The quality of video from the Czech Extraliga is quite good, according to John Ferguson Jr., the Bruins’ executive director of player personnel and Providence Bruins general manager. The services the Bruins employ do fine work at cutting up each player’s shifts, just like video coaches do in the NHL, for specific and personalized viewings.
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On these clips, Ferguson likes what he sees from Jakub Zboril, the defenseman currently on loan to HC Kometa Brno until the NHL establishes a plan for training camp.
“Real strong. Real strong,” Ferguson said of Zboril, the 13th pick in the 2015 draft. “He’s on a very encouraging development curve, from where he became a real go-to defenseman for us in Providence to where he is now in Brno, playing extensive and important minutes in critical situations.”
The video confirms what Ferguson, the Providence coaches and the development staff saw in person last season. They watched Zboril, with reinforcement from stay-at-home partner Josiah Didier, grow into the team’s strongest defenseman prior to the AHL’s shuttering. Ferguson interprets these as signals that the 23-year-old might no longer be an NHL question mark.
“I would have said I was more hopeful than emphatic,” Ferguson said of prior projections of Zboril as a varsity defenseman. “I’m much closer to emphatic now. Because he made good strides, but we still wanted to see that high level sustained over a few weeks over just a few games. That happened. He was playing at the top of his class in our organization for an extended period. We saw that over months leading up to the pause — that extended view as opposed to games or weekends.”
For now, the Bruins blue line is compromised. Torey Krug is gone. Nobody can replicate his touch on the power play.
Zdeno Chara could follow Krug out of Boston. If he returns, in specific five-on-five and shorthanded situations, Chara should still be a fearsome presence next year.
It would be unfair for the Bruins to expect Zboril to assume both of their responsibilities. But one of the reasons general manager Don Sweeney has yet to pursue external reinforcement for the left side is the readiness of their internal option.
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“He was at the top of his game,” Ferguson said. “Providence won 12 straight. He was a go-to guy for us. He was logging high, important minutes and doing the things we thought he was capable of. Now, understanding the next challenge is even greater, there’s no reason to believe he can’t make it or can’t make the step and continue on what’s been a strong year-over-year improvement. Now it’s time for him to challenge himself to grab the next opportunity.”
Previously, it was all well and good for Ferguson, Sweeney and the Boston bosses to proclaim that jobs were up for grabs. The truth was that Chara, Krug and Matt Grzelcyk had the three left-side jobs locked up the past two preseasons. Even if Zboril played like Duncan Keith in camp, there was no way he would advance past any of the three on the depth chart.
Zboril knew it. His only chance to play would be pending the misfortune of others. That happened in November 2018. Zboril’s two NHL appearances took place when bodies fell like raindrops. On Nov. 16, Zboril made his NHL debut, only because Chara, Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, John Moore and Urho Vaakainanen were hurt.
It’s different now. He knows, at the start of camp, at least one job is available. Maybe two. Competing for a legitimate opening is easier than being recalled, having a short leash and playing not to make a mistake.
That opportunity, to a lesser extent, is also available for Vaakanainen. He’s behind Zboril for now, partly because the 2015 first-rounder has a greater volume of AHL results than the 2017 first-round pick.
“That fact won’t be lost on them,” Ferguson said of the available openings for Zboril and Vaakanainen. “At the same time, as a management group and development group, we always implore them to prepare and compete the same way. If they prove they’re ready to make the next step and push their way through, a spot will be made. Or maybe that spot will be on a different team. But without question, that potential opening, a spot to compete for, is there. Let’s face it, it’s not lost on them and it’s not lost on anyone. It’s going to be up to them, like in any other year, to earn it with their performance, demonstrate they’re ready to go do it and do it over time.”
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Uncertainty surrounds AHL, ECHL seasons
Last month, the AHL announced Feb. 5, 2021, would be the targeted start date for the upcoming season. It may be that Providence opens play at Dunkin’ Donuts Center without fans.
The target date will allow AHL teams, in conjunction with the NHL, to identify players who could attend ECHL training camp. The ECHL is planning to open play on Dec. 11. In all likelihood, players on entry-level NHL contracts and AHL deals would be eligible to report to the ECHL.
One wrinkle for the Bruins is that Atlanta, their previous ECHL affiliate, suspended operations for the season. The Bruins are working on an arrangement to place players with the Jacksonville Icemen.
“If we can get back and do so in a safe manner with the appropriate protocols in place, they’re all raring to go,” Ferguson said of eligible players. “To a man, they’ve had enough, for a lack of a better word, of just practicing in small groups. It’s intermittently been up and down and getting shut down. Which, let’s face it, is not unlike the bulk of the populace these days. There is a form of exhaustion.”
On loan
Along with Zboril, prospects Joona Koppanen (Koovee, Finland), Oskar Steen (IF Bjorkloven, Sweden), Nick Wolff (DVTK Jegesmedvek, Slovakia) and Robert Lantosi (HK Nitra, Slovakia) are all playing on loan for their respective European clubs.
Dan Vladar is practicing with Kladno (Czech Republic), but has yet to see any game action.
(Photo: David Kirouac / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
