Not all perfect trifectas need to keep with them with them future hall of famers. Not all super heroes need to weigh 250 pounds an look like steroid users. In fact, not all super heroes or big three’s even need their names to be known among their city of Boston, Gothum or Krypton.
No, sometimes, those groups of heroes can include guys who are 5 foot 9 and like to blast little chunks rubber into twine backed squares of iron.
Before this Bruin season, that would not have been the case but with the departure of the big three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Piece and Ray Allen over the past few seasons, in has come a new batch of super hero athletes. And those three men have names: Torey Krug, Dougie Hamilton, and Matt Bartowski.
Torey Krug: a 22 year old left handed defender came to the Bruins on March 25th 2012.
At that point Krug had never played a professional game yet in 3 years with Michigan, he had already made a name for himself as a high scoring defense man. Torey Krug never missed a single one of the 114 games his Spartans team played from 2009-2010 to 2011-2012 and in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 at least, he was a huge factor in each and every one of the games he took part in. In just those 2 seasons alone, a total of 76 games, Krug scored 23 times. (11 in 10'-11' and 12 in 11'-12')
In those final two seasons of NCAA excellence, it seemed that Krug was going to be a perennial role player on that Spartans team for at least one more year. But in the blink of an eye, that all changed.
"Torey has had an outstanding collegiate career at Michigan State," Boston General Manager Peter Chiarelli said after signing Krug. "He is a very intelligent player who is a terrific skater and shooter. But what stands out the most with Torey is his character. He is a two-time captain and a tremendous competitor. We are thrilled to have signed him and look forward to a seeing him contribute to the Bruins."
"I would also like to thank the Boston Bruins organization for this tremendous opportunity." Krug then said 2 days after the signing. "Every hockey player has the dream to play in the National Hockey League, and I am excited about my chance to prove myself at the next level."
Fact is Krug was an amazingly gifted offensive defense man in college averaging nearly .75 points per game. But once he came to the Bruins organization, those Bobby Orr esque skills did not immediately follow him. In the 2 games Krug played with Boston in that 2011-2012 season, the Bruins went 1 and 1 with Krug logging just over 34 minutes of ice time, mustering 3 shots on net and putting through 1 assist for his first NHL point. He was not good, but he was not all that bad.
Nonetheless, the Bruins were determined to develop this kid and even if the fans did not see it immediately, Peter Charalli did, so, instead of dropping him or dishing him back to NCAA hockey, Krug was soon moved down to the AHL. He would spend the majority of this past season down in Providence and in the 63 games he played, his scoring touch soon returned. Through those few months of play, he shot up 45 points on 13 goals all while seeing his Providence Bruins skate to their first division title in over 5 years.
Yet as Providence collapsed in the second round of the AHL playoffs, they were no more than a side story as the big Bruins captured the minds of the world with a late May tilt with the storied Toronto Maple Leafs. In the blink of an eye, Boston erased a 4-2 Toronto lead to beat the Leafs in OT and march into the second round. But amidst all the celebration, there was a problem in Boston. Dennis Sidenberg had been hurt on the very play that won Boston into the semifinals, and, going into that crucial series with New York, the Bruins were one D-man short.
So along came Torey Krug.
Its seems like one of those go lucky sports movies when you talk, write about or watch the highlights from that series. Over the span of just over a week and a half, everything went right for Boston and in turn for little 5 foot 9 Torey Krug. He scored 4 times in those 5 games and added an assist to bring his points total to 5 in the series and 7 in his career.
But Krug was not the only bright light that looked shine in that series. No there was another... and his name was, Dougie Hamilton
Dougie Hamilton: picked up as the final piece of the trade that sent Phil Kessel to Toronto, the Bruins exercised their 2011, 9th overall pick in the draft by selecting a Toronto born D-man with some serious promise.
Unlike his now teammate Krug, Hamilton: a Canadian with hockey woven into his veins never played in the US's NCAA hockey leagues. In fact he spent 4 years not even going to college and playing OHL hockey for his home town Niagara Ice Dogs. When playing in Canada, he sure didn't have the perfect attendance record of Tory Krug but still was even more productive in the 213 games he did play. He averaged .88 points per game and scored 12 or more goals twice in his career as he led his Ice Dogs to a Memorial Cup championship in the spring of 2012.
He sure caught eyes and in truth that was why the Bruins drafted him. Like Krug he was a offensive defense men, and with Zdeno Chara regularly patching in 10 goals a year it is all but obvious that defense is not all that a Bruin defender needs to worry about doing.
"He's a big strong kid with a good offencive skill set." GM Peter Charelli said about his new pick. "Honestly, we didn't think he would fall this far."
"We didn't think he would fall this far." Charelli said but nevertheless, he did, 8 teams passed up on Hamilton all for different reasons, and while in the end Boston would get their hands on him, he still was not NHL ready. So back to juniors he went.
But unlike the 3 years of OHL hockey he had already partook in, in that final season, Hamilton had a goal, and that goal would be achieved on Saturday, January 19th 2013 when he made his NHL debut. On that day, Hamilton was the only rookie on the ice and all the attention was on him, and he did not disappoint. While he may have got off to a relatively goalless start, Hamilton finished the month of January with 4 NHL points and a professional contract with the Boston Bruins.
So, with goal one was crossed off the list on he went to his next major pursuit: actually scoring a goal. Now in the end, the pursuit of THAT particular piece of glory would not take long as on February 15th he finally broke through with a tally against one of the best goaltenders in hockey: Ryan Miller.
Over the next few months, Hamilton would add 4 more regular season goals along with a point total of 16. Now he, like Krug saw his team into the playoffs but that is where the similarities end. Once Hamilton got to the postseason any hint of his offensive skills dried up in a shriveled mess of nerves and shining performances by mighty Krug.
Hamilton still had the skills, he still had the future but after 7 playoff games over 2 different series, his postseason was done long before those of his teammates were.
But still there is more.
Matt Bartowski. After coming to the Bruins alongside now star D-man Dennis Sidenberg, Bartowski signed with Boston on April 29th 2010.
As for semi pro hockey, well, Bartowski followed a path similar to that of Tory Krug all be it with some less frequent burst of goal scoring and instant glory.
Fact is, Matt Bartowski is a D-Man of far more intangible skills, meaning that the illustrious facets of his game are all that more difficult to illustrate. In 20 games over 3 seasons with Boston, Bartowski was yet to put one in offensively, until an almost forgotten play in a game that is all but forgotten. Just under 5 minutes and 35 seconds into Game Seven of the Toronto series, Bartowski took a weak pass off the stick of Phill Kessell before moving into the center of the ice and blasting the shot past James Reimer to give Boston the 1-0 lead.
Matt Bartowski was never the super star that many believed him to be but in the end, he could easily become a key role player in years to come.
The not so big three: between the 3 of them, their average age is just 22 years 4 months but they have all done so much. Between the three of them, only 34 points have been scored but they have all done so much more that runs up a list far longer than that one of just 34 tics. Fact is, in just a matter of years, Zdeno Chara will be done, and so will Dennis Seidenberg. Andrew Ferance has already gone and with Adem McQuiad beginning to show singes of a concussion problem, his days of play but begin to become numbered as well.
Long story short, even while the Bruins list of veterans begins to shorten, their list of prime 1st and second year players is beginning to grow handing their club a hope for a future almost as bright as the one Chara, Seidenberg, and company have already given them.
Long story short, even while the Bruins list of veterans begins to shorten, their list of prime 1st and second year players is beginning to grow handing their club a hope for a future almost as bright as the one Chara, Seidenberg, and company have already given them.
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