Thoughts, Observations from Bruins Dev Camp
Letourneau was the clear star of the week for B's youngsters, but there was plenty to like
BRIGHTON, MA – Another week of Bruins development camp is in the books and it continued a recent trend of those B’s prospect showcases featuring an elevated level of talent across the board.
It’s a stark contrast from, say, five years ago when there wasn’t much skating and shooting on the ice with an NHL future, and it speaks to Boston improving their scouting process and focusing much more on the traditional “draft and development” mindset that doesn’t have a lot of short cuts to it.
“Overall, I just really happy with the camp in general,” said Player Development Director Adam McQuaid. “The gap seems to be closing with the first-year players. Usually, the first-year guys would come in, and it was really noticeable who they are. That’s a credit to the scouting staff that works tirelessly and I know they always continue to work to refine their process.
“Impressed with [Matvei] Kotkov…I thought he looked really good. Both of the young goalies [were good]. Honestly all the new guys came in and showed why they were drafted, they showed well. To nobody’s surprise, [Dean] Letourneau continues to take steps, and [Will] Zellers had really good moments. In general guys came in here this year and showed a progression [in their development]. When we talk to them we stress that it’s not a sprint, and it’s about coming in and showing improvement in different areas before getting back to work and continuing to grow.”
Here’s a few observations after watching the 30 players on the ice put in four good days of work prior to the July 4 holiday:
