In an ideal world, anything the Flyers got out of Marc-Andre Bourdon or Erik Gustafsson next season beyond what they brought last year would be a pure bonus. But as things stand right now, it may actually be a necessity for at least one of the two to significantly raise their games from the current level.
The team's inability thus far to find a suitable veteran replacement for Matt Carle and the Achilles tendon tear sustained by Andrej Meszaros has created a lot of angst. On the flip side, it has also created an opportunity for the two young defensemen to not only compete with each other and Bruno Gervais for playing time, but to show they have what it takes to be difference-makers on the ice.
Yesterday, I spoke with Bourdon in conjunction with a profile article that will run shortly on the Flyers' official Web site. Bourdon said that he's felt fine for over two months and has been training on a daily basis to get ready for next season (whether or not the season starts on time is, of course, beyond his control).
Bourdon came a long way in the last year. This time a year ago, he was trying to get his career back on the right track. He had been in pro hockey for two years with nary an NHL callup, and had even been demoted to the ECHL in the latter part of the 2010-11 season. But rather than giving up, he persevered and took a big leap last season.
Prior to sustaining suspected concussion issues, Bourdon started 38 of the team’s 39 games played between Nov. 18 and Feb. 18, including 33 games in a row. When he returned to the big club on March 27, Bourdon returned to the big club and started each of the final 6 games of the regular season.
That final stretch was arguably his best hockey of the season. Playing an average of 17:42 per game (including three games in which he logged 20-plus minutes of ice time), Bourdon scored a pair of goals and posted a plus-three rating. Peter Laviolette rewarded the rookie by placing him in the starting lineup for Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Penguins.
With Bourdon starting, Pavel Kubina (a former All-Star who has a combined 1,021 games worth of NHL regular season and playoff game experience under his belt) was scratched. Unfortunately, Bourdon got reinjured in the game and was sidelined for the remainder of the playoffs.
Even so, the 2011-12 season represented a giant step forward for Bourdon, who recently signed a two-year contract after the completion of his entry-level deal. Now, the player says, his goal isn't simply to win a roster spot or even a top-six starting role on the Flyers' defense corps next season.
Said Bourdon, “I want to make more of an impact. I’m not just hoping to play, I want to help make good things happen for the team. I feel confident that I can do that.”
Specifically, the defenseman wants to bring out more of his offensive game, which was the best known facet of his game in junior hockey. In pro hockey thus far, his coaches have encouraged him to focus first and foremost on working on his foot speed and pacing. Bourdon has complied -- and plans to keep working on these areas with assistant coach Kevin McCarthy. But he also feels like his offensive game can blossom, too.
As a pro, Bourdon's offensive output to date has been modest. He has not received much power play time. Even so, there have been periodic hints of the booming shot and offensive instincts that enabled him to post a combined 18 goals and 60 points in 54 regular season games and 13 points in as many playoff games as a 19-year-old in the Quebec League.
The other stylistic aspect that the 6-foot, 225-pound Quebecois was known for as a junior player (and, to a slightly lesser extent, the AHL) was his willingness to bang bodies and, when necessary, drop the gloves. Early in his tenure with the big club last season, Bourdon tempered his physical game a bit in order to play better positional defense.
As he gained some confidence, however, Bourdon brought out some more of the aggressive side of his game. His 77 hits in 45 games ranked 10th in total hits among NHL rookie defensemen last season, and his 1.62 hits-per-game average placed him sixth among rookie blueliners who started 40-plus games last season.
Bourdon's 52 penalty minutes ranked 6th among NHL rookie defensemen last season. The total included a pair of fights fairly early in his initial callup. In his first NHL bout, he took on Buffalo's Matt Ellis, who had taken immediate exception to Bourdon boarding tiny Nathan Gerbe. The rookie defenseman won that bout. In his second fight, he took on the Rangers' Brandon Prust. That fight was fairly even until Prust landed a pair of punches at the end to get the decision.
At his current level of development, Bourdon is in the mix to compete for the Flyers' 5th, 6th or 7th defense spot. To do more than that and make the NHL impact that he longs to make, Bourdon would have to take just as big of a leap from his present level as he did from the period spanning his demotion to the ECHL to the end of this past season.
Bourdon needs to continue to work on his skating and decision-making at the NHL pace. But he has the physical tools -- and more importantly, the burning internal desire -- to continue improving all aspects of his game. He exudes a quiet self-confidence that does not come off as false bravado.
Competition can also drive players to dig a little deeper and elevate their games to a higher level. Erik Gustafsson has his own sights set on winning an NHL starting job next season, and possesses an equally strong desire to not only be in the opening-night lineup but to maintain his spot.
Last year, it was Gustafsson's broken wrist sustained in November (as well as Chris Pronger's concussion and a high ankle sprain sustained by Andreas Lilja suffered the same month) that opened the door for Bourdon to get his opportunity with the big club. Conversely, in the playoffs, it took Bourdon getting hurt in the first game of the Pittsburgh series for Gustafsson to get into the lineup.
Gustafsson, who started 30 regular season games with the big club last season, went on to play a strong series against Pittsburgh (and a not-so-solid one against the Devils). He had the game of his life in Game 6 of the Penguins series. Most notably, the Swede scored a second-period goal that drove a stake through Pittsburgh's hearts. But he also had one of the defensive highlights of the entire season.
