Early Takeaways From Training Camp | Poke the Bear - video Dailymotion

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Conor Ryan of Boston.com and Evan Marinofsky of New England Hockey Journal discuss their early takeaways from the first two days of Bruins Training Camp.  This episode of Poke the Bear is brought to you by Fanduel Sportsbook, the exclusive wagering partner of the CLNS Media Network. Visit FanDuel.com/BOSTON and start earning BONUS BETS with America’s #1 Sportsbook!  21+ and present in MA. First online real money wager only. $10 Deposit req. Refund issued as non-withdrawable bonus bets that expire in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at fanduel.com/sportsbook. Hope is here. GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call (800)-327-5050 for 24/7 support. Play it smart from the start! GameSenseMA.com or call 1-800-GAM-1234  0:00 - Reacting to Brad Marchand being named captain  10:00 - Marchand leading by example  13:00 - What’s the early identity?  18:00 - A potential fourth line  21:00 - The future of Danton Heinen  25:00 - Early return from Matthew Poitras  Fanduel Sportsbook is the exclusive wagering partner of the CLNS Media Network. NEW customers can bet $5  and get $200 in BONUS BETS – GUARANTEED. Now is the best time to join FanDuel! The app is easy to use and you can be on everything from spreads to player props and more! So, visit FanDuel.com/BOSTON and kick off the NFL season with an offer you won’t wanna miss.  21+ and present in MA. Hope is here. First online real money wager only. $10 first deposit required. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable bonus bets that expire 7 days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. GamblingHelpLineMa.org or call (800)-327-5050 for 24/7 support. Play it smart from the start! GameSenseMA.com or call 1-800-GAM-1234.

Transcript

00:00 - "Poke the Bear" is brought to you by FanDuel,

00:02 the exclusive wagering partner of the CLNS Media Network.

00:05 - And welcome into "Poke the Bear" episode 165.

00:10 That's Connor Ryan, I'm Evan Marinovsky.

00:12 Connor, what is up?

00:15 - Evan, I'm doing well.

00:17 How are you doing?

00:17 - Doing great, doing great.

00:19 We got to have some fun together

00:20 at Bruins Training Camp here on Friday

00:24 after we're recording after.

00:26 And it was great to be back.

00:28 So fun to be back.

00:29 It's, the Bruins gave us pizza, which is, you know,

00:33 what more can you ask?

00:34 Once pizza comes out of the equation, I'll go anywhere.

00:36 So, good to have you.

00:38 - Tie hat is Hawaiian pizza.

00:39 Everyone was all set.

00:40 Everyone had what they needed.

00:42 - That's exactly it.

00:42 Everybody had what they needed.

00:44 It is funny that they always give them

00:45 the trademark Hawaiian pizza.

00:47 I am a fan of Hawaiian pizza.

00:48 I've always really liked it.

00:50 - Like, if you had me like rank it,

00:52 it wouldn't be like top three or four,

00:54 but like the hatred towards it, I don't understand.

00:58 Like everything I like, like individually, I like.

01:00 So if it's on the pizza,

01:02 the concoction doesn't all of a sudden not work, right?

01:05 Like, I don't get the pure hate that it gets.

01:10 It's a little overreaction.

01:11 - I don't, I've never understood it either.

01:13 I mean, I think the pineapple makes it kind of burst.

01:15 Like there's a lot of flavor in it

01:16 or, you know, the bacon's really good, ham.

01:19 Like, I just think it's, it works.

01:21 I remember growing up,

01:23 we used to get Hawaiian pizza from Domino's

01:25 and it was very good.

01:26 Domino's pizza actually did a pretty good job on that.

01:28 - So, and also don't besmirch Domino's.

01:31 - No, you will catch, you will not catch me

01:33 slandering Domino's.

01:35 - I think anyone can attest that it saved many,

01:37 many nights in college.

01:39 - Oh yes, yes, yes.

01:41 It definitely, it definitely has.

01:43 - You had Antonio's, but I understand.

01:46 I know there's room for multiple pizza spots, so.

01:48 - Well, Antonio's is an open,

01:50 Antonio's doesn't deliver and it's not open after like two.

01:52 So Domino's is really the only thing we had going.

01:55 - You had T Anthony's.

01:56 So like, Antonio's and T Anthony's

01:59 is the real college pizza rivalry.

02:01 'Cause it's, it's, they're pretty damn close.

02:03 - I mean, does, does Antonio's today like yell at you

02:07 when you like take people?

02:07 - I don't know, sometimes, sometimes they'll yell at you.

