BRIGHTON, Mass – It may be a bit of a long shot, but Bruins prospect Jack Studnicka wouldn’t be the first or the youngest player to jump from junior hockey to the NHL in the long, rich history of the Black and Gold.
Studnicka would join Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak as players on the B’s roster that jumped right from their teenage draft team all the way to the NHL. Still, he would need the same kind of training camp performance of the other two in order to join them in that exclusive club. The former second-round pick certainly sounded as if he was ready to lay it all on the line to win a spot on the NHL roster with a few spots up for grabs, including third-line center as it appears Riley Nash is headed for free agency.
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“I’m going into [training camp] with the mentality that I want to make the big club,” Studnicka said at Bruins Development Camp. “It’s always been a dream of mine to be in the NHL and looking at the roster there are spots that are definitely up for grabs. I’m going to put my head down, go to work and really hope for the best.
“In my third year last year, I think I really took a big step and really controlled the play a lot more. I worked as hard as I could and I think I was more dominant.”
Studnicka, 19, credited the experience of last year’s Bruins camp and the preseason game suited up for, with opening his eyes to the proper way to prepare for games. For now, he's focused on filling a leadership role at this week among the young and inexperienced prospects.
In the first few days of development camp, Studnicka has been first in line for each and every drill and is helping lead the way for newcomers to the B’s prospect showcase. He’s got a lethal finishing shot around the net and features a pretty good size/strength/speed combination for a future NHL center.
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But it’s been his makeup and character that’s been just as noticeable the first few days of camp.
“He had a real good showing [at rookie camp] in Buffalo last year in September. He continued to grow from there. He had a little bit of a lull around November, I think he went 11 games without scoring. But got it right back on. Leader, led the team, played with I don’t know how many different guys in that lineup, guys up and down the lineup, and kept on plugging,” said Bruins Director of Player Development Jamie Langenbrunner. “He came into Providence and put up a point a game there. If he wouldn’t have gotten banged up there, he would have played more games down there.
“His year was strong, real strong. He looks to be even a little bit stronger physically from the end of the year in Providence until now. He’s putting in the work and he wants to be a player. I think it’s great that he wants to do that. I think that’s a lofty goal for him as a 19-year-old, not a lot of 19-year-olds play in the National Hockey League. It’s something – I wouldn’t put it past him, he’s a determined kid.”
It’s a little easier to step up in development camp after putting together a monster season for the Oshawa Generals this past year, where Studnicka finished with 22 goals and 72 points in 66 games for his junior team. Studnicka then posted five points (one goal, four assists) in five games for the Providence Bruins at the end of last season, and took away a few valuable lessons from his first experience with high-level pro hockey.
“I’ve always tried to implement offense into my game, so going down there [to Providence] and putting up a point-per-game definitely helps and it’s in the back of my head. But the important thing is to keep a level head about it. I’m a 19-year-old kid that’s still got a lot to learn and room to grow in this game,” said Studnicka. “A big part of my game is that I really want to win all my 1-on-1 battles and make sure that I’m being relied on in the key situations while being strong in the face-off circle.”
It will be interesting to see what happens with the third-line center spot when the Bruins break for camp in September. It remains to be seen if Riley Nash has priced himself out of the gig in Boston after a strong season, but if he has there will be plenty of competition with prospects Trent Frederic and Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson as candidates in addition to the emerging Studnicka.
On an NHL team where many of the roster spots are already accounted for, Studnicka could find himself in one heck of a battle for the third-line center spot. He’d be the youngest player in the mix, but the Bruins have already shown many times in the past few seasons that the best player will win the spot regardless of age or pro hockey experience.
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That’s good news for Studnicka as he continues to rise up the organizational ranks while getting closer to being NHL-ready with each passing day.