Who is the Bruins' first half MVP? w/ Mick Colageo and Mark Divver | Pucks with Haggs - video Dailymotion

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Today, Joe Haggerty is joined by Mick Colageo and Mark Divver to take a look back at the Bruins impressive first half, and sift through all of the surprising contributions to find find the team's first-half MVP, who needs improvement, who to expect to take a step forward, and much more!       This episode of the Pucks with Haggs Podcast is brought to you by Fanduel Sportsbook. Fanduel Sportsbook is the exclusive wagering parter of the CLNS Media Network! New customers, join today and you’ll get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS if your first bet of FIVE DOLLARS or more wins. Just visit FanDuel.com/BOSTON to sign up. Make every moment more with FanDuel, an official sportsbook partner of the NFL.    Must be 21+ and present in select states. FanDuel is offering online sports wagering in Kansas under an agreement with Kansas Star Casino, LLC. $10 first deposit required. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable bonus bets that expire 7 days after receipt. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG in Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and Vermont. Call 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 in Arizona, 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat in Connecticut, 1-800-9-WITH-IT in Indiana, 1-800-522-4700 or visit ksgamblinghelp.com in Kansas, 1-877-770-STOP in Louisiana, visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland, visit 1800gambler.net in West Virginia, or call 1-800-522-4700 in Wyoming. Hope is here. Visit GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call (800) 327-5050 for 24/7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8HOPE-NY or text HOPENY in New York.    Factor. Visit https://factormeals.com/HAGGS50 to get 50% off your first box! Factor is America’s #1 Ready-To-Eat Meal Kit, can help you fuel up fast with ready-to-eat meals delivered straight to your door.

Transcript

00:00 The one guy I think I'm starting to see enough to say, "All right, he's going to be there for them

00:04 in the playoffs and he's becoming a different kind of player for them and a difference maker is Trent

00:09 Frederick." You know, I think he plays a different style of game. I think the way that he's playing

00:14 now, the confidence level that he's at, the way he can drive a line now and they're playing him

00:18 at center because he is driving lines at times and he's making players better that he's playing

00:24 with. I think you see all that stuff from him and you're starting to see a guy that could be a factor

00:29 in the playoffs, a bigger factor, even when the style of play gets to that way.

00:34 Welcome to another edition of the Pucks with Hags podcast. I believe this is the 60th

00:44 episode of the Pucks with Hags podcast. Thank you for following along and listening. I'm

00:49 Joe Hagerty. You can find my work at joehagerty.substack.com. Join up for a premium membership.

00:55 Get all the NHL and Bruins stuff that I write sent straight directly to your inbox from the

01:01 Substack newsletter. I also write for the Boston Sports Journal. After every Bruins game, you can

01:07 find my column either that night or the next morning. I'll also have some stuff this week with

01:11 the Bruins on there. I've got a tag team with me this week. We've got three, a third man in.

01:17 This should be fun. Friend and colleague, Mick Colaggio, friend and colleague, Mark Diver from

01:23 the New England Hockey Journal. Mick, I always like to let you give your plug. Why don't you

01:28 tell everybody where they can find your stuff? The Rink Rep blog is my own now. It's no longer

01:36 affiliated with the Standard Times. It's at rinkrepmc.com. I link to it on X Twitter and on

01:43 Facebook. I pretty much do game blogs. Then I write a week Sunday column for bostonhockeynow.com.

01:52 I do those occasional issues for the Hockey News on the Bruins articles.

01:55 The latest one we just worked on is Future Watch, so Prospects.

02:00 Mark, you and Mick spent some quality time with the Muge over the last week or two. Is that what

02:06 I was hearing? Yes, we did. Always good to check in with the wit and wisdom of Ryan Mugenel.

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03:44 guys, for the Boston Bruins at the bye week/All-Star break. Just want your thoughts on

03:53 what we've seen of the Bruins to this point as a whole as we're in this break,

03:57 both bye and All-Star, and the Bruins get like basically nine days off here.

04:02 Your thoughts on the team to this point, Mark, in a general sense, where you think they're going,

04:09 what you've thought in the first half and where we are right now? Well, I thought they'd be

04:16 in contention for maybe the last or second to last playoff spot, you know, like some others

04:24 said the same thing. But here we are, it's been amazing. You know, it started out with

04:31 goaltending, carrying them, and you know, since then we've had continued good goaltending, but

04:39 guys like Charlie Coyle and, you know, stepping up Pavel Zakh has been good.

04:44 You know, it's a surprise, a pleasant surprise. Is it a team that's built for a long playoff run?

04:52 Well, I'm not so sure as currently constituted that that's the case, but we've got a ways to

04:58 go till the trade deadline and the end of the season. So we'll see what happens if there are

05:02 any moves in store. Yeah. And part of the mitigating factor with all that, and it puts

05:09 the Bruins in an interesting position, and we've talked about this a little bit, is do I think that

05:14 this team as constituted is ready for a two-month gauntlet in the playoffs? No, I don't. But I also

05:22 look at the Eastern Conference and say it's pretty wide open. There is not a clear-cut favorite and,

05:29 you know, is it going to be a juggernaut in the East that makes it all the way to the end?