02:10 But T Anthony's is a little tougher.

02:11 T Anthony's is a little, a little more sandpaper.

02:14 - As it should be.

02:15 You hit on a swivel.

02:16 You got, you got 400 people behind you in a long line, so.

02:20 - No, I agree.

02:21 T Anthony's, you know, if I had to pick T Anthony's,

02:24 it's hard to pick against T Anthony's.

02:26 Love T Anthony's.

02:27 But anyways, I know we're getting everybody hungry.

02:30 I think people like when we talk food at first,

02:32 'cause maybe it gets people riled up with hunger

02:35 instead of us, you know,

02:36 talking about other non-related Bruins things.

02:38 - But actually it would be funny if people were like,

02:41 oh, thank Christ.

02:42 After like months of them talking about the weather

02:44 or the calendar or the different months of the year,

02:46 we finally have training camp.

02:48 The entire episode, I was just ranking pizza spots

02:50 in the comments of the messages.

02:52 - That's what it should be.

02:53 We'll do an episode like that at some point.

02:55 We'll do like a YouTube extra on that.

02:57 - Yes.

02:58 - Anyways, the big news of this week,

03:00 no surprise, Brad Marshan named captain.

03:03 I thought they actually,

03:04 the social media team did a really good job releasing it.

03:07 They did it, you know, it was, it was well done.

03:09 I thought they might go back to the well of Sweeney,

03:11 you know, jokingly handing him the jersey and being like,

03:13 nah, you have it this time for real.

03:15 But well-deserved.

03:18 I don't think there's anything, I mean, just, you know,

03:20 that's the guy.

03:21 I don't think there was any question that it, you know,

03:23 should have or could have been him.

03:25 - Yeah, no, again, it's not to say there isn't other guys

03:30 who can step up in a leadership role.

03:31 I think the Bruins for as much talk or concern there is

03:34 about what this team looks like without guys

03:38 who've been here forever and Bergeron,

03:39 Crecce, all those guys.

03:41 They do have a good core behind Marshan,

03:43 with guys like McAvoy, Pastranac,

03:45 Harlow, you know, you name it,

03:48 but they will have their time.

03:49 Like this team will eventually be theirs.

03:51 I think when you just look at what Marshan brings,

03:54 you know, the ability of having another link to that,

03:57 you know, 2011 team,

03:59 but a guy that has been there through thick and thin,

04:01 through the Char years, the Bergeron years,

04:04 learned from guys like Mark Recchi,

04:06 a guy that leads by example, you know,

04:09 he's definitely no, I think captain's the same,

04:12 you know, how Char ran things is different,

04:15 how Bergeron ran things, and, you know,

04:16 Marshan's probably cut from a different cloth

04:18 than both those guys.

04:19 But I think when you look at, for Marshan,

04:21 I think that, you know,

04:22 when you view how valid a guy is as a captain

04:26 or what they did to prove it,

04:27 I think it all comes down to how sincere they are

04:30 in terms of what their responsibilities are.

04:32 And I think that's something that Marshan, you know,

04:34 for all the antics, whatever you want to say

04:37 about his game over the years,

04:38 I think something he really does take to heart

04:40 is the responsibility and what is asked to be a captain.

04:45 I think it's something that he mentioned, you know,

04:47 you learn it obviously from guys like Recchi and Char,

04:49 but I think when Bergeron became captain

04:52 and Marshan's more or less been his understudy

04:54 for years now, I think that's something

04:56 that is not lost on Marshan in terms of how much it matters

04:59 to, you know, lead by example, be vocal, set the tone,

05:03 both, you know, in the room, on the ice, obviously,

05:06 and also for as much as, you know,

05:08 people are worried about, all right, you know,

05:10 Marshan has how many years left?

05:13 Is it better to give it to a guy who maybe is here

05:15 for three, four, five years as opposed to a McAvoy?

05:18 But I think one thing that stuck out with Marshan

05:20 in his opening press conference

05:23 was how important it is to build towards the future.

05:26 That's something that is not lost,

05:28 even as this team is going into this transition

05:31 where you have a new set of players

05:33 stepping into the lineup.

05:34 I think it's, you know, he's very cognizant

05:37 of what he needs to do in terms of the culture

05:40 set down by guys like Char and Bergeron,

05:42 carry it on, you know, make it his own, obviously,

05:45 you know, no players the same in that respect,

05:47 but carrying it forward that in 20, 30 years,

05:51 guys who have never played with a Bergeron

05:52 or something, they still take to heart,

05:54 I think some of those same core principles.

