The Providence Bruins are legit

This past Boston Bruins season could kind of be labeled a success.

After all, the B’s finally got the monkey off their back and made it to the playoffs. Plus, they got a new head coach, so there’s that. Two small wins. But then you look at their American Hockey League (better known as the AHL) affiliate and you might just see even more reason to feel good about the future of this Bruins team.

That’s right, folks, the Providence Bruins are going to conference finals; they’ll be playing the Syracuse Crunch. Got to love minor league team names. Always creative.

If you’re looking for a dude on that team to watch, then here’s two words: Jake DeBrusk. In 74 regular season games, the 2o-year-old left-handed left-winger put up 49 points (19 goals, 30 assists). That’s like All-Star material.

Her’es another one you should probably take note of: Danton Heinen. He’s 22 and was the 14th overall pick of the 2015 NHL draft. Oh, and he’s got 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 11 playoff games thus far. That’s solid.

Always when you’re looking at minor league teams, the goal should be to find those younger guys excelling. If the dude leading the team in goals is 30, it’s probably because he’s a really good AHL player but not much to work with in the NHL, and that ain’t ideal.

It’s for that reason, you still have to cut Malcolm Subban some slack; he’s still only 23, so he might learn in the next couple years. We shall see.

In all honesty, it doesn’t really matter if the P Bruins win their version of the Stanley Cup or not. Minor league stuff is all player development so if there’s individuals who can help the Bruins, that’s what they’re looking for–that’s ideal.

Who knows? Maybe the Bruins will have some young defensive upgrades at some point too…

Alright, that’s a wrap. Peace out, y’all…