Fabian Lysell among Bruins players sent to Providence in latest round of training-camp cuts
"Yes, they’re all disappointed, some guys more than others. But they also have to realize, OK, now the work begins.”
With just one preseason game remaining on the docket and regular-season hockey less than a week away, the Bruins announced a sizable number of training-camp cuts on Friday afternoon.
Nine total players were removed from the training-camp roster — with Patrick Brown, Mike Callahan, Georgii Merkulov, Victor Soderstrom and Riley Tufte placed on waivers for the purpose of assignment to AHL Providence.
Boston also assigned Frederic Brunet, Riley Duran, Brett Harrison and Fabian Lysell to Providence — with none of those four players needing to clear waivers before getting sent to the AHL ranks.
The two most noteworthy names among those cuts are Lysell and Merkulov — a pair of offensive-minded forwards who failed to kick the door down in search of more reps at the NHL level this fall.
Given Boston’s clear lack of high-end skill and scoring touch in its middle-six forward corps, Marco Sturm and Boston’s staff would have welcomed a scenario where Merkulov — Providence’s leading scorer the last three seasons — and a former first-round pick in Lysell leapfrogged other players during preseason action.
But both players didn’t make much of a dent during their on-ice reps over the last few weeks, with Lysell closing out Thursday’s 3-1 win over Washington with several turnovers and an offensive-zone penalty.
Speaking after practice wrapped at Warrior Ice Arena, Sturm harped on the need for Boston’s younger players to not let Friday’s news derail their seasons down in Providence.
“As a coaching staff, you always want to give them a little feedback,” Sturm said. “It doesn’t mean that – this is what they have to remember – when they go to the minors, because I’ve been there, that you’re done. No, you’ve got to do your job down there because it’s going to get recognized.
“And if he’s going to do the job down there, there’s a pretty good chance he’s going to come back and he’s going to get another crack at it. So when he gets another crack at it, he better be ready. That’s why it’s so important to go to the minors and play the right way. Yes, they’re all disappointed, some guys more than others. But they also have to realize, OK, now the work begins.”
The Bruins still have some moves to make before finalizing their roster for Opening Night on Oct. 8 in Washington.
Boston has 28 players left on their roster — and must cut that group down to 23 players by Monday at 5 p.m.
Here’s a look at Boston’s camp group as of Friday evening:
FORWARDS (17)
Viktor Arvidsson, Johnny Beecher, Matej Blumel, Mikey Eyssimont, Morgan Geekie, Tanner Jeannot, Mark Kastelic, Marat Khusnutdinov, Sean Kuraly, Elias Lindholm, Fraser Minten, Casey Mittelstadt, David Pastrnak, Matt Poitras, Alex Steeves, Jeffrey Viel, Pavel Zacha
DEFENSE (8)
Jonathan Aspirot, Jordan Harris, Henri Jokiharju, Hampus Lindholm, Mason Lohrei, Charlie McAvoy, Andrew Peeke, Nikita Zadorov
GOALIES (3)
Michael DiPietro, Joonas Korpisalo, Jeremy Swayman
DiPietro, Steeves and Viel all took part in Friday’s practice, but left the ice just before line rushes began. All three players would require waivers before an assignment to Providence.
Jonathan Aspirot might be the odd man out on Boston’s D corps as he battles with Jordan Harris for the team’s seventh spot on the depth chart.
Up front, the Bruins still have to sort through the rest of their forward corps — a task that Sturm acknowledged has been a challenge so far this fall.
“It’s already hard,” Sturm said. “As a coach, you want your players, you want your lines pretty much set. Yes, there will be one or two [moves], but we’ve had a lot of movement. Not the first line, but if you look at the other ones, it was a lot of movement.
“And that, for me, was already too much. Moving forward and hopefully years to come, it’s going to get easier. You’re still going to have the hard decisions to make. But that was a lot of moving parts.”
Two players who don’t require waivers are young forwards Matt Poitras and Fraser Minten.
Even though Boston could outright send them to the AHL without running the risk of another club claiming them, the Bruins might want to see what several players on the roster bubble can showcase in Boston’s preseason finale on Saturday afternoon against the Rangers.
Sturm said that has was encouraged by Poitras’ play at center during Thursday’s win over the Capitals, while adding that Minten has been one of the team’s top surprises so far during camp.
“I don’t know if Fraser is a surprise to me, but I like what I’ve seen so far, I really do,” Sturm said. “Maybe he’s the one guy who surprised me in a positive way. I know he’s ready. He’s very reliable for me, what he’s shown in the past, how he is off the ice actually. He’s more like a man already than a little kid … I’m very impressed with him.”
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