Projo Bruins Blog

October 18, 2009 - October 24, 2009 Archives

By MARK DIVVER
Assistant Sports Editor

PROVIDENCE -- Nothing in Andy Wozniewski's resume over five pro seasons suggests that he's a big scorer.

A dependable, two-way defenseman, yes.

A player with size, reach and skating ability. A guy who can run a power play in the American Hockey League.

And, with 77 games of NHL experience in Toronto and St. Louis, someone who can fill in on the third defense pairing in Boston if injuries strike.

But not a player who is capable of averaging two points per game. After all, his career high is 17 points in a season.

Yet, heading into Saturday's games, Wozniewski was the AHL's leading scorer with 5 goals and 9 assists for 14 points in 7 games.

"It hasn't been a fluke,'' said P-Bruins coach Rob Murray. "He's played very well. He's probably been our most consistent player overall, offensively and defensively. He bought into the idea that we want our D to join the play.

"I don't know how he played before coming here, but you can almost see him saying, 'All right, I can jump into the play.' He's taking advantage of it.''

"The game's changing towards the defensemen . . . being the fourth man (in the attack),'' said Wozniewski, who is 6'5'' and 225 pounds. "The last few years, I've played more defensive hockey. (This season) I've been getting my opportunities and jumping at the right time.''

While 10 of Wozniewski's points have come on the power play, Murray and assistant coach Butch Cassidy depend on him in all situations.

"He's got a good long reach on the penalty kill, and he's a smart player. That's one of the things I'm finding with him,'' said Murray. "His hockey intellect is high. He grasps what needs to be done and what we're asking him to do.''

Except for one game with the Blues, the 29-year-old former University of Wisconsin defenseman spent all of last season in Peoria and Wilkes-Barre / Scranton of the AHL. He signed a two-way contract with Boston just days before training camp started in September that pays him $105,000 in the AHL and $600,000 in the NHL.

"It was really late,'' he said. "I went over it and took a long time, and I decided on what team and what situation I wanted to be in, and Boston was the right fit.''

A chance to get back to the NHL is one reason Wozniewski chose the Bruins. "Obviously, that's my goal. That's why you play is to try and play in the NHL. I've been there, and I definitely want to be back there,'' he said.

Only three weeks into the season, it's not too early to compare Wozniewski to Johnny Boychuk. Boychuk had a career year last season, winning the Eddie Shore Award winner as the AHL's best defenseman and sharing the team scoring lead with Martin St. Pierre. It earned Boychuk an NHL contract with Boston."

"He's doing what Johnny did last year,'' said Murray.


*****


Shortly before the pregame warmup Friday night, Dany Sabourin poked his head into Murray's office and said that his wife had gone into labor.

While Sabourin rushed to the hospital, Murray started searching for a backup goalie.

"I had to scramble,'' Murray said.

Murray called Paulo Deroxas of Warwick, the netminder on Murray's summer men's league team. Deroxas was able to get to the Dunkin Donuts Center and suit up by gametime.

The Sabourins had a baby girl early on Saturday morning, and Dany was expected to be in uniform Saturday night in Manchester.

*****


Three forwards who are playing significant minutes for Providence -- Zach Hamill, Jamie Arniel and Drew Larman -- still had not scored a goal going into Saturday night's game.

Hamill, 21, and Arniel, 19, are youngsters still trying to find their way in the pro game. But Larman, 24, has over 200 games of AHL experience as well as 22 games in the NHL.

A free-agent pickup from the Florida organization, Larman has never scored more than 17 goals in an AHL season.

Murray is not worried about Larman's lack of offensive production.

"It probably concerns him more than it concerns me. He's doing what I'm asking him to do as a checking centerman,'' said Murray. "For the most part, that line (Larman, Guillaume Lefebvre and Kirk MacDonald) has got the job done against the other team's top line.''

Larman "doesn't have outstanding touch around the net, but he's gonna score some goals. . . . I've really liked his game otherwise. Losing (Brad) Marchand and (Vladimir) Sobotka, you're going to have to hope that on certain nights he becomes the guy that gets that goal for you. He's getting his chances, so it'll come.''

By MARK DIVVER
Assistant Sports Editor

PROVIDENCE -- With the parent team playing in Philadelphia tonight, left wing Guillaume Lefebvre was recalled this morning to add toughness to the lineup.