Earlier in the game, he found himself out on the ice for a shift in which he ended up matched one-on-one with Evgeni Malkin. Everyone -- Malkin included -- thought it would be a total mismatch. Instead, Gustafsson stayed with the Hart Trophy winner step for step. No matter how Malkin tried to twist and turn to shake free from Gustafsson, the rookie stayed right with him. Gustafsson then took the puck away from the stunned and frustrated superstar center. The rookie deservedly drew loud cheers for his effort.
If Gustafsson could regularly play at anything close to his Game 6 level next season, the team would not miss Matt Carle whatsoever. Of course, it's not realistic to expect that to be the case. But if Gustafsson at least makes use of his mobility and puck-moving skills -- something that is sorely needed on the Flyers' blueline at present -- he will have a shot at beating out either Bourdon or Bruno Gervais for one of the two available starting spots.
Gustafsson's biggest problem is his lack of size and strength. Although Kimmo Timonen lacks size, the veteran All-Star defenseman knows how to compensate. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Gustafsson is still learning the tricks of the trade for NHL survival as an undersized defenseman. Despite his combined plus-16 rating in 37 regular season/playoff games with the big club last season, his defensive game is still a work in progress. He needs to get more aggressive in challenging and spend less time backing in.
The broken wrist that Gustafsson suffered last season affected his shooting more than anything else. He's always been an above-average shooter in terms of accuracy of getting the puck on net but he's never been a particularly hard shooter. That's fine, but for a few months after his return last season, Gustafsson's point shot could hardly break a pane of glass and his accuracy was off for awhile, too. He finally got back near full strength late in the season.
The biggest advantages that the 23-year-old Gustafsson enjoys over Bourdon at this point are the former's smoother skating and demonstrated playmaking ability at the pro level. Gustafsson is already a well above-average offense defenseman at the AHL level, whereas Bourdon's offense (thus far) has not been consistently evident since he graduated from junior hockey.
As with Bourdon, Gustafsson tried to keep his game as simple as possible at the NHL level when he was first recalled last season. Laviolette and McCarthy challenged him to get more aggressive in pushing things offensively and he appeared to be on the right track until the wrist fracture. Upon his return, Gustafsson was a bit sporadic in taking advantage of his greatest assets, which is why he yo-yoed three more times between the big club and the AHL last season and Bourdon at least temporarily overtook him in the starting lineup pecking order.
However, once Gustafsson got back to full strength, he played some of his best games of the season. The playoff run against Pittsburgh in particular was quite impressive.
Earlier this summer, a confident Gustafsson conveyed a similar message to the Swedish press to the one Bourdon expressed to me yesterday: he fully expects to not only win a starting job with the big club next season but also to continue to improve across-the-board as an NHL player.
Confidence is a great thing, but actual performance is even better. Opportunity has knocked for both Bourdon and Gustafsson. It will be up to the players to prove they can respond to the call.
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Let's throw a third name into the mix here: Brandon Manning. The 22-year-old got into four games with the big club last season and practiced with (but did not suit up for a game) with the NHL team during the playoffs in addition to skating with the Black Aces.
Manning got a late start last season, missing the first 24 games of his rookie pro year due to hip surgery. It took time for him to get up to full speed.
"I'm not going to lie. It was a struggle for awhile," Manning said at last month's Prospect Camp in Voorhees. "By March or April, I felt pretty good again."
What makes Manning an intriguing prospect is his combination of offensive upside and natural aggressiveness. He loves to push the attack and is a good puck-mover with the potential to put up some points. He loves to hit and agitate, and is willing to fight. Size is neither a liability nor an asset; at 6-foot-1 and 195 pounds, "Manndog" got average size for a modern-day NHL defenseman.
The biggest area that Manning needs to work on is his play on his own side of the red line. When it comes to taking risks offensively and reading plays defensively, the 22-year-old is not yet at Gustafsson's level.
As with Bourdon and Gustafsson, there is no questioning Manning's sincere desire to improve or his work ethic to make it happen. Along with Phantoms teammate Oliver Lauridsen, Manning willingly took on a leadership role at Prospect Camp this year. It was clear from the skill development drills why he has already played some games in the NHL. With the exception of Shayne Gostisbehere, none of the younger prospects at camp were even in the same ballpark as Manning in terms of puck skills and poise.
After awhile, it became crystal clear that Manning did not need that camp to get better as a hockey player. Rather, the Flyers wanted him there to set the bar and demonstrate to the young players where they need to get to simply in order to make it to the pro game.
But if/when NHL training camp starts, Manning will once again become the young pupil rather than the "veteran" showing others the ropes. Right now, he has the advantage of flying under the radar a bit.
There will be more immediate and more overt pressure on Bourdon and Gustafsson to excel, and it is a different type of pressure than either of them experienced a year ago. Until now, all the pressure was self-imposed and coach-imposed. Now there will be media and fan scrutiny to go along with it. Manning, conversely, can just go out and do his thing because people expect that he is bound for the AHL.
Odds are that Manning needs a little more AHL seasoning before he's ready to challenge for a job with the big club. But it may not be as long as some folks think. Most of his mistakes are ones of sheer over-aggressiveness, rather than a lack of hockey sense (a label that got unfairly pinned on him early in his junior hockey days). Over time, it's easier to tone some of that aggression down and channel it more wisely than it is to get an innately tentative player to make use of his skills.
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