05:56 So I think for as much as Marshan,

05:58 especially maybe outside of Boston,

06:00 as viewed as this WWE character or what have you,

06:04 I think when it comes to some of those things,

06:07 it's something I think he feels

06:08 the burden of responsibility, welcomes it,

06:11 and really kind of takes it to heart,

06:12 which I think is exactly, I think, what you're looking for.

06:15 - Yeah, and even you saw him in that opening press conference

06:18 kind of describing what it meant to be captain.

06:20 And, you know, when they took him out to dinner

06:22 and he was kind of, he was very anxious thinking like,

06:25 oh, maybe they're letting me down easy, maybe, you know,

06:27 'cause, and it kind of hits at the whole point of like,

06:29 and you said it, there are other guys who on this team

06:32 who are future captains, they're deserving,

06:34 McAvoy and Postnack are the assistants,

06:35 like they could have been captains,

06:38 but it would have been really weird

06:39 if they didn't give it to Brad Marshan.

06:40 Like it would have been a weird thing

06:43 not to give it to him.

06:44 And it wouldn't have made sense not to give it to him.

06:48 So it clearly meant a lot.

06:50 I think he's gonna do a great job.

06:52 I think he's earned it.

06:53 I think he's got to the point of earning it.

06:55 And I mean, it's, you know, again,

06:57 I think it's the right move.

06:58 It's the right move.

06:59 And it gives guys like McAvoy and Postnack

07:02 a little more time to get more comfortable

07:04 in their leadership roles and abilities.

07:07 And whenever Marshan's time ends here,

07:09 whether it's two years, three years, four years,

07:12 10 years from now, whenever it is, whenever it is,

07:16 maybe Marshan will start the TB12 method.

07:18 They'll be more ready to be captain

07:21 than I think they were now.

07:22 So again, lots of future leaders in that room,

07:25 lots of leaders in that room in general,

07:27 but Marshan clearly the guy who earned the captaincy.

07:32 That's for sure.

07:34 So Marshan is captain.

07:35 He's still himself.

07:36 I mean, he's still, you know,

07:37 winking in videos and same guy.

07:40 And Neil even said,

07:41 we don't need you to change the way you play.

07:44 I mean, I was not there at training camp

07:46 on Thursday for day one.

07:47 I was there obviously Friday for day two,

07:51 but leading by example, high compete in these drills.

07:56 I mean, just, there was a funny play or not a funny play,

07:58 but there was a play,

08:00 it was a two on one in front of the net.

08:02 And Lysel like kind of tried to dangle around Marshan

08:05 and Marshan just chopped his stick,

08:07 hand on the shoulder, pushed him right down.

08:10 And I'm like, all right, well, you know,

08:11 he's come to play and he finishes every check.

08:13 And I think that that's sort of a way

08:15 that his leadership is gonna sort of emanate.

08:17 - Yeah, no, absolutely.

08:18 I think it has to be leading by example, setting the tone.

08:21 And again, Marshan's a guy that I think helps

08:24 in terms of having maybe younger guys cut into the lineup

08:27 because he's kind of traveled that road,

08:30 but you know, wasn't this first round pick guy

08:32 that got drafted and you knew

08:33 he was gonna be a top six player,

08:35 kind of cut his teeth down in the AHL,

08:38 started here as a fourth line guy

08:40 and fought his way up off of kind of hard work,

08:43 determination, having a chip on your shoulder.

08:45 And I think he still carries that to this day

08:47 in terms of how he operates, how, you know,

08:50 even if he's not the most skilled player

08:52 or whatever you wanna say about him,

08:53 he rarely lets other guys outwork him.

08:55 And I think that's something that, you know,

08:57 leading by example is such an important part

08:59 of what it takes to be a captain.

09:02 And he's done that year after year after year, right?

09:05 I mean, you look at how often is it you see the Bruins,

09:07 you look behind the B and it's Dev Camp

09:10 and these, you know, younger players are stepping

09:13 into Warrior for the first time and Marchand's working out.

09:16 He's the one who's giving them a speech going into it.

09:18 I think even Dubrovsk last week,

09:21 more or less mentioned Marchand,

09:22 I think a week after the season ended,

09:24 was already back on the ice.

09:25 So, I mean, that's, I don't know,

09:27 I think knows, you know, the amount of work he puts

09:29 and how seriously he takes it.

09:31 That's kind of not lost on him.

09:33 I can only imagine he's going to magnify

09:36 and continue now that he's captain.