Lefebvre has had two fighting majors in five AHL games this season and is second in the league in penalty minutes with 42.


*****


Ben Gordon will be in the Providence lineup for Friday's home game against Worcester and Saturday's game at Manchester.

Gordon, a 5'11'' 164-pound forward, has two goals in two games for the Reading Royals, Providence's East Coast Hockey League affiliate.

"He's on the offensive side of the puck,'' said Rob Murray. "He's a skill guy. He's not very big but he's pretty quick. It's going be (a short-term recall) just to get us through this weekend.''

Gordon, 24, played four seasons at the University of Minnesota. He had 39 goals and 74 assists for 113 points in 148 games for the Gophers. He split last season between Cincinnati and Reading and posted a 21-36-57 line in 63 games.

*****


Craig Weller, acquired from Minnesota on Sunday in the Chuck Kobasew trade, practiced with his new team for the first time today. Weller is on a one-way contract for $625,000 this season.

*****


Dany Sabourin and Matt Dalton will each get a start this weekend, but Murray has not decided which games they will play.


*****


Today's lines:

White -- Hamill, LoVecchio, Knackstedt

Yellow -- Arniel, Lehtonen, Marquardt

Red -- Weller, MacDermid, Larman, Clouthier


*****





Portland's Cody McCormick was suspended for five games for his actions on Sunday in Providence.

By MARK DIVVER
Assistant Sports Editor

PROVIDENCE -- The callup of Trent Whitfield to Boston leaves the P-Bruins short one forward, and coach Rob Murray is looking for a player to fill in.

"We haven't made any moves as far as getting a guy, but we're going to have to,'' Murray said after practice Wednesday morning. "We're weighing our options right now. I don't expect to get anyone back (from Boston) by the weekend.''

One possibility, Murray said, is free agent Adam Pineault, who was one of the team's best forwards in training camp.

Without Whitfield, and with Kirk MacDonald sidelined by an apparent groin injury, Murray has only 11 forwards, instead of the usual 12. The 11 includes Craig Weller, who hasn't arrived in Providence yet, but is expected in the next day or so.

*****


Providence has the AHL's leading scorer and the best power play. Defenseman Andy Wozniewski, who runs the power play, leads the league in points with 4-9-13 in six games. The Bruins have scored on 14 of 45 PP chances, a 31 percent success rate.

The Bruins' Guillaume Lefebvre is tops in penalty minutes with 42 in five games. Adam McQuaid is tied for for second with 36 in six games. Only Bridgeport has more penalty minutes than Providence.


****

After a loss in regulation and a shootout loss in the Reading Royals first two games, Kevin Regan a 4.32 goals-against average and an .859 save percentage. Reading's next game is Friday night at Kalamazoo.

BOSTON (AP) - The Boston Bruins scoring leader Marc Savard will miss four to six weeks with a broken left foot.

The team's announcement Wednesday did not say when Savard injured the foot.

The forward has led the team in scoring each of the past three years. He did not miss a game last season, when he had 25 goals and 63 assists for 88 points. He has four goals and three assists this season.

The team recalled 32-year-old forward Trent Whitfield from Providence. He has scored three goals with eight assists this season. Whitfield is expected to be available for
Wednesday night's game with Nashville.

By MARK DIVVER
Assistant Sports Editor

PROVIDENCE -- Craig Weller is expected to arrive in Rhode Island either Tuesday night or Wednesday morning and will be in the lineup on Friday night against Worcester at The Dunk, according to coach Rob Murray.

Weller, acquired on Sunday from Minnesota as part of the Chuck Kobasew trade, spent four full seasons with the Hartford Wolfpack.

"He was a captain in Hartford, so obviously he's looked at as a good character guy. He's a big body, he's tough. He sticks up for his teammates,'' said Murray.

A 28-year-old right wing, Weller is 6'4'', 220 pounds. His best season in Hartford was in 2005-06 when he had a 12-22-34 line with 152 PIMs in 80 games.

Weller had a goal and two assists in 36 games with the Wild last season. This season he had 0-1-1 in five games with Houston of the AHL.


****


Besides Weller, there probably won't be any more additions to the roster this week, Murray said.

"The schedule's still light. Right now, we'll probably go with the bodies we've got,'' he said.

