On this episode of Pucks with Haggs, host Joe Haggerty and guest Mick Colageo discuss the first half of the Bruins season and what's to be expected headed into 2025. That, and much more!
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SportsTranscript
00:00Pucks with Hags is brought to you by Price Picks and the Game Time app.
00:05Welcome to another edition of the Pucks with Hags podcast powered by Price Picks,
00:08the exclusive daily fantasy partner of the CLNS Media Network. I believe this is the 154th episode
00:14of the Pucks with Hags podcast. So thank you for joining us. And it's also the very first podcast
00:20of 2025. Happy New Year to everybody out there listening. Happy New Year to my longtime friend
00:26and colleague, Mick Calagio, who is joining us for this first episode of 2025. Mick,
00:32Happy New Year to you, my friend. Thanks, Joe. And a Happy New Year to
00:37everybody who would have any reason why they would want to listen to us talk about the
00:41Boston Bruins. I agree. My sentiments, especially coming off fresh off an extremely boring three
00:49to one loss to the Washington Capitals on New Year's Eve day. It was not nearly as exciting as
00:58my son Finn's 5-0 win at 8.30 in the morning in Hockey Town on New Year's Eve morning.
01:04The Pee Wee One team for Newton rolled and started off the new year right.
01:09Let's thank our sponsors real quick. Download the Prize Picks app, our friends at Prize Pick,
01:15and use the code CLNS to get $50 instantly when you play $5. That's code CLNS on Prize Picks to
01:20get $50 instantly when you play $5. You don't even need to win to receive the $50 bonus. It's
01:24guaranteed. Prize Picks run your game. Let's also thank our friends at GameTime. If you need any
01:29kind of tickets whatsoever, download the GameTime app, create an account, and use the code CLNS for
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01:38and use the code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Download GameTime today. What time
01:43is it, Mick? GameTime. That's right. New Year, same old GameTime from Mick Colaggio. All right.
01:55We referenced it before, Mick. 2024 went out with a whimper for the Boston Bruins. That was
02:02pretty uneventful aside from a really good bit of puck luck in the first period that gave them
02:08their first goal. Aside from that, not much to write home about in this one.
02:153-1 loss to the Capitals. They were good in the first 10 minutes of the game. They scored a goal.
02:19They got a good bounce based on the work that they were doing and the things they were doing well in
02:23the first 10 minutes. Then they went into sleep mode, I felt like, after that. Obviously, they
02:28were trying. There was some urgency in the third period. There was an empty net goal and another
02:33bounce. They could have at least gone to overtime. I think there's going to be just games like this,
02:39especially for this Bruins team when they don't bring their A game, when they don't bring
02:45physicality and emotion and engagement, when they don't go that extra mile and have everybody
02:52firing on all cylinders. I think there's just going to be games like this where they're going
02:56to lose 2-1, 3-1 on an empty net, or 1-0 or whatever. There's a reason they're
03:0326th, 27th in the NHL in offense. They've been a little bit better under Sako. They've had some
03:08games where they've blown up for some goals and that's good. I still think this is
03:14what this team is until something really significant changes, where you're going to see
03:19games like this throughout the year when either the schedule catches up to them or they just have
03:24an off night or whatever, where they're just not capable of scoring more than a goal or two
03:29and just not enough offense to win against a team like the Capitals.
03:34And they always knew since the Capitals came into Boston and mailed one in that they were
03:41going to play hard in this one. They've been a very resourceful team this year.
03:47They didn't have Ovi in Boston. They had him yesterday. This was always going to be a very
03:52difficult game for the Bruins to win and they played just well enough to lose. Really good
03:58first 10 minutes, really good last 10 minutes. And in between, I think they got outworked.
04:05I remember Brian Trocci a long time ago and it was after one of the Islanders' playoff games.
04:13He said it was really important that we outwork them on the power play. And what he meant was
04:18is that even when you're on the power play, you need to outwork the opponent. And that's a rarity
04:25that somebody points that out because it's usually so skill-focused and
04:34execution-focused. But you still need to win those battles below the goal line for loose
04:39pucks and you need to be able to work to keep possession. There's no question about it.