05:34 I don't know. I mean, I still think it's going to have to go through Florida when it's all said

05:37 and done based on last year, based on their personnel, based on all that stuff. But are

05:43 they going to be as good as they were last year in the postseason? I don't know. It's going to

05:47 be interesting to watch all of that. But I wonder how that, or if that tempers, or if that changes

05:54 the Bruins' approach to the trade deadline and tempts them to do something bigger than maybe

05:58 they would have anticipated doing, or at least makes them think about it more. You know, I still

06:03 don't know that they have the pieces to do that and all that stuff. But like, I'm pretty similar

06:08 in the boat with you where I'm very surprised where they are. I thought they'd be a wildcard

06:13 team. The fact that they are where they are. And also the fact that in the Atlantic division,

06:18 like the teams that I thought might make a move this year and really push have not done so. I

06:23 mean, Detroit is within shouting distance of a playoff spot, but Buffalo hasn't done anything.

06:29 Ottawa hasn't done anything. Montreal obviously is a similar spot to where they were last year.

06:34 None of those teams have made a substantial move up as far as I'm concerned. So it might be the

06:40 same old, same old in the Atlantic division when it gets to playoff time. Mick, your thoughts on

06:45 everything you've seen with the Bruins to this point, where they sit here at the bye week and

06:49 the all-star break. I'm amazed and pleased at the way this team has adjusted from being an ultra

07:00 puck possession team to being able to play the harder hockey that sort of toppled them over last

07:10 year. I feel like they got a better answer this year, a more blue collar approach to the game.

07:17 It's not as pretty, it's more gritty and grindy and long enough sideboards up the ice.

07:23 The D are very activated. I wasn't really sure how that would work out when you consider that

07:31 you don't have the run support to play so actively with your Ds. But that has sustained and it's

07:43 helped them. Is that a regular season formula that can translate to the playoffs? I think that

07:51 they need more if they want to make that work in the playoffs. But Coyle's better in his position

07:57 than I realized he would be. And I love Charlie Coyle, so I mean he's been amazing. Puck possession

08:04 the way he hangs on. Zaka, not as good as I thought he would be in his position. And they

08:09 actually moved him off the dot at one point in the season. Other guys have really contributed

08:16 and I'm really glad that they've allowed Geeky and Freddy to influence the way they play as a team.

08:27 And I think that's really helped them. This log jam on defense is getting a little interesting.

08:36 Yeah, you're right. The goalies, without the goalies none of this happens. So it's been

08:41 another stellar season validating what happened last year. But this time in reverse where we have

08:47 a really good goalie and a great goalie. You know what's interesting though is when they were 14-1

08:53 and 3 in the second month of the season, they got off to that great start. And I think they even

08:58 admitted they probably weren't playing as well as their record indicated. They had managed to pile

09:03 up points and wins but they weren't a 14-1 and 3 team. I felt like at that point they were way more

09:09 reliant on Lena Solmark and Jeremy Swaman to be brilliant every single night and to really carry

09:15 them. And I still think the goaltending is the strength of this team, no doubt about it. Probably

09:20 the biggest strength. But 12-2 and 3 since the holiday break, since they got back from Christmas,

09:25 they've been lights out. And it hasn't been just the goaltending.

09:28 >> You're right. They're actually outshining teams. I'm seeing them.

09:32 >> They're getting better. They're a better team and they've consistently been a better team now

09:38 for a month than they were pre-Christmas. 11 goals a piece for Pasternak and Marshan in 14 games in

09:46 the month of January. Charlie Coyle has been a point per game player in the month of January.

09:50 10 assists and a plus 14 in 14 games for Hampus Lindholm. Even though he had that one game-

09:56 >> He's been way better.

09:57 >> Where he had the bad pinch and it cost them in the third period and Montee was

10:01 on about it afterwards. He has been, I think, the most improved player in this past month from where

10:07 he was in the first three months of the season. McAvoy, a plus 17 in January. He's been playing

10:14 at an excellent level too. Five goals a piece from Frederick and Heinen this month. So, and six from

10:19 DeBruss, so you're getting the secondary scoring. That has elevated them to averaging over four

10:24 goals a game for like about a month, over a month now. And they seem to be getting contributions

10:29 from everybody. Mark, do you think what we've seen in January, the Bruins team we're gonna

10:35 see for the rest of the year, is this them playing at their best or is this kind of sustainable

10:40 what we're seeing right now? >> That's a good question.

10:48 At some point, will they start resting guys? They didn't do that last year and

10:54 they probably should have, right? >> Yep.

10:56 >> But I don't know. Guys like Danton Heinen, Matt Grislyk, can you count on them in the postseason

11:11 to play the kind of hard hit, just war. It's a war zone in the playoffs, right? That's what I'm

11:21 trying to say. Is Danton Heinen built for that? I say his record shows no. Can he transform into,

11:31 build on the good season that he's having and be that in the playoffs? I'm not sure of that at all.

11:38 Will Matt Grislyk get hurt? He'll be an injury, someone will get hurt, right?

11:44 >> This is my Vegas email on that one. >> Well, and DeBrusk too. Is DeBrusk gonna

11:49 be there for you in the playoffs? Even though he's had some good post seasons before,

11:53 can you count on him when the going gets really tough?

11:57 >> Yeah, I'll really go back to being a perimeter player. Yeah.

12:00 >> Though I will say though, the one guy I think I'm starting to see enough to say, all right,

12:05 he's gonna be there for them in the playoffs and he's becoming a different kind of player for them.