09:37 And yeah, in terms of even just setting the tone,

09:40 that's why I think one thing we've noticed

09:41 the first two days of camp,

09:44 usually this is the time where guys

09:45 are just getting their feet wet,

09:46 learning their new line mates,

09:48 kind of seeing, you know, the coaching staff

09:49 is evaluating guys early on.

09:52 Very physical so far.

09:53 You've seen a lot of guys get trucked over.

09:55 Steen, I think, took a shoulder to the face today.

09:58 I think it was last, on Thursday, McAvoy and Marchand

10:03 were in a pretty big battle on the boards

10:05 and McAvoy almost got decked to the ice by Marchand.

10:09 Again, hopefully no injuries.

10:10 That's the last thing you want to see,

10:11 but I think it sets the tone though early on

10:13 that this is a team that, you know,

10:16 I think they've embraced maybe the chip on the shoulder

10:18 of what the expectations are going to this year.

10:21 And they're setting the tone early that, you know,

10:22 we have to atone for last year,

10:24 but also we have to be a lot more physical,

10:26 a lot more punishing.

10:27 And you've seen that at least translate

10:29 over these first couple of days of camp.

10:31 - And again, it hits the thing of

10:32 they're not going to outscore you,

10:34 but they are built to be a very difficult team

10:37 to play against, whether that's, you know,

10:38 defensively, in net, or just physicality-wise,

10:43 not going to be an easy team to play against.

10:45 So early on, I mean, you know, we're two days in,

10:47 there's training camp on Saturday,

10:48 first preseason game Sunday.

10:50 What's kind of the early take on what your Montgomery

10:53 is trying to build this season?

10:55 - Yeah, I think early on, you know, again,

10:57 I don't think we should put too much stock into lines yet,

11:01 or, you know, where guys are in terms of roster bubble.

11:03 We'll wait until we actually get some preseason games,

11:05 which, thank God, are right around the corner,

11:08 literally starting on Sunday, as you said.

11:10 But I think when you look at just how this team is built,

11:12 or what kind of identity they're trying to incorporate,

11:16 as you said, obviously, a lot of it's going to come down

11:18 to defense and goaltending,

11:19 which is a good place to start from.

11:21 You know, I think if you're a team that's

11:23 in a bit of transition, or you're retooling the roster,

11:26 having your foundation be set in your D-core,

11:29 in your goaltending, is a great place to go.

11:31 It's a good way to chart, I think,

11:32 a pretty high floor of just always consistently

11:36 being in games, and they should be, right?

11:37 Like, they're still returning five of the six D that,

11:40 before the trade deadline, were what, 43 and eight,

11:43 I think is what their record was, 43, eight and two?

11:46 I believe so.

11:47 Having those guys back, Lindholm,

11:49 obviously coming off of that broken foot,

11:53 but was arguably a top three, four,

11:56 Norris contender last year.

11:58 I think one guy that's kind of,

11:59 I wouldn't say is slept on,

12:00 'cause he's one of the best defensemen in the game,

12:03 but even McAvoy, how much it helps

12:06 is having a full year removed from,

12:08 recovering from off-season surgery,

12:11 having just a clean slate over the summer,

12:14 can make a huge difference in terms of how you

12:16 go into a year, you're not feeling rushed,

12:18 you feel like your game's already at a good,

12:20 is jumping off point when camp opens.

12:22 So defense is gonna be huge, goaltending, obviously,

12:25 barring a major regression from both of those guys.

12:29 You've got one returning Vezina winner,

12:32 and you've got a damn good goalie as your number two

12:34 that could also take further strides there.

12:36 So the identity is gonna be rooted in the defense

12:38 and the goaltending, but I am curious to see

12:41 how they approach their maybe mode of attack up front.

12:45 You listen to Montgomery early on, a lot of it physical.

12:48 They wanna be more physical,

12:50 then it'll be tougher to play against.

12:51 And what does that mean?

12:52 Is this a team that, I think you look at the personnel,

12:55 whether it's obviously Lucic,

12:57 but Lauco, Beecher, Patrick Brown,

13:01 you look at Geeky, again, not a bruising guy,

13:04 but 6'3", Van Riemsdyk,

13:07 they are a lot bigger up front now.

13:09 And I think it's all gonna be maybe changing

13:11 about how they play because it's one thing

13:13 to I think be just this bruising,

13:15 methodical puck possession group,

13:18 but it seems like Montgomery wants to kind of toe

13:20 that line between, they wanna be more physical,

13:22 but also still play with pace.