04:42I think that the next step the Bruins need to take, I feel like the five-on-five game has
04:49really come along. And I just feel like it's not really that bad when it's bad,
04:56and it's really good when it's good. But special teams still lag way behind. I'm used to the
05:02Bruins having a good power play one year and not so good the next. I've never been used to them
05:07not having a great penalty kill. And this year is one of the worst penalty kill seasons I've ever
05:14seen out of them. So not that they had a bunch of them, but the clutch moment when you need one,
05:23you don't get it. So besides the game. Yeah, I mean, that's a great observation,
05:29and it's been true all year about the special teams for sure. There's some things within it
05:35that I think are interesting. Like the penalty kill, what was it? Was it the Columbus game
05:39where they faltered and fell down in Columbus? Was that the game? There was one game where they
05:45gave up like three power play goals. Yeah, I think that was it. Yeah. Aside from that, I think their
05:50penalty kill has been much better under Joe Sacco. And I think that eventually they're gonna get to
05:55like the middle of the league at least in that category. I think they've by and large been better.
06:01They did have some slippage in that game against Columbus, and it definitely was a part of the
06:05reason they lost. But I want to say that it's been a lot better over the last month, like basically
06:12since the coaching change. Power play, look, for a long time now, the second unit power play has
06:21been more dangerous than the first unit as far as scoring, as far as actually getting production.
06:26Justin Brezow, I think, led them in power play goals in December.
06:33And it's part and parcel with what we've seen with David Posternak,
06:40five on five and just in every category, I think it bleeds through to the power play too.
06:46And I looked at the numbers yesterday, I think it was. He's on pace for his lowest goal total
06:52in 10 years, 10 plus years. He had 20 goals, but that was when they played 48 games in a COVID
06:59shortened season. So I don't really count that one. But aside from that year, he hasn't been
07:05anywhere close to it. Like he's on pace for like 27 goals. That would be by far his lowest total
07:11in a decade. And he's, you know, and they filter everything through him on the power play and
07:17try to set him up for the one timer and everything is designed to get him the puck. And he also
07:21stays out there for like the whole two minutes, most of the time with both units.
07:26So I really start to look at him being a big reason that they're struggling this year and
07:33the real downturn in goal production that he's had his inability to score on the one
07:37timer like he usually does and to score whatever by whatever means on the power play. And if,
07:43you know, at a certain point, I feel like you have to change your strategy or what you're doing
07:48on the power play and not build it all around him. If he's not scoring like he has in the past and
07:54he's not scoring this year, like he has before, you know, for him, it's a historic thing. This
07:59is like, you know, we're talking very early posture neck. He hasn't been this, you know,
08:05this, this little production as far as goal scoring goes is what he's on a pace for right now.
08:10Maybe he blows up and goes on a binge and scores a bunch and something different happens, but
08:14I, you know, it continues to confound me trying to figure out what's up with posture neck. Is there
08:23some kind of injury he's playing through? Is it just that, you know, now he's, you know, sort of
08:28like settled in or he's, he's getting a little older and he's kind of like not as dialed in
08:33as he was before. Cause he's got, you know, other stuff going on.
08:37Is it, is it just that he's slowing down as he's in his second half of his twenties? He's,
08:43you know, creeping up towards 30. Is he just, is there his skills,
08:47are his skills starting to deteriorate? You know, there's a lot of different things at play here.
08:54But I have, I'm having a hard time putting a finger on what exactly is going on with him,
09:00but I think it has a big, big to do. And it is a big factor in their inability to score
09:06consistently on the power play. In regards to posture neck, I do feel like most of the season,
09:12he's not been moving well. Yeah. As a point A to point B hasn't been there. His, his agility,
09:21his usual agility seems to be coming up just short in a lot of these little tricky maneuvers that he
09:26makes, complete plays, transition plays, one-on-one plays. The one thing he did yesterday that I
09:33really was encouraged to see from him was a guy came out at him to block a shot.
