It seems like it just began but the season is actually more than half over. Where does all the time go? Does it just go by this quickly for me? Has the flux capacitor been invented yet? Why am I asking all of these questions? I guess we’ll never know.
Since the season is half over, it’s time for another report card. The last one was done at the quarter pole and I’ll include the grade I last gave each player along with the one I’m now giving them. Some people have gone up, others have gone down and some people don’t play for the team anymore and so won’t be mentioned (I’m of course referring to Brandon Bochenski and possibly Peter Schaefer). If I have nothing to change from last time, I will simply place (unchanged) next to their names. This will not usually be the case but in some instances, such as with Marc Savard, there really is nothing new to say and that can be a very good thing. While I will be giving Julien a grade, I will reserve the Chiarelli grade for the three-quarters done report card as he will no doubt have more completed by then and the team’s overall performance will become more clear. I should mention that bringing in Auld is a definite plus for him but I’m still not sold on Hnidy yet.
I didn’t make this very clear last time but I am grading based off of whether or not the players are living up to expectations. It would be useless, for example, for me to grade Shawn Thornton with the same criteria as I would grade Marc Savard.
So, without further delays such as this one, here are the grades:
Let’s start with the centers:
1. Marc Savard (unchanged)(A). Marc has brought it all this year. He has been scoring at his usual rate and he has been one of the few bright spots on special teams. He has been getting PK and PP minutes and has done a great job of committing himself to playing more defensively this year. He’s definitely the most consistent Bruin forward and his leadership ability is underrated. When he missed the game against the Ducks, it was very noticeable. His intensity has been good and his physical game is decent for a guy his size. The biggest knock against him is his lousy work in the face-off circle and it’s the only reason I didn’t give him an A+.
Note: Savard’s face-off performance has gotten a little better over the course of the year but it still isn’t where it should be for a first line centre.
2. Glen Metropolit (unchanged)(A+). Glen came to training camp as a try-out and has turned into the team’s on again/off again second line centre. He has been great for this team as he has been the jack of all trades at centre. He can contribute to a scoring line and he can play, on most nights, a good defensive game. He has made the loss of Bergeron more manageable and though no one can actually replace Patrice, Glen has done an admirable job of filling those skates. He’s another guy you can plug in anywhere and feel confident that he will do well. Metropolit has exceeded expectations.
3. Phil Kessel (Current grade: C) (Previous grade: C+). Though Phil has recently shown more intelligence with the puck, he has spent the year coughing the puck up in the offensive zone, not getting it out in the defensive zone, having the worst plus/minus on the roster and not contributing much more than his skating and the occasional goal or assist. Phil out-skates everyone but his brain has not caught up to his feet. Neither have his line-mates. Phil has been showing signs of improvement and could easily bump his grade up before the end of the year but he’ll either have to start scoring more or start playing smarter. I still have Phil in the centre column but he obviously is also used as a winger a lot, which is a great idea. Last time I wrote “wingers: I hope to include Kessel in this list next time”. I’m happy to say that I could include him there but to avoid confusion, I’ll just make this note instead.
4. Petteri Nokelainen (Current grade: B+) (Previous grade: B). Petteri has been solid for the team since he came up from Providence. He has been a decent checker, he doesn’t give the puck away too much and he adds a good amount of grit. He is a minus two but that is not his fault. Petteri is saddled with the responsibility of keeping his line-mates defensively relevant. This is not easy when playing with Reich and Thornton so much. Petteri has also scored four goals since his arrival in Boston.
5. David Krejci (Current score: C) (Previous score: C-). Krejci started off the year strong but looked like he was a step behind the game after a while. His plus/minus was slowly slipping and things just didn’t look quite right with David. He was sent down to Providence because of it and he proceeded to tear up the AHL. He’s now back and he’s looking a little better though he still just cannot move his AHL game to the NHL. This team would be much more steady offensively if Krejci could get rolling.
6. Vladimir Sobotka (B+) (Not previously graded). Vladimir has been very physical and he has been a great energy guy. He has lots of upside and has been a very good spark on the team. Though he scores more in the AHL, he is in tune with the NHL game enough to take care of himself on the ice.
Wingers:
1. Marco Sturm (Grade unchanged) (B+). Marco has had lots of scoring chances lately but he hasn’t been able to capitalize on a lot of them. He has 28 points in 43 games, which is about usual for him, but he needs to wrack up more goals. On the plus side, he has been very responsible defensively and he has been fairly physical too. He’s not pacing for as many goals as he usually does and I have to wonder how much of that is because Patrice Bergeron is on the shelf.
