Projo Bruins Blog

July 12, 2009 - July 18, 2009 Archives

Mike Sullivan, the former head coach of both the Providence Bruins and the Boston Bruins, has been hired as an assistant coach with the New York Rangers.

Click here for the team's news release.

By MARK DIVVER
Assistant Sports Editor

Jeff LoVecchio's budding pro hockey career went from dream to nightmare in just a few months.

First, the dream.

Days after the end of his junior season at Western Michigan in 2008, LoVecchio signed a two-year free-agent deal with the Boston Bruins. In his first pro game, LoVecchio scored a goal and an assist and was picked as the first star of a Providence Bruins' win over San Antonio at the Dunkin Donuts Center.

The 6'2'', 195-pound left wing went on to finish the season in Providence, playing a total of 20 regular-season and playoff games and scoring three goals and three assists.

After making a positive impression on Bruins management, LoVecchio was ticketed to spend the 2008-09 season in Providence. If he played well, he might have earned an NHL callup.

Then came the nightmare.

Late last summer LoVecchio was preparing for training camp when he fell while skating at a rink near his home in Chesterfield, Mo., and suffered a concussion after hitting his head on the boards.

So while LoVecchio did indeed spend last season in Providence, he didn't play a game. Instead, all he could do was wait and hope that the symptoms of postconcussion syndrome -- headaches and dizziness -- would subside.

"It was the most frustrating year of my life,'' the 23-year-old said last week at Bruins rookie development camp.

LoVecchio said he was close to being healthy enough to play near the end of the season. But team doctors decided to err on the side of caution.

"Unfortunately, it took a lot longer than anyone could have expected , but you can't rush concussions or you can have some bad problems,'' LoVecchio said. "It was a rough year, but it's over now.''

In good health at last, LoVecchio was "extremely excited'' to be at rookie camp, where he was among the more impressive players.

He was happy with his performance.

"I hadn't skated for six weeks since I left Providence (at the end of the season). Overall, for not skating for six weeks and taking a year off, I thought I did pretty well,'' he said.

A big, strong winger, LoVecchio displayed a decent scoring touch in camp. He is particularly skilled at protecting the puck in the offensive zone.

"Since juniors I've really tried to work on that. I'm not going to go out there and outskill anybody. I'm going to try to protect the puck, keep it low, try to wear the D down,'' he said.

LoVecchio played three seasons of junior hockey in the United States Hockey League before enrolling at Western Michigan. He was a finalist for the CCHA Defensive Forward of the Year Award as a sophomore and an assistant captain as a junior.

As a pro, he said he sees himself as a "third- or fourth-line role guy, a grinder.''

Boston General Manager Peter Chiarelli was glad to see LoVecchio healthy and back on the ice.

"He's in tremendous shape,'' Chiarelli said. "We just want him to get back to playing. He plays a solid two-way game. We project him as a two-way forward in the NHL. He's strong. He can skate. We hope he can pick up where he left off.''

LoVecchio said that a season on the sidelines had left him with a greater appreciation for the game.

"Now I know it can be taken away in a second, so I might as well work as hard as I can,'' he said.

The news that Fenway Park would be the site of this season's Winter Classic on Jan. 1 leaked out weeks ago, but details about the game finally will be unveiled Wednesday at a 2 p.m. news conference at Fenway.

The Bruins opponent is expected to be the Philadelphia Flyers.

The first game, between the Buffalo Sabres and the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2008 at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y., drew a crowd of 71,217 and a surprisingly large TV audience.

The 2009 game between Chicago Blackhawks and the Detroit Red Wings was played at Wrigley and drew 40,818 fans and another large TV share.

Check back after the news conference for more.

By MARK DIVVER
Assistant Sports Editor

Runaway expectations have derailed many a high NHL draft pick.

Zach Hamill will not have to shoulder that burden, says Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli.

"We're in no hurry with him, based on our (offensive) depth. There's no rush with Zach,'' Chiarelli said over the weekend at the team's rookie development camp in Wilmington, Mass.