12:09 And a difference makers Trent Frederick. I think he's playing a style of game. I think the way

12:15 that he's playing now, the confidence level that he's at, the way he can drive a line now and

12:19 they're playing a bit center because he is driving lines at times. And he's making players better

12:25 that he's playing with. I think you see all that stuff from him. And you're starting to see a guy

12:30 that could be a factor in the playoffs, a bigger factor, even when the style of play gets to that

12:36 way. >> Yeah, I agree with that. Hopefully,

12:39 that's how it will play out. But he's obviously having a tremendous season and a great run

12:47 lately. And you hope, he's been a guy who hasn't always been consistent. He's had good stretches,

12:55 bad stretches. He's in the middle of a good one and you hope it continues, but who knows?

13:01 >> Well, that's true because if you get into a playoff series and a team knows they're gonna

13:07 see Freddie for five or six or seven games, and they're thinking, hey, let's get this guy off

13:13 his game. Let's get him in a fight. So let's deactivate him by distracting him. And I think

13:23 that's gonna be a huge part for Frederick in the postseason is focusing on what he does well to

13:28 help the team win hockey games and not get caught up. >> I agree, but I also don't want him to lose

13:34 the bite from his game in the playoffs either. I think the Bruins have way too many wait and see

13:40 kind of players in the playoffs, rather than guys that are just gonna take it to the other team and

13:45 dictate to them how things are gonna- >> If it's on his terms, sure.

13:49 >> It's a tricky balance between those two things, but I think the Bruins need more players

13:54 that have assertiveness in the playoffs instead of what the other teams are doing to them. So

14:00 it's, I agree with you. >> If Freddie wants to blaze his own path,

14:06 sure. Let him be it rather than having somebody who plays a lesser role in somebody else's team,

14:12 like a fourth line, five minute guy, trying to get him into a fight to disrupt the Bruins.

14:18 >> Yeah, the Ryan Lombards of the world. I absolutely agree with that. Mick, I ask you

14:25 the same question I asked Mark. All the numbers I reeled off from January and the way that they've

14:31 played basically since they came back from Christmas, is this the Brus and Bruins team

14:35 that we're gonna see the rest of the year? Do you think the way that they're playing right now

14:39 is sustainable? >> I do, provided they stay healthy,

14:43 because the way they're playing right now is a rugged, the most rugged game I've seen since

14:48 Don Sweeney's been general manager. I mean, granted, the personnel has been very gradually

14:55 tweaked toward that. There have been other failed attempts to do so, Nick Richie. But you have

15:07 a team now that's come together and plays hard together and the best version of Danton Heinen

15:14 I've ever seen. But like Mark said, and as Jim Montgomery had said earlier in the season,

15:22 every 10 game segment of the regular season gets a little bit more like the playoffs.

15:26 And will there be a threshold there that does affect whether Matt Griswold can stay healthy

15:36 if he's in hard matchups, or if he's playing with McAvoy, or is Danton Heinen gonna

15:44 do what he did last year in Pittsburgh, which is I'm not sure. And Jake DeBrusque, will he stay

15:52 healthy if he's playing through the middle of the game? Will he try to do Bobby Ryan hockey?

16:00 These are things that if I had the wheel and there were offers on the table for me to continue

16:07 trending the Bruins toward rugged toughness that demanded by the playoffs, that especially knowing

16:14 that all these guys are on expiring contracts, I would be assertive about that. And if the bright

16:20 returns were there, or an opportunity to get back in the draft, then yeah, I think I'm moving on

16:28 things. - Yeah, I think they could be tempted by that, there's no question. All right, first half

16:37 MVP in your books. I think David Posternak is obviously a very easy choice given the numbers

16:44 he's put up, given how important he's been offensively. He's gonna be in the hard trophy

16:48 conversation at the end of the year, as long as he stays healthy. He's just having another 50 to 60

16:55 goal season, and will have well over a hundred points is just off the charts offensively.

17:00 Like Montgomery's playing him a ton. He's playing over 20 minutes a lot in these games, and he's

17:06 being sort of like, there's a lot on his shoulders. And that's a concern to Mark's point about resting

17:12 players. I think some of the heavy minutes that you're seeing players play in now in the middle

17:16 of the season and the dog days, if it's not adjusted, could be a problem having a full

17:23 tank of gas come playoff time. But all that being said, my first half MVP is Charlie Coyle.

17:29 We've mentioned him a little bit. He's on pace for his best offensive numbers. He's gonna be in a

17:35 Bergeron-esque range as far as production goes. He's gonna have, as long as he remains consistent

17:41 in the second half, 25 to 30 goals, 60 plus points. He's well and above the most face-offs

17:48 on the team. He's like over 800. He's got two, 250 more face-offs than anybody else on the team.

