Stuck in the dog days of summer as we hit August, Boston Bruins blogger Ty Anderson will be writing a blog of your choice in regards to the Bruins, NHL, or anything related through (hopefully) all 31 days of hockey's worst month. To send a request, forward it on over to Ty's email ([email protected]), Twitter (@_TyAnderson), or private message him via your HockeyBuzz account. Just keep 'em appropriate, 'ya turkey.
We all have 'dream players' when it comes to the team we root for or cover. For years, I was adamant that
Eric Lindros was the perfect player for the Boston Bruins, and was overjoyed when
Mark Recchi finally joined the club after almost ten years of me (semi-hopelessly) saying that he'd be perfect for the Black-and-Gold. For the record, in case it wasn't incredibly obvious, I grew up with a large rooting interest in the Philadelphia Flyers. But with Recchi retiring as a member of the Bruins a year ago now, and Lindros never skating in anything more than a non-contact alumni game, a new batch of players that I think would be 'wicked awesome' in Boston has emerged.
And with the insistence of HockeyBuzz user Fudd1689, here they are...
Next blog should be the Top 5 players you would love to see in a bruins uniform and why. Topic that would definitely get the readers talking.
That being said, I think it's fair to say that this countdown has a general no superstars sort of rule to it. Obviously a guy like
Sidney Crosby or
Alexander Ovechkin would be great here in Boston (or anywhere else for that matter), so mentioning them as a dream player is both a given and boring.
So, without further ado...
5. John Carlson (D, Washington Capitals)
When I think of the ideal 'young' defensemen I'd want to help build my team around, the list begins with Washington's
John Carlson.
Skating at a solid 6-foot-3, the 22-year-old Carlson comes with a boatload of offensive skill, tallying 17 goals and 75 points in his first 186 games at the pro level, but showed the hockey world a robust style previously unseen this past spring. Skating on the Caps' top defensive pairing, Carlson led all Washington skaters with over 32 shifts per playoff game, skating a second best 24:02 per game, and blocked a team-high 38 shots in just 14 playoff games.
Outside of his defensive skills, Carlson's become one of the Caps' better options on the man-advantage when it comes to adding a potent shot to the Caps' (typically) dangerous power-play, with five of Carlson's 17 career goals coming from power-play strikes.
But perhaps lost on most is that Carlson, despite boasting only three seasons of NHL experience, is about as mature as a 22-year-old can be in this game. In interviews, he's never one to shift blame, make excuses, or deflect questions. In a word, he's accountable, and to be blunt, he's only going to get better for a Washington club intent on upping their defensive structure.
Oh, and he's from Massachusetts. Bonus!
4. Ryan Callahan (RW, New York Rangers)
Every team needs its heart-and-soul player, and for the New York Rangers, it's captain
Ryan Callahan that embodies everything about what we love about the game of hockey. Not the biggest guy in the world, skating at an alleged 5-foot-11, Callahan's selfless work ethic and dogged determination in all three zones has helped turn the Rangers from bubble-club to Eastern Conference powerhouse in just a few seasons.
Callahan, at 27-years-old, knows the game, and has embraced his role as a 'lead by example' type of captain whose grit never goes unnoticed. Skating in his first season with the 'C' on his Blueshirt, Callahan chimed in for a team-leading 271 hits while leading all Broadway skaters with 51 takeaways.
But that's not where all the value is when it comes to the Rochester, N.Y native.
Intangibles aside, the dude can flat out play, and for the past three seasons, fans at Madison Square Garden have gotten to know No. 24 as more than your average top-six winger. With three straight years of progression in the goal-scoring department -- going from 19 to 23 between '09-10 to '10-11, and then 23 to 29 this past season -- Callahan's become a capable force on the Rangers' offense. Especially when it comes to their power-play, as Callahan finished with a team-high 13 power-play goals last year.
You're telling me you wouldn't want that in Boston?