09:38And he made that little move he makes where he does a little thing with his head. And then he
09:43pulls the puck around to the right by about a foot and finds his seam to shoot it through to the net
09:49and got it there. And that was, and it was a formidable shot. That is when, if that starts
09:55happening for him, maybe a lot of other things are about to start happening for him. So I'm hoping
10:02that 2025 is kinder to him than the end of 24. Yeah. As, as I feel like he really struggled
10:09with Brad Marshan post three summer surgeries, his movement and for a lack of training camp,
10:16wasn't really there. It got there in recent weeks. I feel like Marshan's movement really
10:20has come along. He's much closer to being the player he used to be. And I'm still kind of
10:26waiting on pasta, but that little move yesterday was something that kind of get me thinking that,
10:33Ooh, maybe it's coming. Maybe it's coming. We'll see. Maybe. I mean, I think every once in a while
10:38he'll do something and you kind of say that though, and you hope it's coming, but like,
10:43I think we've seen enough of a body of work now this season where, you know, look, he's going to
10:50end up, he's on a pace to get like close to 30 goals and, you know, 70, 80 points. Like it's
10:56pretty good season. But definitely not what you're used to from a guy that's, you know,
11:04scored 50, 60 before, and it has been over a hundred points. And has a better situation than
11:10last year when it comes to who's, who he gets to play with. Yeah. And well, and it does on some
11:16level make, it does make you appreciate even more, I think how much he carried the offense
11:20the last few years. And maybe just the burden of all that is catching up to him too. I don't know.
11:24Maybe. But I, I, I just have seen the scoring go down. I've seen the mistakes go up. I've seen him
11:32some bad habits with him where he takes bad changes. He's out on the ice too long,
11:38like self-indulgent shifts. I would start to like to see him get off and not take the
11:45full two minutes on both power play units. And, you know, whether it's Wallstrom or somebody else
11:50go out in the second power play unit, a different shooter guy with a full tank of gas. I just feel
11:55like some of the long leash that Pasternak has gotten in years past, because he is pasta and
12:02he's one of a kind and he provides so much to them. He's not doing it this year. So I really
12:07think they need to like tighten the leash a little bit on some of the things that are going on with
12:11him. And until he like starts, you know, scoring at a 40, 50, 60 goal pace and really starts
12:19looking like the usual 88, I feel like you got to start sort of treating them in a different
12:25fashion and more like everybody else when he's playing more like everybody else, you know,
12:29that I feel like there's a little bit of that that I'm watching. And, you know, like I said,
12:35going back to the power play, I think like his struggles are a big part of Elias Lindholm
12:39and his sort of difficulty in the beginning, transitioning to a new team and a new power play
12:44unit and, you know, new players that he's meshing with and all of that definitely was a factor too.
12:49And, you know, Charlie McAvoy, I still don't think is a natural like point guy on a power play,
12:55a really high danger, like high wattage power play. I'm not sure he's going to be your trigger
13:00man at the point. So there's a lot of different factors at play. Yeah, there are. But I do think
13:07Pasternak's diminished scoring ability this year is the biggest factor. And it's probably one we
13:12haven't really even talked about enough or as much as some of the other things. And I really think
13:16it's something maybe we need to focus on a little bit more. You did mention Marcian too. One
13:20interesting thing with Marcian that I've noticed, it's hard to pinpoint like where age starts to
13:29creep in with a player, like aside from just overall like explosive speed or whatever,
13:34you know, that dynamic ability that sometimes can, you know, players will slow down as they age.
13:41One thing I've noticed with Marcian in particular is he, this year, I feel like has a really
13:49difficult time just getting cleanly handling passes a lot. Like there's a lot of passes that
13:55like bouncing off his stick that he's not cleanly catching them and going like in transition that,
14:00you know, it's sort of like a play, a potential like blossoming play kind of dies because
14:06he can't cleanly corral the stick and either, you know, take it in and shoot or shoot right away
14:12or whatever. And I wonder if this is just a sort of a natural thing that we're starting to see as
14:17far as hand-eye goes, as far as a little bit of age goes, as far as a player that maybe that's
14:22an area where we see that he's not quite what he once was and as far as his hands go and being
14:28able to handle all that stuff like, you know, the split second reaction time that you need to be able
14:32to handle that at the NHL level. Just something I've noticed. Wonder if you'd seen like elements
14:37of the same thing. Yeah, but I don't know if I, I mean, I wonder all these kinds of things myself
14:43when I say, okay, here's a guy who clearly struggled with his movement and his skating agility
14:49in the early stages of the season. If a guy thinks he needs, he has less time to make a play because
14:57he doesn't have the same athleticism, then that may erode his ability to, or make him reach a
15:04threshold of trying to do things too fast. Like he's rushing. Yeah, like a lot of the Bruins bottom
15:09six look all the time, which is they're always trying to play the game at such a high pace
15:14to generate the pressure they want to generate that that comes at a cost because they're not all,
15:19they're not all our Timmy Panarin, you know, they're not all going to feel these pucks cleanly
15:23like Sergey Fedorov, you know, with eyes in the back of his head at breakneck speed going through
15:28the middle of the rink. You know, it's, it's just, it's, I think that that's, you know, that's,
15:33and that to me is where talent comes in. There are a lot of these players that die on the vine. Oh,
15:38that would have been good if that connect. Oh, you know, there's a lot of almost in the Bruins
15:42game right now. So the five on five effort looks pretty good. Something else I want to get to that's
15:48a little off topic, but John Tortorella, after losing to the Bruins, really kind of went off
15:55about the, about the officiating, but really more on the Bruins. Yes. For being a team of divers.