17:54 Kills penalties, plays a vital role on the power play in both situations. Has really become a

18:02 number one center when they had to have somebody step up into that position with Bergeron and

18:08 Crecce retiring. And he's kind of, and I wrote about this a little bit, he's kind of made, I think,

18:14 the demand to have to go out to get an Elias Lindholm or some kind of number one center at

18:19 the trade deadline, he's made that moot, obsolete. You do not need to go out and trade for a player

18:23 like that when you have a guy like Charlie Coyle in the prime of his career playing number one

18:28 center to an incredibly effective degree. And he's really proven me wrong in a lot of ways,

18:33 because I always thought he was kind of a third line center and that was gonna be his lot

18:37 in life in the NHL. And he's shown that when he can develop some chemistry with Marcian,

18:41 playing with him for a while, can play a bigger role, he can do more offensively and he can

18:46 dominate more consistently in the offensive zone. Mick, your first half MVP with me giving all

18:54 my bouquets of flowers to Charlie Coyle. - Yeah, I think it's, wow, this sounds like

19:01 such a cop out here, but between Swayman, McAvoy, and McAvoy's spotty first half of the season,

19:09 to me, his performance may not have been his best, but without him back there,

19:15 they're so totally screwed. That team just doesn't have, he's the heart and soul of that defense,

19:23 and he's what catalyzes that whole moving forward part and the aggression piece. And those aspects

19:35 really depend so heavily on him that I will always consider, he's my default name for the

19:43 most important player on the Bruins. Take him off the team and it changes them more substantially

19:50 than removal of any other one individual. Swayman's had a hell of a season. You're absolutely right on

19:58 Coyle, and I feel like he embodies the meaning of the Seventh Player Award. He has performed above

20:05 expectations. That's the modern definition. The original one was performs above what one

20:10 would normally expect. TB38, Eddie Westfall. But yeah, Charlie Coyle's elevated, and they needed

20:19 him to, and he did it, and he wound up becoming a key component and not just a supporting plumber

20:28 for those forward lines, especially for Marshan and whoever else, whatever they do,

20:36 whether they do a super line with Pasta or whether they revert back to something with more balance.

20:42 We didn't know how Zaka was going to do. Obviously, Patra really should have been in

20:53 the American League this year, but the rules wouldn't allow it. So Coyle's emergence, I applaud

21:01 your recognition of him. Yeah, and it was Pearson's pointers for me on Channel 38, for my generation of

21:07 Channel 38, but I'm right there with you. And the one other thing I would say about Coyle, too,

21:15 is he's really stepped into a bigger leadership role, I think, on this team, too, as far as setting

21:21 an example, as far as being their win, lose, or draw after games, as far as making sure everybody's

21:27 sort of eyes are on the prize and making sure that message of, "I don't care what my numbers are,

21:32 and I don't care what I'm doing as long as the team is having success." He really believes in

21:38 that. And Andy Allison. I think Bergeron had a major impact on him, playing with him. And

21:45 you know, a guy that he kind of idolized when he was younger and playing with him and seeing

21:48 him day to day. And I think there's some very Bergeron-esque qualities to Charlie Coyle now,

21:53 having rubbed off on him. It's what he's always aspired to, and now it's great to see him

21:58 really achieving that peak. And Trent Frederick, similarly, sees Charlie Coyle as his mentor.

22:07 Yeah. First half MVP, Mark, for you. Well, I got to go with Coyle as well. For all the reasons you

22:15 guys have just gone over. But one thing that's stunning to me, in a way, is at his age and with

22:26 his how deep he is into his NHL career, to be able to raise his game another level just doesn't

22:33 happen. But he's doing it. And he's just been an indispensable player for them. And I go back to

22:46 watching Charlie Coyle back to the South Shore Kings days when him and Chris Wagner were on the

22:52 team. And to see what he's turned into, he's always been a good player, a really good player.

23:01 But I don't know, back then, at least, I didn't look at him and say, "Well, you know, he's going

23:08 to be a number one center for the Boston Bruins down the road." It was inconceivable.

23:17 Chris is a legitimate successor. Yeah. So, kudos to him. He really deserves a lot of credit.

23:24 I agree. I don't think enough stuff can be written about how important he's been to what

23:30 the Bruins are doing right now. And I love his attitude, too. We asked him about, "Is this your

23:35 best NHL season?" And he said, "Well, I could crap the bed in the second half and nobody's going to

23:39 be talking about going down the stretch," which I think is the perfect Mass Hole response and is

23:44 absolutely like the Weymouth, Massachusetts in him being real about the entire situation and

23:50 keeping things in perspective. And I always love that about Charlie Coyle.

23:53 - He's the leader without the letter.

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25:40 Most, uh, player most in need of improvement in the second half in your mind, Mark?

25:50 Geez, that's a tough one. Uh, there's a lot of guys having good years.

25:55 Well, Matt Grislock, you know, he was hampered by an injury, obviously. I'd like to see him get

26:06 back to his, but you know, even since he's returned from his injury, he hasn't been the

26:10 Grizz that we've known, uh, you know, through the years. I'd like to see him, you know, get back to

26:16 that level and, uh, you know, shut up a lot of people who are, uh, you know, I don't know that

26:25 they're rooting against him, but they, he, he can't make a mistake without, uh, without a lot

26:31 of complaints on, uh, on X that, uh, geez, this guy, you know, what are we keeping him around for?

26:37 So I'm going to go with Grizz. You know, I, I go with Grizz too. And, and to be honest with you,

26:44 watching him play, like I love Grizz. I've always liked him as a person. Like I've always admired

26:49 that, you know, he can play at the NHL level at the size he is, uh, cause it's extremely difficult

26:55 to do and to stay in one piece and to, you know, survive for as long as he has and thrive at times.

