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The Boston Bruins are not short on centers. Behind their longtime one-two punch of
Patrice Bergeron and
David Krejci, the B’s boast a pivot arsenal that includes
Ryan Spooner,
Noel Acciari, and was bolstered with free agent signings
David Backes,
Dominic Moore, and versatile center/winger
Riley Nash this summer.
But it’s the shortest one of the group, the 5-foot-9
Austin Czarnik, that’s given Bruins head coach
Claude Julien pause -- and options -- with his 2016-17 opening night lineup.
On the heels of a 21-goal, 61-point rookie season in 68 games with the Providence Bruins last season, the 23-year-old Czarnik has carried significant momentum into the preseason, with two goals and an assist in four preseason contests, including a shorthanded tally in Tuesday’s loss to Montreal.
“Austin has had a really great camp,” Julien, whose club is already without Frank Vatrano for three months, said after Wednesday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena. “You want to cover all your options.
“It’s one of those situations where we need to try different things here and give the guys that deserve an opportunity to make the team, [an opportunity] to make the team and find space for them and make room for them to play in those situations that will make them the best player possible.”
A fixture as Boston’s third-line center throughout the preseason (with the big-bodied
Matt Beleskey and
Jimmy Hayes on his wings) -- a role that was expected to be filled by either Backes or Spooner -- Czarnik’s emergence has allowed Julien to roll with a second line of all centers, with Krejci slotted between Spooner on the left, and the veteran Backes on the right.
It wasn’t a bad night for a newly invented line, either, as Spooner tallied a goal on the end of a dominant shift while Backes and Krejci finished the night with two assists each. It’s just one incarnation of several lines Julien could create to find the perfect fit for Czarnik, a natural center, too.
“If the decisions are hard, that means there’s something good happening,” Julien said of finding a fit for a player like Czarnik. “I don’t want situations where this is what I have and I have no choice.”
An undrafted free agent out of Miami of Ohio, the Washington, Mich., native is listed at just 160 pounds, and is far from a big, bad Bruin that the club has often sought throughout their history, but it’s the skill with the puck through the middle of the ice that’s pushed him to this point.
“I don't want to make comparisons, but you look at [Tyler] Johnson in Tampa… he’s a small player but he’s had real good success,” Julien noted of Czarnik’s ‘different’ build than your typical Bruin. “[And] Czarnik is showing that he could be one of those guys that could have success with his speed, intelligence, and how crafty he is. The other decision is are they able to sustain that pace and so on and so forth.”
Bruins general manager
Don Sweeney began training camp with the blunt declaration that the players that perform the best would play no matter their age or experience, something that players like Czarnik (and
Danton Heinen) have undoubtedly taken to the ice with each shift.
“You have to take it as an opportunity,” Czarnik, who was with the B’s for a few practices as an emergency recall but never got into a game, said of this training camp. “If you take it as an opportunity, you can make the most of it. Just working hard everyday, doing the best I can do, and mistakes are obviously going to happen, but you need to embrace the opportunity.”
In an offseason training regimen that centered around his leg strength and explosiveness in his skating game, Czarnik has seen the production follow, and ample chances from his coach.
“You gotta give those guys a chance,” Julien said of players of Czarnik’s style. “And right now he’s giving us all the reasons in the world to give him a real good look.”
It was a day off for Backes, Bergeron,
Zdeno Chara,
Christian Ehrhoff (professional tryout), and
Brad Marchand as they continue to get acclimated back to their Boston digs following the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Forward
Brian Ferlin (lower-body) was not on the ice either as he received some treatment, while defensemen
Kevan Miller, who exited last night’s game after taking a puck off the knee, underwent further evaluation on Wednesday.
Julien does not believe that Miller’s injury is ‘anything bad’.
The Bruins continue their preseason slate with a Thursday night road game against the Blue Jackets.
Ty Anderson has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, has been a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter since 2013, and can also be read in the New England Hockey Journal magazine. Contact him on Twitter or send him an email at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.
Boston Bruins Blogger •Bruins Feature Columnist • 
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