By: Declan Flavin | Follow me on Twitter / X @FlavinDeclan
Now that Olympic hockey is underway and the National Hockey League’s best are competing on the international stage, it’s time to rank the most important players for the Boston Bruins down the stretch. There will be a considerable amount of attention paid to both what has unfolded so far this season and what projects to be the formula for the team moving forward…
Typically, anyone would just go down the list and immediately name David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy, Jeremy Swayman, and so forth. If you’ve been watching this season, you’ve seen the peaks and valleys of the team’s forechecking development and how that has impacted the effectiveness of both units, so keep that in mind.
5. Hampus Lindholm D
Taking a larger step back for a moment, it’s H. Lindholm’s fifth season as a Bruin, and the results have been somewhat decent to this point. Aside from the injury concerns that carried into the early part of this season, the lingering question has been his physicality in the team’s own zone.
With a presumably balanced approach to the upcoming trade deadline by general manager Don Sweeney, he’ll need to shift into a higher gear if the team wants to win through puck battles and close-outs. Only a handful of defensemen skate and pass as well as he does, but he needs to avoid getting worn down by opposing forwards as the intensity heats up from here on out.
4. Elias Lindholm C
E. Lindholm continues to bring his two-way forechecking, even with injuries cropping up for him this season. You hope his statistical output continues to improve, but above all, this team needs his presence.
His knack for positioning within the current system, along with his mentorship of younger players, goes a long way in setting up success both for the remainder of this season and the next. There is no doubt that Fraser Minten has assimilated into the NHL game more smoothly because of someone like him…
3. Fraser Minten C
Speaking of which, this diamond in the rough has been an absolute godsend for head coach Marco Sturm. He, too, has shown the ability to play effectively at both ends of the ice, performing well in any role and under any circumstance.
The team needs a Minten to step up alongside the usual names when the lights get brighter, because this season is just a microcosm of the organizational plan. The Bruins want young players like Minten to take leaps built on the foundation set by the veteran players.
2. Jeremy Swayman G
With a young team like the one the Bruins have rolled out this season, it’s hard not to include goaltending among the key priorities moving forward. Swayman, like the rest of the team, will need to avoid slumps stacking up, as that’s been perhaps the only concern for the netminder so far.
Hopefully, the Winter Olympic environment will remind Swayman of the intensity that competitive games bring out in him and perhaps test him with a start or two in the later Olympic rounds. It’s easy to overlook the impact of an ace goaltender like Swayman, but if the 2024 playoff run was any reminder, he has another level to reach if the team needs him enough.
1. Morgan Geekie C/LW
At last, the Geekie the Bruins have had over recent years and so far this season has been more than enough of a foundation for younger talent to build upon. He has been the perfect prototype for every prospect to emulate, showing that production can easily be a matter of persistence rather than ability.
That being said, can he maintain this level of play for another full season and potentially into the playoffs? That is a more unpredictable situation than for players like Pastrnak, and perhaps that’s unfair to him, but the reality is that the team’s youth places tremendous pressure on a late-bloomer like Geekie.
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