16:01Yes. Without saying so. He avoided, he's, he danced around the, around the allegation,
16:08but clearly made it. Yeah. And, and then there was the situation with a couple of penalties
16:15and great game since then. And he did with Mick, let me interrupt for one sec. He did that while
16:20Mitchcoff was like flopping around like a dead fish during that game right afterwards. Like,
16:25oh yeah, he's, he's got one. I mean, Mitchcoff is Martian in the making. That kid's a,
16:29that kid is a freaking dynamo. Yeah. What a pick for them. And, but he dives too. Oh, he, he's,
16:36he plays every angle of it and they're going to have to, he's going to have to learn as he goes,
16:40being a very young player. You know, he's not, he's not winning friends and influencing people.
16:46Yeah. So, but yeah, I think, I think in a couple of games since the Bruins have had
16:52a couple of power plays that they were embarrassed about. And so I, I'm wondering if, you know,
16:59the Bruins have to look at this because even if they're one of those teams that felt like they
17:05were getting stiffed by the referees right and left for games on, on, and, and finally said,
17:11screw this, I'm doing what everybody else does. Right. Now they look like one of the perps,
17:16you know, starting to look like one of the, one of the, one of the teams that's a problem team.
17:21And, and I don't think that's where they want to be. And I'm really curious as to how
17:25the coaching staff's going to negotiate this with them going forward. This is a very
17:30unfruitful question to ask them. You know, you're really not going to get anywhere with something
17:36like this. They're just going to say all the right things and, and feel like, well, that was,
17:40well, that is like Kyle Bacoskis after that Marcian interview a few years ago. Well,
17:45that was worth it. You know, so I don't know what to say other than I just feel like they're in a
17:52weird spot right now. See, I mean, I got, I had a little bit of a different take about that
17:58Tortorella thing. I thought he was more trying to take the heat off of his own player diving by,
18:04you know, deny, deny accused kind of thing. He was just, you know, throwing some shots out at
18:09the Bruins to take the heat off. Yeah. Because I, I, the, the games that they played against
18:15the Flyers, I thought I saw several Flyers like flopping around and diving. And that was like
18:18the second and third game in a row where the Bruins had played somebody that was doing that
18:22to the point where Charlie McAvoy like went over and did something with Mitchcoff. Cause I think
18:26they were tired of watching guys on the other team like flop around and try to play acts for
18:31calls. I can't remember what team there was one team they played. Oh, it was Detroit. They played
18:36Detroit and Detroit had three or four guys that that's a team that dives a lot and is trying to
18:40like, you know, it basically embarrassed the refs to get calls and it's eventually, you know, going
18:46to go against them. And it didn't have later in that game. Wasn't that the game where they were
18:51up in arms about poster neck, maybe like slashing and overtime and ended up leading to a game
18:57winning goal. I was at against Detroit. Maybe it was. Oh yeah. Cause it was to bring it. I think
19:04had his hand on the stick. Yeah. And like they were doing stuff like that the whole game. And
19:10refs finally said, screw this. We're not calling that in overtime. Like you're, you know, he fooled
19:13us once shame on us. Yeah. So I think that's obviously what ends up happening if you keep
19:18doing that. I don't think the Bruins are at that point where they're that kind of team or they have
19:22that kind of reputation. It's a, it's a well-made point by you that you don't want to be that team
19:27and you don't want to get to that point. Well, don't take me off the hook entirely here. I'm
19:30saying that the Bruins have been involved in some power plays that replays are like not a lot
19:36happening there, you know? So yeah, I agree. They're embroiled in a pissy thing right now
19:42with opponents pointing fingers at each other. Well, that's what I mean. I get, I think they
19:47get victimized for those kinds of penalty calls too, where there's not a lot going on and they
19:51get called for it too. I think that happens quite a bit more than, more than my liking,
19:56based like in terms of making a statement about the officials and the way they call penalties,
20:00like, you know, and I know it's a tough job and it's a fast paced game and all that.