2. Glen Murray (Current grade: C-) (Previous grade: C). Glen started the year off in a massive slump and then got hot. Unfortunately, right as he got hot he also got injured. Glen has to stay healthy more often because he is too important to the team to be missing. I’m sure Glen doesn’t want to be injured but I have to take into account how much time he has missed over the last couple of years. A healthy, productive Glen Murray easily improves this grade.
3. Chuck Kobasew (unchanged) (A). Chuck has been my favourite winger this year. He mixes it up, has good skating ability, stands in front of the net, has been scoring fairly consistently (for him), is physical and he leads the team in plus/minus at plus nine and in goals at 14. He has done exactly what Chiarelli brought him on this team to do and, though he may not score as much as others in the NHL, he is always noticeable in some way.
4. P.J. Axelsson (Current grade: A) (Previous grade: B). You know what they say: P.J. can play. His play on the defensive side of things, his willingness to take hits to make the play, and his grit have been huge assets to the team. He also is as versatile as Metropolit is. P.J. has nine goals this year and is tied with Kobasew in plus/minus. When the team struggles, P.J. does not. He is just a very steady and intelligent player who the Bruins are lucky to have. Hopefully his foot problems do not keep him sidelined for long.
5. Peter Schaefer (Current grade: D+) (Previous grade: C+). Schaefer looks like he’s about to fall asleep on far too many nights. It’s not tough to even forget he’s on the team. He has 20 points in 44 games, which is not terrible on this team, but he has brought little else to the club. He lacks drive and is not a game changing player. Surprisingly, he has also been lacking in the defence department.
6. Milan Lucic (Current grade: A) (Previous grade: B-). Milan has brought good energy, solid toughness and fighting ability and a sneer that everyone can appreciate. He has been decent defensively and has shown flashes of offensive ability. He should be lauded for making it to the NHL at such a young age. His only area where he needs drastic improvement is offence but that has been coming along too. He certainly seems to be poised for stardom.
7. Shawn Thornton (Current grade: C) (Previous grade: C+). Thornton was brought in to fight and hit and, putting the rather long time he was injured aside, he hasn’t been thrilling me in either category. Thornton fights but they’re usually more like quick little skirmishes and they almost never end up with a really solid punch landing. He could use some lessons from youngsters Vladimir Sobotka and Milan Lucic on how to really play an energy game.
8. Jeremy Reich (grade unchanged) (B). Reich doesn’t lay people out with hits but he does wheel a little better than Thornton. Most importantly, he is actually vicious and tough. When you see Reich in a fight, you see a good fight. His defence could use some work and I think he should hit more though.
D-men:
1. Zdeno Chara (Current grade: A-) (Previous grade: B). Chara has been seeing more minutes on ice than he was at the beginning of the year. This is due to injuries to the other blue-liners. He has handled the extra minutes well and I think his level of physicality has been solid. He has 29 points in 44 games which is quite good. He does still occasionally look lost on some defensive plays and he still lacks somewhat in the in-game leadership department. I’m sure he’s well liked but he doesn’t exactly take hold of entire games and steal them for the Bruins like a captain at that pay-scale should do every now and then.
2. Dennis Wideman (Current grade: A-) (Previous grade: B). Wideman has matured more than any other Bruin. He had a large stretch where he was playing 30+ minutes a night. Considering he started the year scratched, that’s pretty good. His offensive game has taken a step up as well and he has cut down on embarrassing mistakes in his own zone. That said, he is still not exactly a rock defensively.
3. Andrew Ference (Current grade: B-) (Previous grade: A-). Andrew was taking the brunt of the defensive minutes before he was injured. He was doing a solid job of it too. Unfortunately, he may have been rushed back from his knee sprain as when he returned he seemed out of sorts. He was leaving opposing forwards too much space and his plus/minus suffered because of it. This grade could go back up again as Ference has looked a little better recently.
4. Andrew Alberts (Current grade: C-) (Previous grade: B-). This grade is not because of injury (nothing he can do about his injury). This grade is for the lumbering around aimlessly that he does on the ice. He is a disaster in his own zone and can’t put numbers up on the board. Maybe the only thing he is good at is the occasional hit and some PK minutes.
5. Bobby Allen (Current grade: C-) (Previous grade: C+). No points and a minus two in 15 games. That, combined with his back problems, have definitely made Allen a bust so far this year.
