Drafted with the second overall pick in 2010, the Boston Bruins knew that they had something special in Brampton, Ont. born forward Tyler Seguin. An immensely talented skater throughout his two-year tenure with the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League (recording 69 goals and 173 points in 124 contests), and ranked as the No. 1 prospect in hockey during the 2009-10 season, suggesting that Seguin was a player to build a future around wasn’t mere hyperbole.

Going through the growing pains of a teenager playing in a men’s league throughout the 2010-11 season, scoring just 11 goals in 74 games before a 13-game postseason that included three goals and seven points for No. 19, a physically matured Seguin returned to Boston last season to pot a team-leading 29 goals the following year. It was clear that Seguin, who finished the year skating on the club’s first line in what’d be a seven-game series loss to Washington, was ready to be thee bonafide goal-scorer on the Bruins’ top-six, a spot vacant since Phil Kessel’s departure in 2009.

Then, with a lockout delaying the start of the 2012-13 season, Seguin moved on over to Switzerland, where he tormented Swiss-A goaltenders with 25 goals in 29 games with EHC Biel.

As fun as it may have been -- especially when you factor Patrick Kane’s presence into the equation and on Seguin’s line -- it was perhaps the worst move the 21-year-old could have made.

Playing on a bigger ice surface in a less physical league with lesser goaltenders, the struggle was real when Seguin came back over to the NHL, as the 6-foot-1 undoubtedly needed time to adjust.

Scoring just 16 goals in 48 games this year, and looking lost without the presence of Patrice Bergeron in the lineup during No. 37’s brief absence with a concussion, the playoffs have brought about what’s become the ‘norm’ for Seguin’s recent trips to the postseason.

All speed, no finish.

Through three rounds, the 6-foot-1 winger had recorded just one goal on 54 shots, and recorded just four points in 16 postseason contests. But Seguin’s struggles went beyond the quiet stat-lines.

Seguin, a player with seemingly limitless skill in the offensive zone, was not only painfully predictable, but just skating at a speed that was anything but beneficial to his line’s game. On a normal rush, no matter the situation, advantage, or scenario, No. 19 would get the puck, try to deke his way through a layered defense, and beat the goaltender all by himself. It was ugly.

He would do all of this at a ‘Please help me, my hair is on fire’ pace, no less.

But when the logo just over the blue-line changed from ‘Stanley Cup Playoffs’ to ‘Stanley Cup Final’, there was a noticeable change in the third-year pro; Going through the physical maturation from year one to year two, the switch from sniper to roleplayer in the ‘13 playoffs has done what B’s fans have longed for, and matured the promising forward mentally. In 2013, Seguin hasn’t learned how to win -- he already witnessed that in 2011 -- but he’s learning what it takes to win.

Playing more of a grinding game with Chris Kelly and Danny Paille on the Bruins’ third line, which has combined for three goals in the last five periods of play, and with points in all three games of the Cup Final despite not finding the back of the net, Seguin’s accepted his role, and frankly excelled at it.

“He's realized is that just because you don't score doesn't mean you can't be a good player. He's been a good player because he's competed hard in all areas of the ice,” B’s coach Claude Julien said of Seguin on Tuesday. “Everybody is talking about how he's evolved defensively, and he has, but it hasn't taken away from his offense even if he's not scoring. He's got chances. When you look at the number of shots he's had, he's got 'em. But he's making plays, the winning goal for Paille in Game 2. Those are all things that he's bringing to the table.”

Recording three assists and peppering Chicago netminder Corey Crawford with 13 shots, it’s a shift from immature-yet-budding star to full-time NHLer throughout the postseason that’s paid dividends for Julien’s third line, and the Bruins’ wounded bottom-six.

“I'm seeing a player's demeanor change as well as far as his preparation, understanding more. That's a normal thing that you see with all young players coming into the league. It takes time,” Julien noted, adding, “He's been fortunate enough in his first year to be around the guys winning the Stanley Cup in 2011. He's had a bit of an edge maybe that way of going far through the last few years.

“He asked me that question, ‘What can I do to help our team here?’” Julien said of Seguin’s mental improvements throughout the playoffs and into the Cup. “I know I'm not scoring. Basically just told him to keep working and keep making things happen. That's what he's done.”

It’s an effort that hasn’t been lost on his teammates, and one that’s led to a pivotal rise in the play of the third line, which has benefitted from a war of attrition between the Bruins and Blackhawks’ top-sixers, which have simply beat the absolute bag out of one another.

And it's an effort that the Bruins hope to lead to more chances, and perhaps a second goal from the 21-year-old sniper as the squads get set for a pivotal Game 4 tonight in Boston.

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