20:05Thankless.
20:07Definitely. But let's talk more about that after the, after we take a pause here, Mick, and give
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21:50John Tortorella, when he speaks, everybody pays attention and everybody listens.
21:56Oh, I do.
21:56So of course, and the NHL certainly does, and the officials certainly do. So like it raises
22:03the alarm bells a little bit when a coach points the finger at somebody or even subtly like tries
22:08to do it as he did. But I also think it would be much more a danger area, problem area, an area of
22:19concern, something to be worried about if like they were starting to get fined for embellishment,
22:23the Bruins players, you know, if there were embellishment calls coming, if this was like
22:30a very consistent thing. I mean, I feel like the Bruins much more so are, the bigger problem they've
22:37had, and not as much lately, is taking bad penalties, not so much as diving or embellishing
22:41to try to get calls. You know, like I think that has been more their problem, more their issue
22:47consistently and, you know, kills them obviously when the penalty kill is not playing well.
22:52But like, I also think, you know, maybe there are some players like, to your point,
22:57they're falling down a little too easily right now. And I think that's a danger,
23:01that's a slippery slope to go down if you're a Bruins player, because it is so anathema to the
23:06identity of this team, the longtime identity of this team. I mean, I always loved and respected
23:11Klo Julian as a coach because he refused to let his players dive and he would get pissed
23:16if he thought there was any element of that. He was just a proud guy that didn't want his
23:19teams to play that way. And I think that should be a part of any Bruins coach that coaches the
23:25team is making sure that that's known in the locker room. I like the way he also reinstituted,
23:32we stand up for each other. We don't say, oh, you got slapped in the head. Well, then we're
23:37going to take the two minutes because we'll get the power play goal and make them pay that way.
23:41Yeah. A good power play, you'll do that one out of five times, right? That's five slaps in the
23:46head. You know, he lost a few battles, but he won the war. And I feel like you're absolutely
23:53right about the way the Bruins need to approach this, especially as a team that's got a good,
24:00solid, structure-based, effort-based five-on-five game and is not really a team that's going to
24:08steal too many hockey games like they did the past couple of years. Hey, apropos of nothing,
24:14four of the six teams occupying the top three spots in the two Eastern Conference divisions
24:22have 13 regulation losses, four out of six of them, 13 regulation losses. Isn't that weird?
24:31Exactly 13? Yeah. Toronto's 23-13-2. Panthers, 23-13-2. Bruins, 20-15-4.
24:40Go to the Metro, Caps, 25-10-2. Devils, 24-13-3. Hurricanes, 22-13-2.
24:51Are you freaked out because this conjures up an image of Jason Voorhees in an old-school
24:55goalie mask? Is that what's going on? You know what, too, and I'm looking at
25:02these standings. I am amazed at how many games have gone to shootout this year,
25:07this season. It's January 1, 2025 here, and I'm looking at the Leafs with two,
25:14let's see, now they've got two OTLs. I'll have to look at the other thing this year.
25:23Okay, the shootout record. The shootout record among the top six teams, the top three teams in
25:29each of the Eastern Conference divisions, the Leafs are no shootouts. Florida, 2-0.
25:36Bruins, no shootouts. Caps, no shootouts. Devils, no shootouts. Carolina, 0-2.
25:42This is an unbelievable year as far as that goes in, and that means that I don't know how many
25:48games are going to overtime, but the overtime, we could calculate that too with the standings
25:53the way they give them now. Tells me teams are trying to win in overtime. Well, which is exciting
25:58because I've been bruising my hand banging on the drum for a backcourt violation in OT because it
26:06drives me bananas when I see teams voluntarily say, oh, I don't like how this looks right now.
26:11I'm going to just skate the pass it to my goalie, or I'm going to skate it back out of the zone,
26:16and we'll just sit around for a while until we like what we're looking at and try it again.
