It’s been a weird, and almost surreal feeling since Peter Chiarelli took over the helm of Bruins as the general-manager back in 2006.

For the first time in too long, the Bruins, a post-lockout rebuilding team if there ever was one, started to actively integrate their prospects into the system in the works in the Hub. Drafts once again meant something as the team thankfully shied away from those mysterious Europeans whose HockeyDB.com profiles abruptly end after 2003-04 (We‘re looking at you, Jan Kubista) and returned to a more North American-orientated scouting style. As if the exile of irrelevancy within the drafts for Boston wasn’t enough to send you into a fit of glee, the team also ended the streak of usual overpayments for players good-in-the-mid-90’s, avoiding signing players such as Martin LaPointe out of spite for other NHL owners or adding another ‘veteran presence‘ to the mix, which is what I presume is code for “oft-injured third liners with waiver likelihood”. While the team would wind up missing the playoffs in both ‘06 and ‘07, the results finally began to show as the Bruins gradually improved with the proper mix of patience and seasoning for now formidable NHLers such as David Krejci, Milan Lucic, and Tuukka Rask.

While a mix of deep draft classes and a remarkable trade between the B’s and Northeast Division-counterpart Toronto Maple Leafs have undoubtedly helped strengthen the Bruins youth-movement for years to come, it’s time to take a look at those who could potentially be helping the Bruins’ crusade to end a near 40-year long Cup drought--or a post-decade long Calder Cup drought.

Outside of the obvious lock for the big club with second overall draft pick Tyler Seguin up front, thus excluding him from this conversation, the big three to watch for the Bruins’ forward core slated to be starting their season in Providence begin with first rounders Jordan Caron and Joe Colborne along with the gradually-more-impressive Maxime Sauve.

Taken by the Bruins in the first round of the 2008 NHL Draft and hearing countless comparisons to former-Bruin Joe Thornton, Colborne spent the past two seasons at Denver University before making the jump to the pro’s by inking an entry-level deal mere days before the end of the NHL season. Amassing 32 goals in 79 games for the Pioneers over two seasons, Colborne’s biggest attribute (and weakness) has been his gigantic frame. Standing at 6’5”, the 20-year old Alberta-native has arrived to the Bruins’ annual rookie development camp three straight years with the goal of adding muscle to his frame, ultimately adding 26 pounds since being drafted. A natural center throughout his junior career, the versatile Colborne spent most of last season playing on the wing for Denver and should expect to be doing the same for the Providence Bruins given the plethora of NHL-level depth down the middle in Boston. Despite a considerably strong development camp alongside Seguin, Colborne seems to be a lock for the P-Bruins’ top-line to begin the season but could find himself playing in the Hub if and when salary-cap issues force the Bruins to trade away or waive either Michael Ryder or Marco Sturm.

Comparable to perhaps none other than Boston Bruins center Patrice Bergeron, forward Jordan Caron will arrive to Bruins training camp this fall as perhaps the most NHL ready of all the prospects within the system. With a killer wrist-shot and dogged tenacity in all aspects of the game, Caron is coming off a season where he regained offensive poise after a midseason trade to the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies. After starting off with a QMJHL-sluggish 20 points in 20 games for Oceanic, Caron would put up 24 goals and 51 points in 34 combined games for the Huskies. Participating in his second camp with the B’s this past summer, Caron’s play was a step above nearly everybody throughout the course of the camp. Creating countless chances with his swift skating and effective shot from just about anywhere on the ice, Caron seems as if he’s a lock for an unofficial tryout for the NHL this season at some point.

However, the honor of most impressive progression in terms of development among Bruins prospects has to go to French-born forward Maxime Sauve, a Bruins second round draft choice from 2008. Appearing like a boy lost among men in his training camp debut in ‘08, Sauve has rebounded tremendously due in largely to his ability to turn on the jets to create offense while limiting the giveaways that plagued him in his camp debut. Hampered by an injury and held out of drills this past July, Sauve will be sure to get plenty of looks throughout the preseason after a solid junior-career between Quebec and Val d’Or where he totaled 192 points in 219 games before joining the P-Bruins and adding two goals in six games in 2009-10.

Some names to also keep an eye on within the system up front also include two-way forward Jamie Arniel, who spent all of last season in the AHL along with the undrafted Yannick Riendeau, who while despite struggling at the AHL level last season is just two years removed from a 126-point season for the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the QMJHL.

On the back-end, the Bruins will begin to integrate their influx of youthful defensemen with a Russian flare as the biggest name to watch this upcoming season is six-footer Yuri Alexandrov. Selected by the Bruins with the 36th overall selection in 2006, there were many questions as to whether or not this would wind up being yet another Boston draft choice wasted on a player simply not interested in leaving home to try his luck in North America. However, as Alexandrov displayed with his participation in both the ‘09 and ‘10 camp, the 22-year old will in fact be a real member of the Boston system moving forward. Posting six goals and 15 assists in 56 games for the Cherepovet Severstal of the KHL, Alexandrov has shown the skill-set of a defensively sound defender with the potential for some offensive productivity.

Outside of Alexandrov, the B’s don’t boast many NHL-capable blue-liners on the farm in Providence, with Rhode Island-native Cody Wild, who has 38 points in 127 career AHL contests, being the most likely to see any action with the big club if a round of injuries take their toll on the big club.

Starting out the season with the two-headed monster of Rask and 2009 Vezina winner Tim Thomas in net, the lack of a budding goaltender isn’t exactly alarming but could be in the works this season as it appears both Adam Courchaine and Michael Hutchinson will be getting their feet wet with professional hockey experience. A combined 52-36-4 record in the Ontario Hockey League, it seems likely that they’ll be splitting duties in Reading, Penn. for the Royals of the ECHL while Matt Dalton and journeyman Nolan Schaefer battle for the top spot in Providence.

When examining the new crop of prospects coming into the scene for the Bruins, be it in Providence or up Route 95 in Boston, it’s very clear to see that the clubs biggest strength is up front within their forward core. And while it's by all means unlikely that any of these guys will make the NHL club straight from the preseason, if they impress, and I mean really impress, there's a chance that Petey and company look into creating room on the NHL roster while penny-pinching through placing somebody on waivers.

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