27:01 And I, you know, I go back to like, I remember interviewing them and pro as prospects before

27:06 they were even in the NHL. And I did an interview, uh, for NBC sports Boston, where it was Grizz

27:12 McEvoy and Brandon Carlo, when they were all still up and coming prospects. And I remember we sat

27:17 Grizz right in the middle of McEvoy and Carlo. And it looked like he was a little kid with two,

27:22 like grown adults, you know, with these two huge defensemen. And he was like in the middle,

27:26 like what, who doesn't belong in this picture kind of thing. But like, you know, he's, he's

27:31 always found a way to get it done. And like, he's always had a great skating ability, great ability

27:36 to creatively break the puck out and ability to survive in his own end with technique and stick

27:41 work and all these different things while not being the biggest guy, but watching him lately.

27:47 Um, I wonder if it's either a, a confidence thing with him right now, or B he just not skating as

27:53 well as he did before for whatever reason. But I agree that I've not seen the normal Matt Grizzlik

28:00 this year consistently. Uh, and maybe it's not because he's in a consistent role and he's getting

28:04 moved around to a little bit and he's had some injury stuff. It's hard to tell, but I just think

28:09 there's been more instances this year than ever before where I like either, I don't notice him at

28:15 all in a bad way, uh, in games, or I'm noticing him because of turnovers and bad plays and things

28:20 like that. So, and being, you know, just thrown around near the net in the defensive zone.

28:25 So I agree, I think like on a team that's 30, 31, nine and nine, there aren't going to be too many

28:32 things to quibble with and too many things to pick apart and criticize. I might've said a month ago,

28:37 Hampus Lindholm, but he's played so well, I think over the last month that he's like,

28:42 just, you just took those words out of my mouth. If he asked me a month ago.

28:45 Yeah. If he, if he, uh, I think he's ended that for me, even though I'm not a fan of him,

28:51 but I think he's ended that for me, even though I need to see this for the next few months from him

28:59 going down the stretch, but I would probably go with Matt Grislik too, with Hampus Lindholm,

29:03 the first three months, I would say him, but the last month he's been very good.

29:07 Well, we don't talk about Matt Potra because we don't factor him anymore. And if we ever did,

29:17 and I'm not putting words in anyone's mouth here, but to whatever extent I may have thought there

29:24 was a chance that he was going to be a factor in this formula toward the end of the season.

29:29 I stopped thinking that at a certain point. And, and so in that regard, it's a development year for

29:37 him. I'm disappointed in what's going on with John Beecher. I don't, I feel like there was a point

29:45 a couple of months back where his game was looking mighty fine. He was really understanding how to

29:51 use his rangy speed on the ice and opportunistic ways in order to make the fourth line more than

29:58 a placeholder and don't lose us the game while you're out there. Guys need a breather. They were

30:04 better than that. And they were making things happen and forcing penalties and, and stopping

30:09 icings and canceling them with racing and, and, and a lot of pressure for checking and good stuff

30:15 that was going on. I don't really know how it went wrong here. And one of the best face off guys on

30:21 the team that struggled quite a bit in the face off circle. Yeah. Good point. Good point. Piling

30:26 on for me. So, so yeah, so that's, that's another one for me. I mean, you know, I hate talking about

30:34 Griswold as much as I have, because I, I really think he's a wonderful hockey player, but I feel

30:41 like what's happening to him in a slightly weirder, different way than Torrey Krug is salary

30:50 escalate, you know, you progress in your career, you make more money, you get better, you get

30:55 played in situations that are, that are bad for you because you wind up against giants who can

31:02 skate and you can't get out of their way in the playoffs and they hit to hurt. And that's what

31:07 happens to guys like him. And so, you know, if I could keep him as a third pairing guy to supplement

31:17 my puck moving game, you know, then, then that might be there, but right now he makes too much

31:24 money for that. And that's why he's wearing this bullseye as his contract is winding down. So,

31:30 so yeah, I mean, and it does look like that, Mark, you know, you every, every little straw,

31:36 you wonder, is this the one that breaks the camel's back? When will the Bruins finally

31:40 going to do something here? And it winds up making the guy look like he's a problem and he's not,

31:45 he's just not going to be part of their future going forward. Unless there's catastrophic

31:52 injury to Linholm or something. And, you know, so you, it just doesn't make any sense that this

31:59 it's, it's a succession plan and he's at the end of his with this hockey team, as we've known it.

32:05 And I'll be pretty surprised if there's more Grizzlik after this season. So yeah, part of

32:14 me is urgent. Part of me is anxious to see this situation play itself out. And I think the issue

32:21 becomes with Grizzlik in particular with all that you're talking about. And I agree with a lot of

32:26 what you're saying is that I think he's a very popular guy in that dressing room. I think he's

32:32 very well-liked. I think all of his teammates like him. I think he's well-respected. And I think

32:37 that's the part that I think makes it difficult if there, you know, if there's kind of a,

32:42 you know, an expiration date there, or if there's an expectation that at some point,

32:46 he's not going to be with the team anymore. You know, I think that's a tough one.