"It's time for these guys to take advantage of the opportunity they're going to get to play some minutes. Obviously there's going to be an assessment made if they can or can't handle it . We're hoping that they can. A guy like Jordan Knackstedt, it's a pretty good opportunity to get going this year.

"You lose March and Vladdy and its going to be a hit to our lineup, obviously. You're not fooling anybody if you think it's going to be the same team. . . . Nobody expected Vladdy to be here to begin with. We liked our team without him. There's no reason we shouldn't like our team now. We hope (they stick with Boston and) we never see them again. Byron Bitz last year was a great example. He went up for one game and he never came back.

*****


Rob Kwiet (elbow) practiced on Tuesday and looks to be close to returning to the lineup. Kirk MacDonald left practice about 10 minutes early. It appeared that he might have aggravated a groin.

*****


The lines from Tuesday's practice:

White -- Hamill, LoVecchio, Arniel

Blue -- Clouthier, Knackstedt, Marquardt

Yellow -- MacDermid, Whitfield, Lehtonen

Red -- Larman, Lefebvre, MacDonald

BY MARK DIVVER
Assistant Sports Editor

Ten quick thoughts on the Chuck Kobasew trade and what it means to the Providence Bruins:

-- Providence fans may have seen the last of Vladimir Sobotka and Brad Marchand, except of course on NESN. Based on the first couple of weeks of the AHL season, these two are ready for the NHL.

-- In Boston, Marchand and Sobotka will help replace some of the speed up front that was lost when Phil Kessel was traded. Though neither one is a burner in Kessel's class -- there aren't many players who are --together they'll make the Bruins a faster team.

-- NHL scouts and front office types talk a lot about players' "compete level.'' In the AHL, Sobotka's and Marchand's compete level was off the charts. To succeed in the NHL, both need to have this part of their game going every night. One thing that's been sorely lacking in Boston so far is a consistent compete level.

-- Chances are more than a few players in the AHL -- and especially in the Atlantic Division --are hoping that Sobotka and Marchand stick with Boston just so they don't have to play against them any more. Hate's a strong word, but not too strong to describe the way opposing players feel about Sobotka and Marchand and the in-your-face game that both thrive on.

-- Never mind the games, I'm going to miss watching Sobotka in practice. Even compared to players with terrific hands like Martin St. Pierre last year and Zach Hamill, Sobotka is a cut above. In practice, his skill level and instincts are dazzling.

-- In conversations with Sobotka and Marchand over the past couple of weeks, one thing that shines through is how intensely both want to make it in the NHL. While some players may be satisfied just to make it as far as the AHL, Sobotka and Marchand have a burning desire to succeed at the next level.

-- When Providence lost Matt Lashoff and Martins Karsums at the trade deadline last March, it created an opportunity for other players to step up. Now, without Sobotka and Marchand, more will be expected of the likes of Zach Hamill, Mikko Lehtonen and Jeff LoVecchio. If they rise to the occasion, Providence will stay in the upper half of the Atlantic Division. If they don't ...

-- There's not a lot of sentiment in pro hockey, and Rob Murray is as hard-nosed as they come. Even so, Murray doesn't hide how much he likes Sobotka. "I've got a soft spot for Vladdy,'' Murray said when a disappointed Sobotka was demoted to Providence a couple of week ago. "He plays the game the right way.''

-- Boston's lifeless showing on Saturday in Phoenix probably made up management's minds that a change was needed, but the performance of Sobotka and Marchand this weekend didn't hurt. Assistant GM Don Sweeney watched from the press box Friday night as Sobotka finished every check, and recorded a goal and an assist and eight shots on goal in a 4-2 win over Lowell. Marchand had an assist and seven shots on goal.

On Sunday, Sobotka had two goals, two assists and six shots in a 7-2 blitzing of Portland. Marchand had a goal and an assist and five shots. He also aggravated Portland's Cody McCormick to the point where McCormick jumped him, receiving 29 penalty minutes to Marchand's 2.

Shortly after the game, the Kobasew trade and the callups were announced.

-- This is a bit off-topic, but, hey, it's hunting season. Marchand goes hunting every chance he gets on days off. Last week, he told me excitedly that he'd recently bagged his first deer. (I'm not sure if he meant his first deer of the season or his first ever). When I mentioned this to Murray and assistant Bruce Cassidy, both agreed that the thought of Marchand with a gun in his hands was frightening.