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The Bruins have a plethora of young guys in their lineup and those young guys have accounted for a lot of the Bruins scoring this season. 258 points (92 G, 166 A) were dispersed throughout the young guns (25 and under) in the lineup.
(The above stats include newcomer Ryan Donato, and the injured Anders Bjork.)
The Bruins have 9 guys on the team that are 25 or younger. Regardless of what angry media folks will tell you, the team is far from just being "too young." The combination of young guns and veterans has given the Bruins that extra edge on their opponents. Speed and skill are spread throughout the lineup. And it hasnt escaped the notice of one Brad Marchand.
In his Players Tribune piece, he specifically talked about the contributions of underrated guys like Matt Grzelcyk and Danton Heinen.
Matt Grzelcyk was called up by the Bruins in November and he was never sent back down. He has been one of the Bruins best defenseman this season and is extremely underrated.
After losing game three to the Maple Leafs, many fans began to realize how important Grzelcyk is on the blue line. The fans know he’s important, and so do the players.
Brad Marchand had a lot of good things to say about both Matt Grzelcyk and Danton Heinen.
“The first thing was the emergence of Danton Heinen and Matt Grzelcyk. They’re probably not the first names you’d think of if you’re outside of Boston, but Bruins fans know just how important these guys have been this season.”
It’s nice to hear Marchand talk about the young guys like that. Grzelcyk will hopefully be returning to the lineup for game four tonight in Toronto and that’s something that’ll be sure to pump him up.
“Charlie McAvoy gets all the attention — because he’s going to be an unreal superstar in this league —but Grizzy is extremely underrated on the blue line.”
Obviously Charlie is going to get all the attention, the Bruins haven’t had a young blue liner like him in a while. But Marchand knows Grzelcyk’s impact, and he knows it can’t be taken for granted.
Heinen has slowed down a bit lately, but could turn things around at any moment as he has tremendous talent.
“And I can’t say enough about Heino and how his two-way game has added so much depth to our roster.”
First of all...“Heino?”
More importantly, Heinen has turned into a great player for the Bruins. His shot, speed, and skill have been extremely valuable this season and his ability to slot in nearly anywhere and succeed.
It’s nice to see Marchand give credit where credit is due. The young guys are the driving force behind this Bruins team and they are the future. The future is now, the future is forever.