32:51 - This is kind of off topic, but I do wonder sometimes if this has haunted

32:56 the Bruins that they have put too much value on the harmony of the room and not gotten the hockey

33:02 widgets that they need when it matters most and say, well, you know, we all love each other. Well,

33:08 okay, for one round you did. - Yeah, but that's an imperfect

33:13 science, right? That is like the magical formula that everybody's going after is chemistry versus

33:18 like what you need on the ice and how that whole thing works. But I do know you're right. There's

33:24 a big time value on getting the right people, getting good people in that room, perhaps even

33:29 at the expense of skill level at some times. But Mark, Mick mentioned Beecher, and I think that's

33:36 an interesting one. I'd asked Jim Montgomery, this is going back a couple of weeks now,

33:43 just about the fourth line, the minutes that they were playing, how did he, kind of did he want to

33:50 play the fourth line more to take some of the pressure off the other forwards as far as workload

33:54 goes and ice time and all that, especially at this time of year. And he went into a really long

33:58 answer where he was talking about players on that fourth line where the more that they play and when

34:05 they hit a certain mark, like around 10 minutes, their play drops off and they had numbers to back

34:10 it up and all that stuff. And it was funny at the time, I think people assumed it was Lauko

34:15 that he was referencing without saying the player's name. I think maybe it was Beecher.

34:21 And that's kind of part of the reason why he's down in Providence now, why Boquist is up with

34:26 the team. And now you're seeing the fourth line playing 11, 12 minutes. Granted, they've mixed

34:31 up the third and fourth lines, but you're seeing each of them play a little more and the top six

34:36 minutes come down. And maybe that was a player they had identified as he needs to work on some

34:41 things to work up his endurance to get to the point where he can play 12, 13 minutes a night.

34:46 Because when you look on its face, some of the things he was doing, killing penalties,

34:49 winning face-offs at the NHL level was good enough, but maybe there were certain things

34:53 that weren't as obvious to people when they were watching him play.

34:57 Well, I think it was Lauko and Beecher in terms of the more they play, the less effective they are.

35:05 I know that's been, I believe that's been talked about with Lauko for going back to last year.

35:15 The more he plays, he extends his shifts sometimes and that's when he takes a stick

35:20 penalty or that's when he takes a penalty that you don't want to see him take in the offensive

35:25 zone. But as far as Beecher goes, I just think that winning face-offs and zooming up and down

35:36 the ice as he's capable of doing is all well and good, but I believe they want more. I think they

35:44 want his engine to run hotter. There's times when stuff happens and he's not doing anything.

35:56 I think it was, I'd have to check this, but I think in three of the last four games that he

36:05 played for Boston, he didn't have a single shot on goal. Now, they're not looking to him to score,

36:12 but you got to be more than a guy who's more impactful. I think they're not looking for him to

36:26 fight per se, but to play shift in and shift out as if, "You know what? I really want to be here.

36:37 I want to be here and nobody is going to knock me out of this position." And what happened is

36:42 Boquist came up and knocked him out. Boquist didn't have a good camp, obviously, at the

36:50 beginning of the season in Providence. - He was very beyond a script, I think,

36:54 for the camp being the first half of the year. - Here's a guy with, I don't know, 200 NHL games

37:00 under his belt, can do a lot of things in a bottom six role. When he got up there again,

37:07 he started doing those things and it kind of put a spotlight on the things that Beecher wasn't doing.

37:13 So he's in Providence. We'll see. He's going to have to fight through this and maybe get that

37:22 engine running a little, revving a little higher and go from there. - This really reminds me of

37:28 the Bruins teams that made the Stanley Cup final in '87, '88, and '89, '90. Those two teams went

37:37 through dramatic personnel changes between those two years in those three seasons. But

37:42 it just seems like there's about 25 forwards on this team that we might see when it's all said

37:50 and done. And you have two third lines, two fourth lines. And if you started to say, "Okay,

37:57 give me your lineup for the '88 final against Edmonton or something," and you'd be leaving off

38:04 seven players, no matter what names you put in. And this seems like it's going to be one of those

38:09 teams. What's that? - Don't forget Mo Lemaie. - Yeah, that's right. That's a perfect example.

38:16 People remember Mo Lemaie, but boy, how many games did Byers and Johnston play? How many games did

38:24 Billy O'Dwyer play in '88? Or John Bison '90? It's just a long list of guys. And this is

38:34 the most competitive I've ever seen since then, the Bruins at the bottom of their forward lineup.

38:42 That's a lot of performance hurdles there. And maybe that's just the nature of the beast this

38:49 year. Part of them loading up with these contracts and putting them in front of the Providence

38:56 players. One of the things I asked Ryan Mugenel last week was, "Do you think that this is good

39:05 for the players that Don Sweeney always does this? He always signs guys on short-term and money

39:11 journeymen and places them in front of prospects like it's an essential piece of their development

39:18 is to hurdle over somebody. It's kind of like you get a sophomore point guard in your high school

39:23 basketball team that you coach, and you want him to be your starter and drive the team at the end

39:27 of the season, but you got to put a senior in his face first. You got to give him something he's got

39:33 to hurdle over." And he said, "I'm not really sure that's what he's doing, but I like it."