13:24 So we'll see how that maps out,

13:27 but I view it as maybe being more, instead of rush-based,

13:30 it's more of generating a lot more on the forecheck.

13:34 I think you look at probably the best practice

13:36 for a lot of these teams, especially in the playoffs,

13:39 very high forechecking pressure,

13:42 their turnover rate, all those things.

13:43 So if you're able to attack with speed,

13:46 knock guys loose with the puck and do that,

13:49 that's probably a sustainable way to not only

13:51 land some well, it's against the opposition,

13:53 but consistently generate offense high danger chances

13:57 as well, which obviously is an emphasis

13:59 of what Montgomery is looking for.

14:00 So really early on, but I think that's,

14:03 if you're looking at how they wanna approach

14:04 or maybe tinker with how their offense is generated,

14:07 I could see a lot more forecheck being kind of the focus

14:10 there with kind of the added size they have.

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15:07 - It's why they lost last year.

15:09 They were out forechecked.

15:11 That was what it came down to against Florida.

15:13 And Florida sort of made it big and it's a copycat league.

15:16 So yeah, I mean, defense, goaltending, forechecking

15:20 and the size element's huge.

15:21 And it kind of hits at this.

15:23 One line that I think has drawn a lot of eyes

15:26 over the last two days is "Luchich, Beecher, and Lauko."

15:29 'Cause a lot of these lines that are put together,

15:31 you know, Lysel was with Bergeron and Marchand last year

15:34 at the beginning of camp and he's with Coyle and Marchand.

15:37 Now, it's probably not gonna be the opening first line

15:40 for the Bruins this year.

15:42 Lots of things there, but "Luchich, Beecher, and Lauko"

15:45 is an intriguing look at that kind of potential fourth line

15:49 and that, you know, Montgomery even mentioned

15:51 kind of wanting and needing a left shot center

15:55 in that bottom six.

15:56 What do you think?

15:57 - Yeah, it is really interesting.

15:59 And I think, again, it kind of goes to kind of

16:01 owing that line in terms of just what

16:03 they're looking for there.

16:04 Obviously, I don't think anyone's surprised

16:06 at Luchich slotting in there, but again,

16:08 I don't think you want a bottom six filled with kind of

16:11 maybe slower, more physically dominating guys

16:14 like Luchich.

16:15 You still need to play with pace.

16:16 And I think if you can attack with speed, you can also,

16:19 I think, change your offense on the fly

16:21 or adjust more when you have that speed.

16:23 Like, I look at, obviously, Florida four-checked

16:27 the shit out of everyone on their way to get into the

16:30 Semi-Cup Final, but I think you look at Vegas.

16:33 Vegas primarily was a rush team last year,

16:36 but in the playoffs, they had so much speed

16:39 with some of these skill guys up front

16:41 that they can all of a sudden switch into more

16:43 of a four-checking approach, force turnovers,

16:45 kind of, you know, put defenses on their heels

16:48 and capitalize in that way.

16:49 If you have speed in those critical areas,

16:51 you can do a lot with it.

16:52 And I think, you know, Luchich can bring that

16:55 physical punishment, but you look at Lauko

16:58 and what he can bring when his feet are moving.

17:00 I think he's a guy that could do a lot of damage

17:02 if you're trying to fit that, you know,

17:04 maybe not more heft, but a little bit more like physical

17:08 capabilities with speed.

17:10 Lauko makes perfect sense in that spot.

17:12 And then Bichir's kind of the wild card, right?

17:13 Like, again, we've talked about him and his skill set

17:16 and how if he just, you know, can consistently

17:20 harry out of being just a strong four-checking centerman

17:24 at the NHL level, the offense will come.

17:25 And it's not to say that all of a sudden

17:27 I'm expecting him to have a 20-goal season,

17:29 but it's almost like Lauko, right?

17:32 Like, it's not like this guy is dangling through guys

17:34 or doing anything, but he's, every time he hops

17:37 over the boards, he's moving his feet,

17:39 he's making, you know, chaos happen.

17:41 He's causing turnovers and he's parting the loose pucks.

17:45 He's, you know, getting pucks into great AI

17:46 so they get potted by a line mate.

17:48 Like, he's doing it organically in terms of how he's

17:50 generating that offense out of that fourth line role.

17:53 You look at Bichir and how well he skates,

17:55 he's already a big body at 6'3".

17:57 If he can just, you know, keep his game simplified,

18:00 the opportunity should be there with that line.

18:02 So he's a bit of a wild card Bichir in terms of maybe

18:05 fighting for that spot over a guy like Patrick Brown

18:08 or someone else.