The eighth overall choice in the first round of the 2007 NHL draft, Hamill's first pro season in Providence got off to a slow start because of a thumb injury that required surgery late in training camp last fall.

After training hard all summer to prepare for the season, the injury was frustrating for Hamill. "My momentum was huge going into the season and then to have that setback was a little tough,'' Hamill said.

He returned to the lineup in November, but struggled at times. At 5'11'', 173 pounds, the 20-year-old was often overmatched against bigger, stronger players.

A prolific scorer in junior hockey with the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League, Hamill scored 13 goals and 13 assists for 26 points in 65 games in Providence, unimpressive figures for a player projected to be a point producer. He added a goal and five assists in 16 playoff games.

Numbers aside, Chiarelli believes that Hamill made progress last season -- "I thought he finished off well'' -- and is prepared to give him the time he needs to develop into the play-making, two-way center the Bruins believe he can be.

"Sometimes expectations with these first-round picks are that they jump right into the NHL,'' Chiarelli said, even though most are not ready. "Just look at David Krecji. While he wasn't a first-round pick, there were times when we were telling him, you've got to get stronger, you've gotta do this, you've gotta do that, and he did it.''

The slippery Czech center played 94 games spread over two seasons in Providence before breaking out as an elite NHL scorer last season at age 22.

Toward the end of last season, Hamill showed more glimpses of the play-making skills that made him a first-round pick. Perhaps his best performance was in Game One of the Calder Cup semifinals in Hershey on May 16.

Late in the first period, Hamill carried the puck into the offensive zone, turned veteran AHL defender Bryan Helmer inside out with a slick move, then threaded a perfect pass onto the stick of winger Jordan Knackstedt, who beat Bears' goalie Michal Neuvirth. In the third period, an opportunistic Hamill jumped on a loose puck and fired it at Neuvirth. The ensuing rebound was buried by Matt Marquardt for the eventual winning goal.

"I think as the year went on I got stronger and I got better as a player,'' Hamill said.

Getting bigger and stronger is the focus of Hamill's summer training.

A typical day for Hamill at home in Vancouver, B.C., usually starts with a two- to two-and-a-half-hour workout in the gym with his personal trainer, he said. Some days Hamill returns to the gym later for a second workout.

After the gym, Hamill often hits the ice for power skating, a skill session or a scrimmage.

Late at night, Hamill sometimes heads to the rink again to work on his game, with help from his father and brother.

"He's gotten stronger,'' Chiarelli said. "(He needs to work on) strength, going to the net, making plays faster. I think he's going to be a good offensive player next year at the American League level. With getting stronger, his skating will improve. So that's a goal of ours.''

Hamill says he's ready to do what it takes. "For me, it's getting bigger, stronger, faster every year. As a player you want to develop every year, get better every year. Hopefully I'll show them next year that I'm capable and I'm willing to do the work. Then the next step is the NHL.''

The Bruins have signed centers Trent Whitfield and Drew Larman and defensemen Rob Kwiet and Zach McKelvie to one-year contracts, according to an announcement by the Providence Bruins

Whitfield, 32, was a 1996 draft pick of the Bruins and has appeared in the NHL with St. Louis, Washington and the New York Rangers.

Larman, 24, is entering his fifth season and has spent most of his career with the Rochester Americans. He did see NHL action for Florida from 2006 to 2008, scoring two goals and an assist.

The 20-year-old Kwiet played for the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL last season, and participated in the Bruins development camp this month.

McKelvie, 24, turns pro following four college seasons with Army, where he won the prestigious Army Athletic Association Award, an honor awarded to the male and female cadet who displays the "most valuable service to intercollegiate athletics during a career as a cadet."

By MARK DIVVER
Assistant Sports Editor

Player impressions, in no particular order, from Friday and Saturday at Bruins rookie development camp:

MAX SAUVE -- Skates at warp speed. But as fast as he is moving up the ice, he runs into trouble once he gets within range of the opposing net. Didn't show much scoring touch. Might have a shot as a fourth-liner down the road on his wheels alone.

