Projo Bruins Blog

August 2009 Archives

The Boston Bruins have announced their roster for the rookie tournament against Pittsburgh, Toronto and Ottawa in Kitchener, Ont. during the second week of September.

The team consists of a handful of players who are under pro contracts, unsigned draft picks and free agents.

Zach Hamill, Boston's first-round choice in 2008, wasn't on the original roster, but was invited after first-round draft pick Jordan Caron fractured his collarbone in Canada's world junior training camp.

The first game is Monday, Sept. 7. Providence Bruins coaches Rob Murray and Bruce Cassidy will coach the team.

Here the players and last year's teams:


FORWARDS
Zach Hamill, Providence (AHL)
Max Sauve, Val d'Or (QHL)
Jeff Lovecchio, injured, did not play
Lane MacDermid, Windsor (OHL)
Jason Wilson, London (OHL)
Matt Marquardt, Providence (AHL)
Levi Nelson, Providence (AHL)
Jamie Arniel, Sarnia (OHL)
Chris Desousa, Niagara (OHL)
Taylor Macdougall, Cape Breton (QHL)
Jason Lawrence, Boston University (Hockey East)
Jordan Knackstedt, Providence (AHL)
Tyler Randell, Kitchener (OHL)
Peter Stevens, Barrie (OHL)


DEFENSEMAN
Ryan Button, Prince Albert (WHL)
Rob Kwiet, Windsor (OHL)
Marc Zanetti, Ottawa (OHL)
Alain Goulet, Gatineau (QHL)
Mark Isherwood, Medicine Hat (WHL)
Scott Fletcher, Plymouth (OHL)
Brad Good, Carleton University


GOALIES
Matt Dalton, Bemidji State (CHA)
Mike Hutchinson, Barrie (OHL)
Adam Courchaine, Ottawa (OHL)

Aaron Ward and Scott Walker are pals now that Ward has been traded from the Boston Bruins to the Carolina Hurricanes. According to the Raleigh (N.C.) News & Observer, the two are skating together to get ready for training camp.

Even though Walker sucker-punched Ward during the Boston-Carolina playoff series, the two are joking about the incident now.

Said Walker: "That's hockey. Guys get hit, little slashes people don't see. Mine was more in the public eye, and I'm sure he didn't appreciate it ... but it was nothing personal. We've been skating for about a week now, but it was over long before."

Right wing Martins Karsums, who represented the Providence Bruins at the AHL All-Star Game last winter, has agreed on a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Boston traded Karsums, who has a good shot at represending Latvia in the Olympics in February, and Matt Lashoff to Tampa for Mark Recchi in March.

Free-agent defenseman Mathieu Schneider is reported to be close to a deal with the Vancouver Canucks.

Schneider, a Mount St. Charles alum who is coming off shoulder surgery, turned 40 years old in June but can still run a power play. After he was dealt to the Atlanta Thrashers to the Montreal Canadiens at the trade deadline in March, he sparked the Habs' power play with 5 goals and 14 points in 23 games.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- The Carolina Hurricanes have added another veteran skater, agreeing to terms with center Stephane Yelle.

The Hurricanes said Wednesday that the 14-year pro has agreed to a one-year deal worth $550,000.

The 35-year-old had seven goals and 11 assists with Boston, and has won the Stanley Cup twice with Colorado.

General manager Jim Rutherford calls Yelle "a proven winner" who "adds depth and experience to the Hurricanes at the center position."

The Hurricanes previously signed free agent defenseman Aaron Ward from the Bruins and forward Tom Kostopoulos from Montreal.

In an interview today with Kevin Allen of USA Today, Phil Kessel said there has been no progress in his contract talks with the Boston Bruins and questioned whether he will be back in the black and gold this season. The Bruins considered trading the 21-year-old Kessel before this season's NHL Draft.

"It's at a stalemate and I don't know what's going to happen. ...I think it could go either way at this point," Kessel said.

Kessel said he had close to full range of motion in his surgically repaired shoulder, and said he should be ready to play in November.

By MARK DIVVER
Assistant Sports Editor


Free-agent left wing Brett Clouthier, who racked up over 70 fighting majors in five AHL seasons with Albany and Binghamton from 2001 to 2006, will attend training camp with the Providence Bruins in September.

The 28-year-old Clouthier is returning to North America after spending the last three seasons with the Sheffield Steelers and Manchester Phoenix of the British Elite Ice Hockey League. The 6'5'' 227-pound winger had about 30 fights during his time in England.

"He's a tough customer, and he can get around. He can play,'' said Providence Bruins coach Rob Murray.

While Clouthier fared well with his fists in his first stint in the AHL, he never developed into the kind of player the New Jersey Devils hoped they were getting when they made him their second-round pick, 50th overall, in the 1999 draft, from Kingston of the OHL.

Clouthier's best year offensively in the AHL was 2002-03 in Albany, when he scored 6 goals and 7 assists for 13 points in 74 games with a career-high 220 penalty minutes. In 2005-06, his last season in the AHL, Clouthier had 2-4-6 totals with 202 PIMs in 79 games with Binghamton.

Youtube has plenty of Clouthier fights, including bouts with ex-P-Bruins Doug Doull, Dennis Bonvie and Trevor Gillies.

Last season, Clouthier had 12 goals, 22 assists, and 34 points, with 175 penalty minutes in 69 games with Manchester. He was awarded the Hard as Ice award as the league's top tough guy for the second straight season.

******

For Murray, his assistant Bruce Cassidy and a collection of young Bruins prospects, the season begins on Saturday, Sept. 5, when they climb on a bus for the 485-mile trip to Kitchener, Ont., and a tournament against Toronto, Ottawa and Pittsburgh rookies.

While the Bruins' roster for the tournament has not yet been released, expect former Boston University winger Jason Lawrence to be in Kitchener.

Lawrence, 22, practiced with Providence late in last spring's playoffs. He was impressive in Boston's rookie development camp in July.

The 5'10, 185-pound right winger led BU's national champions with 25 goals last season.

Scott Fletcher, 21, who was in P-Bruins training camp last fall, also will be invited.

Fletcher split last season between Niagara and Plymouth of the OHL. The 6'4, 223-pound defender scored a goal and seven assists with 116 PIMs in 55 games.

The players will have medical exams in Wilmington in the morning on Sept. 5, before leaving for Canada after lunch, said Murray.

The team will practice in Kitchener on Sept. 6.

Here's the game schedule:

Monday, Sept. 7, vs. Toronto, 2 p.m.

Wednesday, Sept. 9, vs. Ottawa, 2 p.m.

Thursday, Sept. 10, vs. Pittsburgh, 2 p.m.

The games will be played at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium.

Only players on entry-level contracts and who have played fewer than five NHL games are eligible, Murray said.

The Providence Bruins open their 2009-10 season with a home game Sunday, Oct. 4, against Springfield. Click here to see the full schedule.

Jordan Caron, the Boston Bruins first-round pick in June's NHL Draft, suffered a fractured collarbone when took a monster, open-ice check from Colton Teubert at Canada's world junior training camp Sunday in Saskatoon, Sask.

Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli says that Caron is ''doubtful'' for Boston's rookie camp in Kitchener, Ont., in early September.

Caron, a 6'2'', 205-pound left wing who was impressive at Boston's development camp in July, is expected to return to Rimouski of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League this season.

It was incorrectly reported on the Bruins Blog on July 22 that the Providence Bruins had fired trainer Thomas Bourdon and equipment manager J.W. Aiken.

While Bourdon and Aiken are no longer working for the Bruins, they were not fired. Bourdon said that he was offered a contract by the team, but that he turned it down.