18:08 But in terms of what Montgomery seems to be focusing on

18:13 in terms of speed with that physicality,

18:16 I think there's really a lot to like of what we've seen

18:18 from that potential fourth line so far.

18:20 - Yeah, that line kind of is very interesting to me

18:25 because as you said, you know,

18:26 Lucic obviously is the slowest of those three,

18:29 but I just think that the physicality he brings, you know,

18:32 if he's the first guy on the puck, you know,

18:35 on the four check, he's not fast,

18:39 but he's hard, he hits freaking hard.

18:41 And I think it kind of puts the fear in defenders

18:43 that if Lauco and Bichir can be in the right spots

18:45 to either intercept those passes

18:47 or to kind of close on the guy

18:48 that that first defender back is passing to.

18:51 I think you had something there.

18:53 I think Bichir's speed and Lauco's speed

18:55 and Lauco's ability to affect the game,

18:56 whether it be drawing penalties or things like that.

18:59 I think that's an interesting fourth line.

19:00 You know what, Connor, you know what I like about it?

19:02 There's two young guys on it.

19:03 You're getting the young guy mixed with the vet.

19:06 And I think that that is something that

19:08 is an interesting thing for this team to go.

19:10 Again, it's day two of,

19:11 well, you're listening on day three,

19:14 but we've been through two days of training camp.

19:16 Lots could change here.

19:17 I mean, also like another guy, again,

19:19 I was only there on Friday.

19:21 So I just saw it Friday,

19:22 but a guy like Danton Heinen, interesting.

19:26 Playing with the Dabrowski and Merkulov,

19:28 Montgomery said after Friday,

19:30 they were the best line there.

19:32 I thought Merkulov was a little bit behind Heinen

19:35 and Dabrowski felt that he isn't quite at the level,

19:37 which is why I think Merkulov, again,

19:39 barring he's great in preseason games,

19:41 which could be the case just off of what I saw in practice,

19:44 probably be the worst thing in the world

19:45 for him to get some more seasoning down in Providence.

19:47 We've said this a bunch and it's fine.

19:48 It's not like a slight against him.

19:50 I still think he's there yet.

19:52 But Heinen's an interesting one

19:55 'cause Heinen's a guy that,

19:57 seems like a Montgomery guy from Denver.

20:01 I had success with this franchise before,

20:03 obviously drafted here and everything like that.

20:06 That's an intriguing piece to,

20:09 again, if that's the fourth line,

20:11 let's just say, Lucic, Bichir, Lauko.

20:13 Heinen's an interesting piece there on that third line.

20:15 Again, long way to go,

20:17 but that feels like a guy who kind of could have the in.

20:20 I also noticed the Bruins just posted on Friday afternoon,

20:24 Twitter video saying like,

20:27 oh, more content from photo day.

20:31 And Heinen was in those photos.

20:33 I don't think I saw like Chayison or any of the bubble guys.

20:37 Heinen was in a shot of it.

20:39 So I'm curious, I mean, what do you feel on him?

20:42 What's your takeaways through two days on him?

20:44 - Yeah, I mean, I think when you look at that third line,

20:47 you can look at the fourth line,

20:48 main line has Lucic,

20:49 I think you kind of know what to expect.

20:51 But if that third line is someone you're grouping,

20:53 you're looking to be more of a defensive stopper.

20:56 Again, that's kind of a new role for Geeky,

20:57 but you expect just with him playing

21:00 13, 14 minutes a night,

21:03 it's pretty much four minutes more

21:04 than he was playing with Seattle.

21:05 He could really be a guy that could evolve

21:07 into a very steady three C,

21:09 but you look at Frederick and, you know,

21:11 they expect more out of him,

21:12 but he was also a sneaky,

21:13 good defensive forward last year as well.

21:17 Put a guy like Heinen who obviously knows the system,

21:19 knows Jim Montgomery.

21:20 Again, Heinen's kind of a divisive player,

21:23 but I think where his value is,

21:25 is he's a really solid two way guy, really versatile guy.

21:29 If you're trying to augment that third line

21:30 into more of a responsible kind of do it all line,

21:35 making putting a guy like Heinen in there

21:36 with Frederick or Geeky,

21:38 those make plenty of sense,

21:39 especially if you want to maybe change that fourth line

21:42 from being a group that gets a lot of D zone starts

21:45 to alignment as your spark plug line, more or less, right?

21:48 Like you get over the boards to make things happen.

21:51 - Happen.

21:52 - Not happy for, yeah.