YURI ALEXANDROV -- Maybe the biggest surprise of camp. Few had seen him because he's been in Russia, where he will play this season, too. A defenseman, he competed against men last season in the KHL and it shows. Skates and moves the puck impressively. He's rail-thin, but if he can muscle up by 20 pounds or so, he could be a player. The Bruins' 2006 draft that produced Phil Kessel, Milan Lucic and Brad Marchand already looks like a three-run homer. Alexandrov could make it a grand slam.

BEN SEXTON -- Showed soft hands and good offensive instincts at times. He'll play in the BCHL this season before enrolling at Clarkson in 2010-11. At the very least he looks like he'll be a terrific college player.

MARK GOGGIN -- Quick feet and a decent puck handler. Should be a good player at Dartmouth, where he'll be a freshman this season.

JORDAN CARON -- Boston's first-round pick last month, he skates extremely well for a big guy. Doesn't bring you out of your seat with spectacular moves, but is a very well-rounded player. Strong on the boards. Takes puck to the net hard. Easy to see why management is so high on him.

LANE MacDERMID -- Very rough around the edges. There's been some talk that he might play in Providence this season. To these eyes, he's not nearly ready for the AHL. Maybe he can make it on his fighting ability, but his skill level isn't going to get him there.

ROB KWIET -- A thickly built offensive defenseman with decent skills. A personable and confident kid, he'll be in Providence this season.

JAMIE ARNIEL -- A heady two-way forward with better-than-average wheels. In Providence this season look for him to assume the shut-down center role filled by Wacey Rabbit last year.

ALAIN GOULET -- Not sure what the Bruins see in this guy. Practiced for weeks with Providence at the end of last season without getting a sniff of game action. Doesn't move the puck well enough to be an offensive D-man. Doesn't defend well enough to be a shutdown specialist.

TYLER RANDELL -- A month past his 18th birthday, he was the youngest player in camp. Powerfully built winger looks to have some offensive touch.

RYAN BUTTON -- Another impressive puck-moving defenseman who is not shy about jumping into the play. Exceptional skater. Bruins say they were lucky to get Button in the third round, and it looks like they might be right.

JASON LAWRENCE -- A smallish winger with excellent offensive instincts, the BU alum had a terrific camp. At 22, he's older and has played at a higher level than most of the prospects -- and it showed. Very crafty around the net. Who knows -- he may have earned an invite to Boston's training camp. At the very least, he should be in Providence's camp.

JEFF LoVECCHIO -- Another camp surprise after sitting out all of last year with a concussion. A big, strong winger with decent hands, he's ticketed for Providence this season. Goes to the net hard and protects the puck well. Could have a future as an energy player.
　
JOE COLBORNE -- Big -- and getting bigger -- Colborne has an eye-catching skill set. Moves well for his size and can dish the puck with the best of them. Still not edgy enough. Looked to be more assertive in taking the puck to the net than he was during his first season at Denver University. A work in progress, he looks like he's going to be a player.

ZACH HAMILL -- Another work in progress, but maybe without Colborne's upside. More confident and assertive after a year as a pro. Soft hands and good vision. Has a long way to go in gaining size, strength and quickness.

GOALIES MICHAEL HUTCHINSON, MATT DALTON, ADAM COURCHAINE -- Tough to choose between Hutchinson and Dalton, but both are ahead of Courchaine. Hutchinson has remaining junior eligibility, so my money's on Dalton to team with Dany Sabourin in Providence this year.

MARK ISHERWOOD and BRADY LAMB: Didn't really notice either of these WHL defenseman all that much.

SCOTT CAMPBELL and TYLER LUDWIG: Older college players Campbell (Lowell, 23) and Ludwig (Western Michigan, 24) might be worthy of late-season ATOs in Providence depending on how their final college seasons go.

INJURED: Tommy Cross, Zach McKelvie, Yannick Riendeau.

Check back later this week for more on Hamill, LoVecchio and Arniel.