Équipe: 2023-24 Bruins de Boston

Date de création initiale: 23 sept. 2023

Publié: 23 sept. 2023

Mode - plafond salarial: Basique

Montgomery said there will be 8 veterans max, so here's what I'd like to see.

Ideally Lysell would be with 2 vets, but I'd rather test all four centers out together and see a head to head comparison of all centers, since that will give a good look into the future. As of now the center prospect depth chart goes: Poitras, Merkulov, Farinacci, Beecher. Merkulov is probably the most ready to make the roster, although Poitras ceiling is likely higher, but he's 3-4 years younger.

Merkulov will be given the most minutes, and we'll see how he holds up on a line where he's likely driving play, since his target will be 3c, he'd likely be doing this anyways since winger depth drops off after the top 6.

Lysell, we can see how he looks in a top 6 role, and ideally he could push Debrusk to his natural left side, and playing together could make a nice comparison.

Poitras is projected as a top 6 playmaking center, so his target is basically a Krejci replacement. You could argue that Debrusk is the best fit on this line as more of a pure goal scoring power forward, but obviously pasta is there, so maybe overkill. Boqvist will be a good happy medium of speed, playmaking, and goal scoring to support this line, but is likely a bottom 6 guy, so we can see if Poitras can elevate wingers around him.

Farinacci has a projected ceiling of a 3c, so let's see how he works with a solidified 3c of Frederic. Zacha is a lock for top 6, so he can bring out the best in a 3rd line if needed.

Beecher is a slam dunk for bottom 6 minutes, and Harrison has a nice goal scoring touch at the AHL level most likely for now, same with Richard. Seeing if he can generate some form of offense with 4th line wingers could help make a good case for a more offensive minded 4th line, but this is icing on the cake, and not required in their system, so this is a secondary trait imo.

Defense is just to get an idea of who to call up when the inevitable injuries happen. Goalies, same reasoning.