2011-12 Boston Bruins Player Report Cards: Jordan Caron

Consistency or lack thereof, is a good way sum up Jordan Caron’s season. Caron spent a good bit of time on the bus between Providence and Boston this season, but he did manage to stick around near the end of the season and set him up well for the 2012-13 season if he’s able to find some consistency

Prior to March, Caron played in a total of 28 games for the Bruins, posting a middling minus three rating and only notching five total points. But it was as if the calendar turning to March somehow jumpstarted a second season for Caron – in March and April, he totaled 10 points and a plus 3 rating in 20 games. The increase in Caron’s productivity correlated with the increase in his playing time from March onward.

Caron average just over 14 minutes TOI in the final two months as opposed to about nine and a half minutes otherwise, but his stats are somewhat deceiving – Caron recorded all of this point in just seven games. It was the lack of consistency that had many Bruins fans frustrated with Caron. In just two games in early March, Caron recorded a third of his goals for the season. The shots kept coming, but Caron was unable to convert at a consistent and reliable clip.

However, it seemed like Caron did put in the work, as he clearly earned the confidence of Claude Julien by getting the start in place of Shawn Thornton in Games 6 and 7 of the playoffs. Yes, he started because Patrice Bergeron was hurt, but Julien could easily have kept Thornton in the final two games, stuck with the team that won the Cup the year before and kept Caron watching from the luxury box.

If the March and April showing is any indication, the potential is there and Caron will be in the mix to earn the spot of the departed Benoit Pouliot on the third line. The training camp and early season battle between Caron, Ryan Spooner and Jared Knight is going to be interesting, but based on his late-season push; Caron might have an edge on the open spot.

Grade: C+