21:53 Not making things happen for the opposition, that's for sure.

21:55 But I think that's something

21:57 where you look at the third line,

21:59 if they can be more of your shutdown grouping

22:01 with maybe even how they change the coil line around,

22:05 if he's more of a two way guy up with Dabrowski and Marchand,

22:10 there's a lot you can do in terms of how you want

22:12 to change the different roles on this grouping,

22:14 including making the fourth line very happy.

22:16 - The happy and the people pleaser line.

22:17 That's the other, making people happy.

22:19 - That's what we'll call it.

22:20 That's what we'll call it.

22:20 - The people pleaser line, yes.

22:23 Which is great.

22:24 But yeah, Heinen's an interesting one.

22:26 'Cause I think that's a Montgomery guy,

22:28 clearly likes him.

22:30 Looked good on Friday.

22:31 Again, we'll see what happens.

22:32 I think the big test, obviously,

22:33 Sunday Montgomery said no more than eight veterans

22:36 are gonna be on the lineup for that Sunday game,

22:38 which makes sense.

22:39 It's gonna be kind of a development game for sure.

22:42 Which makes it more interesting.

22:43 I'm sorry, in training camp,

22:45 the Dabrowski's, the Marchand's, the Pasternak's,

22:48 the Lindholm's, McElmoy's, I don't care.

22:50 You know they're making the team.

22:51 Training camp is fun to say.

22:52 - Really? Yeah.

22:53 - Hot take, break it.

22:55 You can source me on that.

22:58 But I think it, you know,

22:59 I, and I think most people find training camp

23:02 more interesting with the Lysels of the world,

23:04 the low rise, the Heinen's,

23:07 sort of those bubble guys and those, those prospects.

23:10 So speaking of prospects,

23:11 Poitras playing on a line with David Pasternak.

23:14 Has a lot of people excited.

23:15 I know he had a good day on Thursday.

23:17 Had a solid day Friday again.

23:20 You know, I think it kind of hits it like,

23:22 he's gonna have a good training camp,

23:24 but I don't know if there's,

23:27 I don't think now's the time.

23:28 You know, I think it's good for,

23:29 that he has a really good training camp,

23:30 but now probably isn't the time so far

23:33 for him to be kind of up in Boston.

23:35 - Yeah. I think it's, you know,

23:38 Montgomery did the same thing last year,

23:40 where I think he, as you said,

23:41 Lysel had a few shifts or a few practices

23:44 with Marchand and Bergeron,

23:46 where I think it's, you know,

23:47 you have some of these maybe prospects

23:50 that have a little bit of a higher ceiling,

23:51 especially offensively.

23:52 Of course it makes sense to kind of throw them a bone,

23:55 get them, you know,

23:56 generate some momentum early on with some high end talent.

23:59 If you're a guy like Poitras, who's 19 years old,

24:03 first legitimate camp, you know, a little nervous,

24:05 good way to kind of ease that,

24:07 that those worries or get those butterflies out is,

24:10 you know, feeding a guy like Pasternak for a one time

24:12 and get your confidence going.

24:13 So it makes plenty of sense as to why guys like him

24:17 or Lysel are starting off, you know,

24:19 in these featured roles, then we'll see, right?

24:21 Like, I'm sure that Poitras is gonna get a few reps

24:24 or maybe a preseason game or two

24:26 with a more high end player and two you can generate there.

24:29 Like, again, I don't think they wanna bring up Poitras

24:32 and think he's right just 'cause they're gonna staple him

24:33 next to Pasternak for the whole year or anything like that.

24:36 But yeah, it's a good way to, so far he's looked good.

24:40 Like he's, again, gotta put on more weight.

24:43 He's what, I think 175,

24:45 but I think the same things we saw at Dev Camp

24:48 still stick out here.

24:49 Really good passer, really aware of, you know,

24:52 where to, you know, attack the puck

24:54 when it comes to winning battles along the boards.

24:57 You know, again, not the most physical guy,

24:59 but knows how to evade players,

25:02 can kind of create space for himself

25:03 off of just, you know, shielding the puck,

25:05 positioning wise, like just a really sound,

25:08 solid player for a guy his age

25:10 and that should only continue to grow.

25:12 Again, I'm not setting any high expectations.

25:14 I think for Bruinsveld, you should just be excited

25:17 that you have a potential promising prospect down the middle

25:20 that even if he goes to the OHL,

25:22 is probably gonna light it up this year

25:24 in terms of what he did last year.