6. Aaron Ward (Grade unchanged) (A). Ward has been a machine on the ice. Ward has had two clutch goals to steal games this year. More importantly, he loves to hit and block shots. He’s also a character and he’s the type of guy you want on a team that depends on a defensive, gritty system. All in all, I’ve enjoyed watching Ward this year and I think he has done well for himself and for the team. The injury was unfortunate but he hasn’t missed a beat since his return
7. Matt Hunwick (Grade unchanged ) (B+). Hunwick looked composed and promising in his stints with the big club. He was not dominating but he performed as expected. He saw limited minutes but he did have many key clearing plays during those minutes. He is still rough around the edges though.
8. Mark Stuart (Grade unchanged) (A). Stuart is still my favourite d-man on the Bruins right now. He is strong as an ox and he can’t be moved. He only has two goals but he has shown he knows when to pinch in and when not to. I think Stuart is going to be a mainstay for this team for years in much the same way Chris Phillips is for Ottawa.
9. Matt Lashoff (B-) (No previous grade). Lashoff has shown some promise offensively but he is still fairly unimpressive in his own zone. I think Lashoff may benefit from increased playing time in the NHL as he ages and perhaps we would see the same learning curve happen as in Wideman’s case.
10. Shane Hnidy (B) (No previous grade). Not much to say. I’ve only seen him for five games with the Bruins. I saw him in Ottawa but that was quite a while ago. With no points, a plus/minus of 0 and nothing really standing out more than a couple of hits and a few screw-ups, Shane will get a B for now.
Goaltenders:
1. Manny Fernandez (unchanged) (Previous grade: D-). I couldn’t decide if this grade should go up or down for being injured.
2. Tuukka Rask (unchanged) (B+). He has only played four games and so I’ve not seen a real representative sample of his play yet. But, from what I’ve seen, he looks like the real deal. His net coverage is good and his reflexes seem sharp. What’s most impressive though is his composure. He must have ice-water for blood or be really good at handling anxiety.
3. Tim Thomas (unchanged) (A++++). I know, too many plusses, but I can’t stress this enough: Tim Thomas has been the best Bruin, without a doubt. Tim is the man right now. He leads the league in save percentage and he has kept the Bruins in the thick of things all year. His attitude and work ethic are just incredible and he has the skills and personality to be a lot of fun to watch. I have absolutely no bad things to say about Thomas, who is a godsend for this team except when playing the Habs.
4. Alex Auld (A) (No previous grade). Auld was a quick fix to a goalie shortage and he didn’t disappoint. His numbers are not as spectacular as Tim’s but he is definitely a very capable goalie when used in a limited role.
The coach:
Claude Julien (unchanged) (A+). Claude has made all the difference with this team. He and Tim Thomas are the most important keys to success for this team. Bruins fans can feel vindicated for calling for Lewis’ release as Julien has obviously proven that coaching matters and he is the superior coach. He has shown patience with youngsters, solid decision making abilities, and logical lines. His system clearly works and the players are obviously responding well to him.
Well, that’s all folks.
THE CONTEST (it’s not like the one from Seinfeld)
In the comments of my last blog, I promised that I would organize some sort of contest. I did this because my readers deserve only the best (and because I’m tired of being hassled about the lack of contests). Well here it is:
Gerry Bourdeau is proud to present the Gerry Bourdeau contest for excellence in commenting on Gerry Bourdeau’s blog. The commenter who leaves the funniest comment (any topic will do as long as it’s funny, clever and fairly tasteful but hockey comments are encouraged) will win a brand new Boston Bruins beer mug, a Batman PEZ dispenser, a VHS copy of Don Cherry’s Rock ‘em Sock ‘em 5 and a VHS copy of the Third Annual WWF Survivor Series, which I would date to around 1988. The main event on that is the Hulkamaniacs (Hulk, Jake the Snake, and Demolition) vs. the Million $ Team (Ted DiBiase, Zeus and Powers of Pain). I know it sounds too good to be true but that package can be yours for absolutely free if you just leave the funniest comment. The comment can be a one off or it can come as a result of conversation. It doesn’t matter.
The comment will be judged by me and possibly a panel of rag-tag Hockeybuzzers that I will arrange at a later date. The contest will run until I feel there is a good enough sample of funny comments or mid-January, whichever comes first. If there is an absence of comments then your chances of winning go up (assuming you leave one).
This contest is open to fans of any team and people of all ages, makes and models, though I will be totally biased towards the Bruin fans. I will be even more biased towards attractive female Bruin fans with their own source of income. This is why I think I’ll need a panel of judges. If you are a fan of another team and you win the contest, you’re still getting a Bruin mug so don’t ask me to change the prize package.
Let the games begin.
-Gerz
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