26:21It's like playing soccer. Yes, very much so. Very much like a soccer pitch.
26:26And so that was driving me bananas, and now I'm looking at the stats here, and the stats are
26:32saying, Mick, you were full of it. These are results. We are not seeing many shootouts.
26:38So I'm giving my drum banging a pause. Yeah, I mean, it's true.
26:46And I definitely was going to say, when you mentioned the shootout thing, I was going to say,
26:50well, let me guess, there hasn't been many shootouts because I just don't think the Bruins
26:54have not been involved in many at all. And I feel like that's a trend around the league,
26:59and it's good. I mean, I feel like teams, a lot of times, I think shootouts can be very 50-50,
27:07like flip of a coin. And obviously, you'll have some players that are good at the shootout. You'll
27:12have some goalies that like it more than others. But I think just generally speaking, I think you
27:20have a better chance if you try to win in overtime, I feel like, if you're a coach, rather than just
27:24waiting for the shootout where it could go one way or the other. Oh, that's a total coin flip.
27:28Yeah. Yeah. So I think you have more control if you try to win in the OT, so it makes more sense
27:33to not play it safe and play to go to the shootout and to try to actually win it in that
27:38first OT session three-on-three. So I think teams have also gotten used to it to the point where
27:44they're very comfortable playing in it. And the combos, the way they play, the puck possession
27:49game, how skilled and speed-oriented the league is in general now, it caters to that three-on-three
27:55overtime on full ice. It's something that all players, I think, are really comfortable with.
27:59Well, these things always go in competitive cycles. Defense responds to offense,
28:03offense responds to defense. Right now, offense is winning.
28:07Let me ask you this. This is another thing I wanted to get to today, Mick.
28:11Fabian Lysell made his debut.
28:14And back to Providence you go!
28:17And it was, you know, right as the holiday season was wrapping up, his family was here
28:24from Sweden. It was a nice touch, I think, by the Bruins to call him up for the one-game look
28:30while his family was here so they could watch him make his NHL debut.
28:34I don't know if that factored into it or not, but it may have. I think NHL organizations will
28:41do stuff like that from time to time, and I think that's great. I also think they probably wanted
28:46to get a look at him, reward him for the work that he's put in. And, you know, it's something
28:49that would have happened last year if he didn't get hurt, and now it has happened.
28:53And maybe they hope it'll, like, boost his performance in the second half of the year
28:57and get him to a point where he can really help them, you know, down the stretch this year and
29:03going into the playoffs. Because it's very obvious to me, whether it's Oliver Wallstrom,
29:09whether it's Fabian Lysell, they're trying to find an offensive catalyst, somebody that can
29:15make an impact offensively on this team and give them a little bit more than what they're getting
29:20right now and help round out their top six and round out their scoring before they go out and
29:25look for outside alternatives and outside candidates. And that includes what we talked
29:30about before with Charlie Coyle playing on the wing with Brad Marsh and Elias Lindholm, too.
29:35They're looking at different combos, different players, different things before they go outside
29:40the organization to get a player and have to pay a price to get them, because I think it may end up
29:46going that route. But they're doing everything they can right now to figure it out. Makes me
29:50wonder if they're considering compensation of a draft pick rather than a warm body, you know,
29:57and saying, like, if we feel like we have a way to keep our baseline of our five-on-five game up here
30:06and, you know, Lysell's been producing these last couple of weekends,
30:10reading Mark Dibber's excellent blog, Rinkside Rhode Island, you get all your
30:17info on what's going on with the Peabrewers and Lysell's game has been coming up and
30:24he's been getting production out of it. And so I was very impressed by his play away from
30:30the puck in his NHL debut. Now, I know, you know, family's here, surprise call, adrenaline,
30:36you know, going crazy, needles banging the right side of the meter, you know, it's really
30:42a hard thing to imagine that he's gonna, we're gonna see 10 more games exactly like that.
30:53What they will be is hard to say, but when we do see more Lysell, and that was the first game in
30:58a long time that I've felt more like it's gonna be a win more than an if, I love the speed on the
31:03forecheck, the straight line skating, it just seems like he's really kind of gotten the message of the
31:07way they want the bottom six to play. And he gave up one puck in the slot in the defensive zone
31:14because he just waited a split second too long to move it. And to me, that goes with the
31:20territory of playing the AHL game every night and then finally playing an NHL game and being in
31:25that situation, that goes with that. And that's something he can easily fix. So, you know,
31:33I'm like, it really changed my mind about him. I wasn't feeling encouraged prior to.
