Bruins rookie camp: A few thoughts
Boston’s rookies face off against Pittsburgh, New Jersey, and Columbus in Buffalo.
It’s that time of year, and we are coming into Bruins rookie camp out in Buffalo. The Bruins departed late Thursday morning from Warrior Ice Arena en route to Western NY. But the past two days the B’s practiced before departing, and here are some notes of what I’ve noticed from the few practices.
The Moncton Trio:
Coming into Rookie Camp, the Bruins have three players coming from QMJHL Moncton, such as Loke Johansson, (2024 6th) Markus Vidicek, (FA Invite) and Keegan Warren. (FA Invite) All three showed why they were invited and why they will represent the Spoked ‘B’ this weekend.
When it comes to Johansson, you see it from the get go, his skating stride is strong. Johansson also is a nasty defender, he’s more of a stay at home, protect the net guy, but he showed why during his preseason action for Moncton recently, and during the two practices in Brighton. He likely projects as a bottom pairing guy, but if he can produce some offense this year in the “Q”, it would not shock me if he ends up signing an entry level deal.
Markus Vidicek is one of many highly touted CHL Free Agents this upcoming season, and is even eligible to play in the AHL right now, yes, right now, that’s this coming 2024-25 season. Vidicek is small, he’s only about 5’10, but he works hard. One of the more special parts of Vidicek’s game is how he drives to the net. He has skill too, and loves to try and use it to get on the scoresheet. The hope is that Vidicek plays in his last season in the QMJHL with Moncton and produces well to earn an NHL contract, and as well as this weekend in Buffalo, with many scouts watching.
Goaltender Keegan Warren is an interesting one, he just started playing Major Junior last year with Moncton, and posted a .899SV%, and a .914SV% in the MJAHL with Yarmouth. You don’t see a lot of goaltenders come into these rookie camps playing in both Major Junior and Junior A the year before, so the Bruins think they see something here with Warren.
Providence last year, Providence next year?
The hope for some of these rookies under contracts with the B’s is to get a head start before main camp and steal a spot out of camp like others have in the past. (I.E. Poitras) But that is no easy task. Trevor Kuntar is one player that will probably aim to achieve this by playing the way he did in Providence this past season. Kuntar put up 10G-10A-20PTS in 70GP for the Providence Bruins last year, along with 113 PIM’s. The main reason why Kuntar might have a shot at making the big club is his hustle. He never stops going. His motor is through the roof, and as he has kept playing the game, his skating has improved. Kuntar forechecks like no other, and loves to hit. He usually has a shoot-first mentality, but that didn’t seem to be the way he played this past year in Providence. Kuntar almost had the most games played in the AHL out of the whole group heading to Buffalo. It wouldn’t shock me if he wore a “C” or “A” when the Bruins take the ice Friday. He led both stretches when practice ended both Wednesday and Thursday.
John Farinacci is looking to boost his offense this coming year, and having a strong rookie camp before main camp will be a good start towards it. Farinacci had a few bumps in the road last season, but produced more than a half a point per game last season with Providence. He only had 12 goals with the P-Bruins, but had 26 assists. Many scouts feel his ceiling is a third liner, but if he has a bigger year this coming season with Providence, he could have a higher role in the future.
Frederic Brunet is a player I really like. Skates extremely well, has great vision, and runs the power play well when given the opportunity. But that’s the only question, will he get power play time this year? Elite Prospects recently put out their prospect ranking and had him at 3, which is a lot higher than other outlets. There is belief in the scouting industry that this coming year Brunet will take a leap in the AHL, and I hope that is the case. Brunet was drafted as a D+1 in the year he was drafted back in 2022. He then dominated the QMJHL with both Rimouski and Victoriaville, and then earning himself one AHL game with Providence back in late 2023 before playing a full season in 2023-24. I think Brunet needs one more full season in the AHL before contending for an NHL spot.