39:41 Well, making young players earn it is not just young players, but that feels to me that's an

39:50 essential part of what the Bruins are. What they have is making guys earn it. Nobody's handed

39:57 anything. You got to earn your keep. And I think a lot of that is, that's kind of what's going on

40:06 with Beecher, I feel like, that they want him to, you know, yeah, he made it up for a while, but

40:11 you know, as they say, staying in the NHL is harder than getting to the NHL. So he's going

40:19 to have to deliver on that front now. No doubt. And I do think also just from a second half of

40:27 the year playoff perspective, like the fourth line center spot is a really tough role, job,

40:34 niche on a team, whatever you want to call it for a rookie young guy to really excel in because of

40:40 some of the nuances of that position, as far as responsibility, as far as some of the details and

40:45 things you have to do well under high pressure as the games get closer and more intense than the

40:52 second half and the playoffs too. And, you know, you wonder if a veteran like Boquist would end up

40:59 being more well-equipped for something like that, that kind of a job with everything on the line,

41:04 rather than a guy going through all that stuff for the first time. And that'll be something

41:08 interesting to watch going down the stretch. You do have factor meals to help us out. America's

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42:28 It gets the hags thumbs up seal of approval. - Mark, while we have you here, you know more

42:34 about the Providence Bruins than anybody. You are with that team all the time and watch them.

42:39 Just anything of note lately, some of the usual suspects, what you've seen out of them and

42:49 where the prospects are in their development track this year?

42:53 - Well, Fabian Lysel's play recently is definitely worth noting.

42:59 You know, I've questioned him in the past. That's no secret, but I think that he's starting to turn

43:13 the corner, at least in my eyes. And I think the coaching staff feels the same way. He's been good

43:24 ever since that, you know, when Ryan Mugenel's kind of questioned his development and where he

43:30 was at and his buy-in. Ever since then, he's been pretty good. There's been games when he's been

43:38 really good. There's no more individual play at the expense of, you know, playing

43:46 within the team concept. He's not doing the one-on-four zone entries anymore.

43:51 And I think his effort is better. He's working harder in practice. He was not

43:59 a real hardworking practice guy, you know, previous to the last couple of months.

44:06 But his effort level, you know, I talked to an NHL scout the other day at the game who said,

44:14 "I notice a better effort from Lysel right now than he had earlier in the season." So that's good.

44:24 That's pointing in the right direction. So, you know, maybe this is a good time to trade him.

44:34 You know, they don't have assets, you know, let's face it. They don't have a lot of chips to

44:41 put on the table. So, you know, this might be his improved play recently. It might be

44:51 a time to put him out there and see, you know, could he be a guy that gets you something in

45:01 return that's going to make your team better, not just this year, but down the road too.

45:05 So I think that's something to note. I think Murkloff is, you know, since coming back down

45:13 from Boston, he's scoring again. He's playing hard. Anthony Richard has been really good.

45:22 You know, he's not a guy that gets a lot of love when, you know, and he's not a prospect,

45:28 let's face it. He's a depth guy, but he's as fast as they come in the American League. You know,

45:35 you could call him up for a couple of games and get a lot of speed on the fourth line out of him.

45:41 Mason Lowry had three assists the other day, had a game-winning goal on a nice play in overtime

45:49 the day after he got sent down. I wouldn't say he's been dominating, but he's been good.

45:57 He's been good. His game is getting better. He's actually a great conversation, Lowry, because

46:02 Bob Beers was really concerned on 98.5's hockey show on repeated situations. He would reiterate

46:12 this, that he thinks that Lowry would have been much better off just playing the whole season in

46:16 the American League. Now, when they had injuries, they had to recall them, but the one thing he

46:21 didn't want to see is see the guy yo-yoed. Now, Lowry seems mentally to have handled that part

46:27 of the up and down really well. Do you agree with that, Mark? Yeah, yes, he has. He definitely has.

46:35 He shows up every day with a smile and ready to go to work. So, I guess my concern is,

46:42 he's potentially going to be hurt by the discontinuity of his rookie pro season,

46:51 his full rookie pro season, of not being able to grow his game in one place and work on the

46:58 things that... Now, granted, there's a lot of communication there. I'm sure Don Sweeney and

47:03 Evan Gold are talking all the time about this kid and with Moujonel. But you hear it's a different

47:13 pace of play in the NHL. It's a different kind of situation. It's a different role. You go down

47:19 there. I'm a little worried that he's going to become Colin Miller instead of... I'm trying to

47:31 think of a higher end example of what he could become in the NHL because a player has all the

47:37 parts, all the skills, but they never really come together into a really good defenseman.

47:42 That's what I worry about with him. If things stay choppy, even though he's got such a great

47:48 outlook, the kid. Well, I think he's going to be fine. I think when you look at a guy right

47:59 out of college in the NHL in the first half of his first pro season, he's got nothing to complain

48:06 about. And when he got called up, it wasn't because he was knocking the ball out of the

48:13 park in Providence. It was because somebody got hurt. So in terms of earning it, I think

48:19 earning it and refining your game. So make your mistakes in the American League, not in the

48:28 National League where it can cost you points in the standings and also can bring the wrath of

48:35 the fan base down on him. Although I think there's overwhelming support from him among the fans,

48:42 it seems to me. But to me, better to make your mistakes in the American League and refine your

48:48 game and then go up and not come back down. That's the goal here is to get him up there

48:56 and never see him again in Providence. So if he keeps, he's on a good path right now.