31:39Okay, I love that analysis, Mick. I'm gonna give my thoughts on Lysell after this short break
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33:09time with the old NHL shield. I like that. All right, getting back to Fabian Lysel, I appreciate
33:16what you're saying about the speed and the four check and doing the right things away from the
33:19puck and like all that stuff you're going to have to do if you're going to be a pro. And if you want
33:23to stick around when you don't have your A game, which tells me that that was not an A game from
33:29Fabian Lysel. And he, you know, obviously he wasn't, he didn't play 20 minutes. He didn't play
33:33it like really a featured role. So there was a limit as to what he was going to do, but he didn't
33:39have any shots on that. Yes, he did. He was on the ice for the first goal that they scored in his
33:44very first shift. Didn't play a huge role in that goal being scored, which is fine. But I just feel
33:51like it was not enough to really like for a player like that, that you're, if you want, you're looking
33:57for a player that's going to be able to make an impact, a player that's going to do some things
34:01for you offensively, a player that's going to be better than the status quo, better than what you
34:04have. I didn't see a lot to make me think that he's going to be that guy. You know, I didn't
34:08see much in that game that really I remarked on and said, all right, like this could be,
34:14this could be interesting down the stretch. I just didn't see it. Similarly to Merkulov, like
34:19Merkulov has done a couple things here or there that I've liked. And he did register a little bit
34:25a few times, you know, there was a game where Frederick, I want to say scored a couple of goals
34:28and he definitely played a role in some of the scoring that happened there for Trent Frederick
34:33and made some nice plays. But I just, I felt like quite honestly, Wallstrom came out of the lineup
34:42to make room for Fabian Lysell for that call up. I felt like Wallstrom did more in the games that
34:50I saw. I thought he was doing more. I thought he was creating chances. He was missing the net with
34:54a shot, but physically he was doing things away from the puck more. He was playing more physical
34:58than I thought he was as a player. He made some good plays along the wall. I just thought there
35:04was, I saw an element, it's probably desperation on Oliver Wallstrom's part, right? He probably
35:09knows after getting, being on waivers, picked up by the Bruins, former first round pick, like he's
35:14not going to get too many more chances with NHL teams at the spot that he is right now if he
35:19doesn't really like see something and do something with it. And I kind of felt that desperation in
35:24his game when I was watching him play and I liked it. And I think it's something that eventually if
35:28he can pop in a goal or two, I think he'd really build on that and maybe create something for
35:34himself here. And I saw elements of that. I just didn't see any of that to be honest with you when
35:38I watched Lysell play. Yeah. I guess I felt better about Lysell's game than you did. Wallstrom,
35:47I agree with you that the desperation has been there in his game with his new lease on life,
35:53with a chance to play for the Bruins hometown team. I'm not sure how I feel about him as a
35:59player. I do feel like he's got a lot more NHL acumen from the years in the league. He's a lot
36:08more crafty in subtle ways around the puck, around the wall battles. There's a lot there to tap into
36:16as far as his arsenal of tricks. In the longest run, I'm not sure he's got the speed to help the
36:24Bruins as a bottom six player. Now, given the fact that the kid's got hands, is it possible
36:31the Bruins could tap into him and find something and unearth something in him that the Islanders
36:37never found and bring it out of him as he goes into his later 20s? I suppose. Look at Brazzo.
36:47Here's a guy who tries so, so hard. He really reminds me of Glenn Murray in regards to the
36:52fact that his game requires so much effort. When he goes over this very, very, very, very pinstripe
37:00of a fine line, all hell breaks loose. If he can get over that line and if he can't get there,
37:08it looks like this futile thing where it's just trying to climb a slippery ladder.
37:15Brazzo has been getting over that hump lately. That is encouraging for the Bruins. It's encouraging
37:20for him. It makes me feel wrong because I was just saying two weeks ago how I think I've seen
37:27his ceiling. Now, all of a sudden, bang, bang, bang, bang. Fuck's going in. I'll shut up now.