25:27 But we'll see, like again,

25:29 if he goes into a preseason game and looks pretty solid,

25:33 but you know, still seems overmatched,

25:37 of course, like that shouldn't surprise anyone.

25:39 Check back with us on like Monday,

25:41 if all of a sudden he has four assists

25:43 on Sunday or something like that

25:45 and looks like he belongs.

25:46 Then you start having those legitimate conversations,

25:49 but I think it's good and it's fair,

25:51 especially to a player like him,

25:53 who's got a long career ahead of him to see how he does.

25:56 This is his first camp, ease him into it,

25:58 give him a few high-powered weapons early on

26:00 and see kind of what he makes of it.

26:02 - There's no rush.

26:03 There's no rush.

26:05 And I also think you don't wanna relegate him to,

26:08 not relegate, but you don't wanna put him playing

26:11 with guys who are on the third and fourth lines.

26:13 You would ideally, kind of the way they have Lysel

26:16 with these higher end players,

26:18 because he projects to be a higher end player.

26:21 There are lots of prospects like your McLaughlins,

26:24 your Beachers, you wanna throw Merkuloff in there,

26:28 Lauko, who probably will make an impact

26:32 at the NHL level in the bottom six.

26:35 That'll probably be their thing,

26:36 unless Merkuloff kind of finds his way defensively.

26:39 But again, you don't want to put Poitras down there yet.

26:43 You want him to sort of have that top six identity

26:46 because he is a top six player.

26:48 So encouraging stuff so far, it's only been two days.

26:51 It's a long way to go, long way to go,

26:54 before we get to the regular season.

26:55 But again, I think the big takeaway,

26:57 and we'll kind of discuss this probably a ton

26:59 on Bruins beat on Monday,

27:01 is that preseason game on Sunday against the Caps.

27:04 'Cause that shows everything.

27:07 And I think you'll get the most out of that.

27:09 And hopefully the happy line is just going crazy.

27:13 That's what we need.

27:15 - That's everyone just sharing the entire, I mean,

27:17 listen, I go to the regular season,

27:18 and Luchich is out there,

27:19 there's gonna be a lot of very happy people in the crowd.

27:21 - Yes, yes.

27:22 Oh my God.

27:23 - I feel like Luchich is the one guy who,

27:24 even if like, let's say, struggles early on,

27:27 what have you, people are still gonna be like,

27:29 "Yeah, it didn't look that great,

27:30 but good to have him back."

27:32 - Yeah.

27:32 - You know, that's how it's gonna be, so.

27:35 - Lunch pail Luch.

27:36 Yeah, I've said it, like I had a friend say to me,

27:39 I think I've said it on this podcast,

27:40 like, "I don't care if Luchich is the worst player

27:41 in the NHL, I'm glad he's a Bruin again."

27:44 Like, it's just nature's healing type thing.

27:47 And it felt good to even see him just out there as a Bruin.

27:49 It's like, "Oh my God."

27:50 Like, you know, just a Bruin and good for him.

27:54 Should be interesting to see how he plays out this year.

27:55 And again, if he can mentor guys like Beecher, Lauko,

27:59 some of these younger guys along the way,

28:02 I think it's a great thing all around.

28:04 But Connor, what can people look forward to from you

28:08 over at boston.com and the Boston Globe?

28:10 - Yeah, we're gonna be covered again now

28:12 out training camp, whether it's observations,

28:15 camp takeaways, roster battles, all that stuff,

28:17 obviously we'll be over at the Garden on Sunday.

28:21 We'll be back at it for that.

28:23 Looking at younger players, guys who pop in those roles,

28:26 all that stuff as we get, as we brace ourselves

28:29 for season open on October 11th.

28:31 So can't wait to get started.

28:33 And again, every day we'll have some Bruins content

28:34 out there over at boston.com.

28:36 So please read our stuff there.

28:38 And if you wanna follow me on Twitter,

28:39 you can @ConnorRyan_93.

28:42 - And that game is on Nesson Plus.

28:43 It is not on Nesson. - Yes.

28:45 - Just so people-- - Gotta get those,

28:48 gotta shoo those Red Sox out of here first.

28:50 So a little bit longer. - Yeah, yeah.

28:53 Hopefully they're out of here,

28:54 well, they will be out of here as soon as they possibly can.

28:57 They will not be playing October baseball.

28:59 But anyways, that's Connor Ryan.

29:01 I'm Evan Marinovsky, presented by FanDuel.

29:03 You poke the bear listeners.

29:04 Have a great rest of your week.

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Early Takeaways From Training Camp | Poke the Bear

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