The Boston Bruins are in the midst of turning over a new identity under first-year coach Marco Sturm. After last season’s disastrous results, the team will be looking to adopt a new approach and ethos.
One of the key issues will be determining what the Bruins’ center depth will be like. As it stands, the club has three talented, if underperforming, centers.
The top line center, at the moment, is slated to be Elias Lindholm. Lindholm has been skating on a line with Morgan Geekie and David Pastrnak. There are no surprises there. If anything, that’ what Boston fans have been expecting from the team’s top line.
But that’s about where the certainty ends. Sturm has been adamant about having reliable centers who can play his defensive-based system. That situation has led Sturm to place Pavel Zacha as the second-line center.
Having Zacha down the middle comes as no surprise. However, his relatively underwhelming performance placed him on the wing at one point. But doing so removed an experienced center from the Bruins’ depth chart. So, back center it is for Zacha.
But there’s still room for some unexpected moves. Casey Mittelstadt has dropped to the third line under Sturm’s current setup. But Sturm and the Bruins still view him as a second-line option.
So, does that mean that Mittelstadt could bump Zacha down to the third line? Thus far, Mittelstadt has shown encouraging signs in camp. While it’s not a guarantee, the 26-year-old could still get some top-six reps before the end of camp.
Next Bruins Game Could Reveal Path Forward
The Bruins will play their next exhibition game on Monday against the Philadelphia Flyers. Boston edged Philly 4-3 on Saturday. The game featured mostly non-roster players, with Zacha drawing into the lineup.
Zacha played 17:29 across 19 shifts, managing just two shots on goal. His lack of impact on the scoresheet is a stark contrast to Mittlestadt’s two assists in the 5-4 win against the New York Rangers on September 23.
While it doesn’t seem like Zacha’s role is in jeopardy at the moment, Mittelstadt could push the Czech center for that 2C moving forward. For better or for worse, it seems as though the Bruins are stuck with Zacha as the 2C for the time being.
Mittelstadt Could Finally Emerge as Legit Top-6 Center
Ever since the Buffalo Sabres drafted Mittelstadt eighth overall in 2017, the expectation has been that the Minnesota native could emerge as a legit top-six center.
His mixed results in Buffalo prompted the Sabres to cash him in for defenseman Bowen Byram. The deal looks bad for the Colorado Avalanche, especially after cutting their losses with Mittelstadt last season.
The Bruins got the still-talented 26-year-old Mittelstadt in exchange for Charlie Coyle. The deal looks good on paper. It will look even better if Mittlestadt can finally find that elusive success in Boston.
For now, it seems that Mittelstadt could be on the verge of turning a corner. He’s gotten a chance to push the reset button. Perhaps that was all Casey Mittelstadt needed to finally reach his potential. It’s likely the Bruins will give him every chance to prove he can do it.
The club doesn’t really have much of a choice, anyway.
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