3. Mike Richards (C, Los Angeles Kings)
I suppose you could make the case that the Bruins already have their version of
Mike Richards with alternate captain and defending Selke Trophy winner
Patrice Bergeron, but Richards comes with something that the fans in Boston seem to really love. I'm, of course, talking about Richards' love for putting the body on, and even dropping the gloves when need be.
Hell, he's already on Boston's side given his hatred for the Habs'
P.K Subban!
But Richards' perks go beyond physical play and hatred for who many would consider to be the Bruins' greatest (individual) enemy. Richards, much like Callahan, is a natural leader with a knack for the offensive side of the game as well, but perhaps most telling about Mikey Rich the LA King has been the value of his points.
In his first season with Los Angeles, excluding the playoffs, the Kings were a devastatingly dangerous 22-3-8 when Richards finished the night with at least one point, and were a woeful 16-19-7 on the flip-side of that equation. Sure, you could chalk that one up to a "You're more apt to win when you're better forwards play well," but we're talking about a 79 point-percentage when Richards had an offensive say versus a 46 point-percentage when off the board. Couple that in with 20 goals and 65 points in 83 career playoff games, and you have yourself a clutch performer.
Richie Rich is money with an edge, folks, and your team will always be better off with that kind of player in the lineup.
2. Shea Weber (D, Nashville Predators)
Despite kicking this off on with a loose "No superstars" rule, there's nothing I'd like to see more than a
Zdeno Chara and
Shea Weber super-pairing.
I watched with glee as a pairing of
Scott Niedermayer and the towering
Chris Pronger (Who'd be in Weber's place if not for his upsetting concussion woes) dominated the league on the way towards a Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks back in '07, and simply love the idea of a two-headed monster on the blueline. Sure, the Bruins kinda have that every playoffs with a Chara and
Dennis Seidenberg pairing, but a player like Weber is simply unstoppable in both ends of the rink and to be honest, he's probably the closest NHL comparable to the Bruins' captain.
At 6-foot-4, the 26-year-old Weber has been an absolute monster as the face of the Preds' franchise, with at least forty points in five of his last six seasons, with at least 16 goals in all of those five stellar campaigns. And that's where Weber's value would be rather superhuman for a Boston blue-line that
already has booming shots off the stick of Chara and even top-four defensemen
Johnny Boychuk.
Blowing 99 goals by poor, defenseless goaltenders in 480 career games, with 46 coming by way of a power-play, there's no way to get around saying it: He's a beast, and one of the true unstoppable forces in the game today.
But c'mon, just imagine it: Bombs everywhere!
1. Scott Hartnell (LW, Philadelphia Flyers)
He's big. He's a nuisance. He can score, and my goodness, is this guy fun to watch. The Flyers'
Scott Hartnell, by all means loathed by most fans in Boston for his antics versus the Bruins throughout the year, is
thee perfect fit for the Black-and-Gold.
Known by his general yapping at the opposition, along with the curly hair flowing out of his helmet, Hartnell's perhaps best known in the Hub for his (numerous) battles with key B's players including the captain Zdeno Chara and
Tim Thomas, all while torching Boston for eight goals and 13 points in 27 career games against 'em.
In layman terms, he's a pain in the ass for the Bruins, and always has been.
The dude's so good at his job that he once told 5-foot-9 Boston forward
Brad Marchand to "go back to Munchkinland." I'm not even making that one up! Now, agitation aside, Hartnell is your typical, beloved heart-and-soul type of player that you can never have enough of. Since coming to Philly in a 2007 trade that brought the Flyers both he and defensemen
Kimmo Timonen, Hartnell's been your not-so-average grinding winger, scoring at least 24 times in four of his five seasons with the Black-and-Orange, building a resume of 129 goals and 263 points in 407 games.
But where his Boston love would come from comes with Hartnell's absurd durability despite a rough-around-the-edges game, missing just three of a possible 410 games with Phiadelphia, and the aforementioned penchant for the physicality. As a Flyer, Hartnell has never finished a year with fewer than 136 minutes in the sin-bin, and is coming off a career-high 37-goal season despite leading the club with 43 minor penalties, and finishing fifth on the club with four majors.
Jam!
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