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With the bye week almost over, it is probably a good time to check in on some Bruins prospects.
Urho Vaakanainen, the Bruins’ first round selection from the 2017 NHL Draft, has gotten plenty of attention lately after playing the last couple of weeks in Buffalo for Finland in the World Junior Championship. However, another prospect, the Bruins’ 53rd overall selection in last year’s draft, has been killing it in the OHL.
Jack Studnicka, center for the Oshawa Generals, has 11 goals and 31 assists in 40 games. That places him first on the Oshawa Generals, and 30th in the OHL in points.
The Michigan native seemed to be another notorious off-the-board pick for the Bruins, as he was the 120th-ranked North American skater by Central Scouting Services, but seeing as he scored 52 points in 64 regular season games and 15 points in 11 playoff games, that ranking was probably a little low.
Studnicka’s on-ice impacts seems to have gotten better this season as his 5v5 GF% is 59.38%, which is 12.13% higher than when he is off the ice. 7 of Studnicka’s 11 goals come from 5v5 play (and 19 of his 31 assists).
When looking at just goals and primary assists, Studnicka bumps up to 23rd in scoring with 34 primary points. That means Studnicka’s point totals are probably deflated, as he gets less secondary assist help than some other players.
When it comes to the Bruins’ outlook of him, Scott Bradley had this to say, per the Bruins website:
“We think he can play both wing and center. There’s room to develop. He’s close to 6’2”, but he’s light - his frame is light. But, we look forward to developing the frame and see what we have there.”
Studnicka claims that he tries to model his game after Tyler Bozak, who is a similar size at 6’1” and 199 lbs. He aims to be a two-way center who can contribute all over the ice, and at the moment, he is proving to be just that.
Late in September, Studnicka signed his ELC. The middle-of-the-pack Generals could see an early exit in the OHL playoffs, and if the Bruins see his development accelerating more than planned, we might see him playing in New England this spring.