37:37He probably, I think, is feeling that urgency too that the Bruins are looking at other forwards and
37:43bringing people in. When does the onus come on me if I'm not producing enough or I'm the odd
37:49man out and I'm not playing? I think he's definitely, I'm sure, feeling that. Look,
37:56all of what you said is true about he looks like a max effort player trying to keep up with the
38:02pace of everybody else. He looks like he's absolutely overdrawing his account to try to
38:07stay up with everybody else at the pace. That being said, he gets where he needs to get to,
38:18even if he doesn't look like the greyhound doing it. He produces at the net front. He
38:26gets things done at the net front based on his size, strength, hands, offensive ability. He's
38:31got skill. He's going to be able to carve out, I think, a long NHL career because he can produce
38:39at the net front and because he's a huge body. I think he's going to be, even if he doesn't stick
38:44with the Bruins, he's going to have value to other teams. I think he's going to be able to play
38:49because he can convert on some of those chances. He's still pretty young. He's in his mid-20s,
38:53mid to late-20s, like 26, I think, 25. Now he's on a pace for 20 goals or close to it based on
39:00this little surge that he had over the last month or so and certainly over the last week or two.
39:08I still believe with Breazeau that he'd be even better if he had a little more mean in him.
39:14A little more pain that went along with some of the hits that he throws and contact that he makes
39:21because it would buy him more space. More space to create, more space to operate.
39:26Players wouldn't get as close to him as they do now when they're all over him sometimes.
39:30If he had a little more nastiness to his game. Maybe he'll develop that as he gets more confident
39:34at the NHL level and as he feels his way through it. He's one of those players that you have to
39:42give a ton of credit to the Bruins NHL scouting staff and their pro scouts for taking a chance on
39:47him, bringing him in, and he's paying dividends now by the way he's playing. They've got a bunch
39:52of players like that. It's hard to imagine that there's another team around the NHL that has been
39:56better at identifying diamonds in the rough of the NHL, bringing them into the Bruins' room,
40:03and elevating them and finding the best in their game and making it work for them.
40:08There's so many guys. Pavel Zaka could have been another forgotten pick from the 2015 draft.
40:15He was sixth overall. The Bruinstein, Aracala, and Free Agency trade him for Zaka and you wind up
40:21with this guy who has been one of your top couple of forwards this year and he's been terrific for
40:29them. You look at him, you look at Geeky, you can just keep on going down the lineup and finding
40:36these guys and seeing guys who have been disappearing in their own organizations.
40:43The Bruins are taking these guys and they're more than bid players for the Bruins as they
40:49get the best out of them and bring everything they can. Good for those players too because
40:55what better thing to have happen to you than go to a new place where you get to have a chance to
40:59to become somebody you wouldn't have become where you were.
41:03L.C. Coard, Cam Neely, we're starting at the top of the mountain there.
41:10No doubt. Guys like Dennis Bonvey deserve a lot of credit. The guys that are in the trenches going
41:15to the AHL games and scouting these players and filing the reports for the Bruins and identifying
41:22guys in the AHL that can help them. Identifying guys like Brett Harkins in the college ranks,
41:28college scouts that go out and watch all the college games and find these undrafted
41:32college free agents that they can sign and come in and be useful players.
41:36They've done a really good job of supplementing their prospect pool and their NHL middle class,
41:42the guys that are on the entry-level contracts that help you salary cap wise when they haven't
41:47always been the greatest at drafting these players. They've found another way to skin the cat
41:51with some of these other ways they've done it and players that they've been able to sign.
41:57Full credit to all those guys. Happy New Year to the Bruins scouting staff
42:01for all the nice things we're saying to them and all the work that they're doing
42:06finding these players because they're doing a really good job and they should be recognized
42:08for it and they should be given a bonus. How about that? They're a good Providence Bruins
42:13and they're great professional scouts. How about let's give them a big fat holiday bonus, Mick.
42:18There we go. I like that. All right. Let's thank our sponsors one more time before we get out of
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42:51What time is it, Mick? Game time. Game time it is. Hey, Mick, happy new year, my friend. You too,
42:58Joe. Everybody else out there have a happy and great new year of 2025. I hope it's as awesome
43:04as this past year was for you. I hope I see all of you at a hockey rink
43:08real soon. Thank you very much for listening and we'll see you at the rink.