Bruins captain Brad Marchand offers seasoned advice to younger players.
Boston’s captain had a message for the younger Bruins players looking to make the opening night. roster after training camp.
Through the first two preseason games, the Boston Bruins prospects have delivered mixed results in their bid to make the roster out of training camp. The most closely watched players are Fabian Lysell and Georgii Merkulov, both vying for a potential spot to replace Jake DeBrusk.
In the two preseason games against the New York Rangers, neither player stood out, and at times, it was difficult to even notice them on the ice. However, in Tuesday night’s game against the Washington Capitals, Lysell responded to coach Jim Montgomery’s earlier comments with a strong performance, scoring a goal and playing well in all three zones during the 4-1 win. Merkulov showed flashes of potential, but his performance wasn’t enough to turn heads.
Brad Marchand has message for younger Bruins players
After Wednesday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena, captain Brad Marchand commented on the performance of the younger players in camp. He offered a seasoned perspective and delivered a clear message to them as camp progressed.
“It’s encouraging, but ‘pretty well’ needs to improve,” Marchand stated. “‘Pretty good’ isn’t enough. If you’re satisfied with that, you’ve got a long way to go.”
He’s certainly right, some of them do have a long way to go if they are going to stick in Boston beyond the final round of cuts. As mentioned above, Lysell played better last night, but he needs to find consistency in his game. Merkulov is the same way, needs consistency.
In the overall big picture, you can bet that the Bruins front office is looking for Lysell or Merkulov to get a hold of that last roster spot by the end of camp. As far as a cap standpoint goes, that’s in the best interest of the front office and then the team, but getting one of them to do that is going to be easier said than done. For Lysell, this seems like his best chance to find himself in the NHL on opening night than his first couple of seasons as a pro.