49:04 And hopefully that continues. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't. I think he's the kind

49:10 of kid that can not be too, too bothered by the up and down to this point. Yeah. And I think I'd

49:18 be more concerned about what Mick is voicing there if he was when he was up at the NHL level sitting

49:24 for like two weeks and not playing or that kind of thing was going on where he wasn't actually

49:30 playing and developing. If he's up here. Not to compare Jacob Zaboral to Mason Laurie, but

49:39 Z sat for, I don't know, weeks, months, even, I don't know. And, you know, not the same player,

49:47 not the same, you know, mental, mentally, not the same player. But that's an example of what can a

49:53 worst case example of what can happen when a guy sits and sits and sits. Yeah. He made a mistake

50:00 in a game in Florida last year, right before Thanksgiving. And he didn't play again for

50:04 about three and a half months, I think, after that. It was he was in the doghouse for quite

50:08 some time. And that doesn't that really doesn't do any player any good when you're in a situation

50:12 like that. But for a young player, I think that's the worst case. And that's when it really starts

50:17 to hamper their development. Twitter of the question of the week, this is more like a

50:23 sort of Twitter statement of the week from JPA 85 or JP eight spoke B hockey East tournament is

50:30 going to be good this year. If it's anything like what we saw last weekend between BC and BU,

50:36 it's going to be phenomenal. I think they're playing each other in the opening round of the

50:40 beanpot, which is unfortunate. You'd love to have seen that matchup in the finals. But I've been

50:47 skated during the second intermission with his Newton boys, Chestnut Hill on Friday night. So

50:52 I was there with them to watch that game. 10,000 fans like there was a couple of parents that

50:58 couldn't go and I think the tickets were going for a couple hundred bucks, like being scalped or

51:04 secondary market, like for both of you guys, just how awesome was it to see a B first of all,

51:12 BU BC back to where it's been at its best place, back both teams are where they should be in

51:19 college hockey. That's right. Mick's got his beanpot at and and just to see that atmosphere,

51:25 especially on Friday night at Boston college, it was electric. And like for Finn and his

51:30 squirts players and a lot of the young players that were there in that crowd, they like,

51:34 I think I'll want to play college hockey now after seeing that it was pretty neat.

51:37 Yeah, I went to Saturday night's game at BU and it was just a fantastic hockey game,

51:44 a fantastic show, everything you want to see or hope to see in a in a college hockey game on a

51:51 Saturday night. It was just outstanding. And, you know, I've seen both teams. Numerous times this

51:59 year, knowing that, you know, some of these guys aren't going to be back. They're going to be

52:04 moving on after this year. So see them while you can. But just, you know, I came away from

52:14 Saturday night thinking, wow, is BC going to be tough to beat? They are. Yeah, be used tremendous.

52:23 But BC with that that line of first round draft picks, all of them like 18 years old.

52:29 It's unbelievable how good they are. Yep. If you if you give them a chance, the pucks in the net,

52:36 it's it's you know, when they break in on a two on one or three on two, it's it's magic's going

52:44 to happen. Be you obviously have celebrating an elite player and Lane Hudson as well.

52:52 But man, BC is so impressive. Both of those guys do like

52:57 Carter Gautier is pretty dominant player. Chalky wise, too. You're watching him play. He looks like

53:04 a guy when you're watching him play now that should be in the pros instead of playing in

53:08 hockey this year for sure. Joe, you might not have gotten your final because you went to

53:13 Northeastern and lost last night. Yeah, they did. And, you know, there's the. The grumbling in the

53:22 B.U. fan base over the call, the too many men call it overtime, just, you know, just a terrible call.

53:30 I mean, hey, I. I bang on the referees enough, so I'm not going to go. I'm not going to go all out

53:39 here, but boy, that was a terrible call. I'm all about closing the show by bashing the refs,

53:46 Mark. Thank you very much for throwing that out there. Hey, quick, quick note.

53:50 Andre Gasso and Oscar Gelb, a yellow Vic Bruins prospects who played for BC in these games.

54:00 Gasso needs a work a lot on his sledding. I mean, skating. But he's he's got a lot of Morgan

54:08 Geeky in his game. And it would be fun to see if if his skating can come along to a point,

54:15 he'd be one heck of a seventh round pick. Yelvick is much more polished player and

54:20 obviously drafted earlier. And he does run their second unit power play. But but that's that was

54:26 fun watching to see what the Bruins have there, even though they're not the guys who get in the

54:30 fanfare that some of the other ones are. No, most definitely. And Jelvick was a guy.

54:34 Jelvick was a guy that I noticed big time at development camp last summer when he was here

54:39 at Bruins Development. Oh, one final one final note on BC. Yes, I'm having my I'm having my

54:45 my future nightmares already a follower in the Montreal that they go. Oh, that's that's a good

54:52 point. He was he was excellent in both of those games. All right. Thank you very much, Mick and

54:57 Mark. Let's thank our sponsors real quick. Fan dual sports book. It is Super Bowl time right now.

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55:43 meal kit. Ready in two minutes, chef approved calorie conscious meals. They're delicious.

55:50 All you got to do is go to factor meals.com/hags 50 and you get 50% off your first box. Mick,

55:58 Mark, thank you very much for joining me. It is always much appreciated.

56:02 You can go on with your days now. The hockey talk is over. And thank you everybody.

56:08 Right. Never ends. Thank you very much, everybody for listening. We'll see you at the ring.

56:26 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Who is the Bruins' first half MVP? w/ Mick Colageo and Mark Divver | Pucks with Haggs

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