Montgomery’s lineup card.
The hometown kid had quite the introduction to his Bruins career, lighting the lamp in front of the TD Garden faithful in his NHL debut in 2022 against the New Jersey Devils. He later scored two goals in April to close out the season in what was a promising beginning to his professional chapter.
He spent most of the following season down in Providence, playing 66 games and posting 13-17-30. He played two games with Boston that season, in which he failed to record a point. Last season, he experienced a similar workload with Boston’s AHL affiliate but saw a considerable dropoff in offensive production, putting up just 8-6-14 in 68 games. In the lone NHL game he saw action in, he found twine.
“Every time you come here, you’re a little bit more comfortable than last time,” he said after being called up to Boston last March. “Just take those games that you’ve played already and go from there.”
It’s been up-and-down, to say the least for the 25-year-old, who was recently inked to a one-year, two-way contract extension which keeps him a Bruin through the 2024-25 season. At 6’0″, 199 pounds, McLaughlin is by no means the strongest or fastest player on an NHL ice sheet. Still, he’s showcased a consistent knack for playing a responsible 200-foot game. And, not for nothing, four goals in a 14-game span is intriguing, even if it is an extremely small and limited sample size across multiple seasons.
And if potential middle-six hopefuls in Lysell or Merkulov can’t find their footing in training camp, I wouldn’t rule out McLaughlin as a potential suitor for a third-line role with the Bruins. Even if Lysell or Merkulov do win out the job in camp, there is still a window for McLaughlin to sneak up the ladder given their limited experience at the NHL level.
The Bruins know he’s responsible at both ends of the ice, and they know he can be in the right place at the right time to finish around the blue paint. Can that be sustainable over a longer stretch of action? Time will tell. But McLaughlin may just be one of Boston’s more under-the-radar prospects to make an impact on Causeway Street this season.
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