Boston Bruins Development Camp: Day 2 thoughts and observations

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BRIGHTON, Mass – Here are some thoughts and observations from Day Two of Bruins Development Camp with all 30 plus prospects getting on the ice together for the first time about midway through Thursday’s proceedings at Warrior Ice Arena.

* Jack Becker can shoot the puck. The 2015 seventh-round pick has only scored 14 goals in his first two seasons with the University of Michigan, but the 6-foot-4, 210-pounder has unleashed some heavy shots on net when he’s been able to tee things up during drills. Perhaps it’s more the role that he’d filled out for the Wolverines over the last couple of seasons as a freshman and a sophomore, but it feels like he should be producing a bit more offense with his combination of size and shooting ability that he brings to the table.

* Oskar Steen has the good skating ability and shiftiness you’d expect from a 5-foot-9 player and he’s shown the attitude he plays with during international competition. But the skill level also jumps out at you. He can shoot the puck, and he was throwing around saucer passes during some of the drills that you could tell some of the other players had never really dealt with all that much before. He’s going to be really interesting to watch during training camp as a player that could be a center or a right winger for the Bruins organization depending on need. But as a 21-year-old about to embark on his pro career in New England, he really stands out among the prospects at this year’s camp.

* University of Minnesota Duluth assistant captain Nick Wolff has been bringing the noise physically over the last couple of days. Obviously the 6-foot-4, 210-pound D-man isn’t going to stand out quite as much when it’s all about skills during the drills, but he opted to instead throw his weight around and drop some fellow prospects with some heavy hitting during the battle drills. It seemed like he took an interest in going after Minnesota forward Nathan Burke in particular, which perhaps goes back to some battles that the two of them have had during their collegiate careers. Either way, Wolff has made an impressive by bringing physicality and intensity the drills over the last two days, and that’s something the Bruins will no doubt appreciate.

* Interesting to hear Bruins top center prospect Jack Studnicka say that he’s willing to play right wing if that will get him to the NHL faster as a potential candidate for either of the top two lines. Equally interesting to see that Studnicka is also now missing both of his front teeth as he was flashing the trademark hockey smile while talking to the media on Thursday afternoon. That’s exactly the kind of grit that the B’s are looking for combined with the obvious skill that Studnicka possess on offense. It’s a bit of a shame that both Studnicka and Jakub Lauko won’t get on the ice at all this week for development camp, but it’s really not necessary for a couple of players with opportunities to make some noise at NHL camp in the fall.

* Other guys with a good couple of days under their belt? Russian forward Pavel Shen actually looks like he’s been a pro for a few years given his KHL experience and that stands out among mostly college and junior hockey types. Curtis Hall had some nice moments on Day Two shooting the puck and showing off some of his skill. Cooper Zech has legit offensive skill as he showed making some 1-on-1 moves in drills, which is something you usually don’t see all that much of from the back end. He’s an interesting story turning pro after one year of college hockey at Ferris State, and he did some good things with the P-Bruins at the end of last season. Stay tuned on him.

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