Bruins Top 25 Under 25: #9 Jared Knight

Jared Knight

RW/C / Boston Bruins

Height: 5-10
Weight: 185
Born: January 16, 1992
2012-2013 Numbers: Providence Bruins, 1-2-3, 10 GP, Playoffs, 1-1-2, 6 GP; Carolina Stingrays, 0-0-0, 2 GP

Jared Knight was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2010 Draft, at #32 overall -- the second pick Boston received in exchange for goal-scorer and prominent American, Phil Kessel. Slightly less well-known than the OTHER draft pick to come out the trade that year, Knight is nonetheless one of the Bruins' brightest prospects -- with, of course, a few caveats.

On the smaller side but relentless with the puck, Knight had 52 points in 52 games during the 2011-2012 OHL season with the London Knights, and 70 in 68 the season before that. Along with Ryan Spooner, Knight was one of the brightest prospects making the jump to the pros in 2012 -- until his year was drastically impacted by a lingering hamstring injury that restricted him to 10 regular season games in Providence, along with 6 playoff games. Given that, it's a bit tough to make an accurate evaluation of his current readiness for the NHL, but Luedeke had this to say in May:

As an early second-round pick in 2010, the Michigan native has the talent and moxie to play in the NHL as a gritty, two-way winger in the mold of New York Rangers captain Ryan Callahan. Since returning from hamstring injuries that limited him to just 12 regular season games split between the AHL and ECHL, Knight has managed to become a fixture on Providence’s third line.

He added this in July, after ranking him 8th on his Bruins prospects list:

Knight could certainly be ranked lower, but gets the benefit of the doubt because of the lost season. He is at a crossroads: must stay healthy and prove to the organization that he can be a gritty and durable AHL contributor before he'll get an NHL chance. A new approach to training and preparing for 2013-14 might help him stay healthy and keep a productive Knight in the Providence lineup this year.

Here's a look at his overall numbers:

Basically, the talent is there, but the injury threw a significant wrench in Knight's development. We here at Chowdah agree:

Knight will be showing where he's at at rookie camp this week. He told reporters today that he finally feels fully recovered from the injury that hindered his season last year, and that he trimmed some bulk to hopefully avoid any relapse. And for whatever it's worth, as a right-hand shot Knight might be someone angling for that open third-line winger spot with the B's, especially if there are any injuries to the big boys. This year will be a big one for Knight, and one in which we can hopefully see if he has a chance of living up to his potential as a tenacious two-way winger. In the meantime, enjoy this goal, wherein he shows some of the above-mentioned moxie: