Thoughts on Bruins farm players: Anthony Camara, Zach Trotman, Jeremy Smith highlighted

(Photo by Rosina Vacchiano)

by Dakota Antelman

Recently, the Bruins AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, faced off against the Worcester Sharks, the San Jose Sharks affiliate, in a regular season meeting at the DCU Center in Worcester.

Go Titletown was there to observe. Below are a few thoughts on three Bruins prospects that fans might not have been given the opportunity to observe yet...

Anthony Camara 

- Most like...Brad Marchand

Overview...

Anthony Camara, a 21 year old Bruins prospect out of Toronto, is playing his second season in Providence after being drafted in the third round of the 2013 draft. In 92 starts with the team, Camara has scored 12 goals and has brought an intense style of play to the neutral and offensive zone game of the Providence Bruins.

At first look, Camara plays a very similar game to current Bruin, Brad Marchand. He is a sneaky, almost pest-like player who seems to get away with the kinds of arrant elbows and malicious forearm jabs that some of the best do with ease and satisfaction. Beyond that Camara, like Marchand, utilizes a high hockey IQ combined with his incendiary sped to help move the puck through the neutral zone swiftly and without effective resistance from an opponent.

The latter of those traits could benefit the Boston Bruins greatly in the future. Throughout this season a sore point for these Bruins has been their ability to gain and sustain pressure offensively. The fluidity with which Camara moves could remedy that.

Zach Trotman

 - Most like...former Bruin Andrew Ference

Overview...

Bruins fans got a look at Zach Trotman earlier in the year when he came up to the Bruins in the wake of Zdeno Chara's PCL tear. He returned to Providence after just 17 games though meaning fans did not get to see him settle into a lineup on a big stage.

As reflected by his performance in the AHL, a place where he has settled in, Trotman is a shutdown defenseman. He is a positional player who can make plays without putting his stick on the puck. Nevertheless, when he does step up on a forward, Trotman unleashes a devastating body check as well as pinpoint stickwork.

 Perhaps  the one shortcoming in his game however is his shot. Trotman lacks the power behind his slapshot that most Bruins fans are accustom to after watching the likes of Dennis Sidenberg, Zdeno Chara and even Torey Krug on a nightly basis.

Regardless though, Trotman adds immense depth to an already well stocked Bruins defensive core while also giving Peter Chiarelli a superior bargaining chip in the trade market.

Jeremy Smith

 - Most like...former Bruin Tim Thomas


Overview...

The name of Jeremy Smith is one Bruins fans have not heard much since he signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Bruins this offseason.

However, playing backup for the Providence Bruins behind Malcom Subban, Smith has amassed a GAA of 2.15 and a save percentage of .929. He has won 10 of the 20 games he has played in and has a pair of shutouts in those games.

But perhaps the most interesting thing about Jeremy Smith is the stark similarity his style has with that of former Bruin great and current Dallas Stars goalie, Tim Thomas. Technically, Smith is a "butterfly" goalie meaning he drops to his knees to play shots. But even so, he often loses that form as rebounds are given up or shots are taken from close range. He becomes the kind of unorthodox goalie that Thomas is as, in such cases, Smith can be seen frantically diving across the crease to cover pucks and glove rebounds.

While the Bruins currently have little need for such a goaltender within their system (goalie depth chart currently has 3 capable starters on it in Subban, Tuukka Rask and Niklas Svedberg), like Trotman, Smith serves as an uncontested bargaining chip on the trade market as the Bruins seek the kind of goal scoring forward that could elevate their play.

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Thoughts on Jarome Iginla's contract situation: Veteran winger a necessity for Boston

Frankly, the Bruins are a team that seems to annually struggle with complying with changing salary cap regulations.

After the Stanley Cup win in 2011, the Bruins found themselves over the salary cap for the next season (2011-2012) and were forced to part ways with their high scoring 3rd line winger, Michael Ryder. A year after that they lost several key depth players such at Jay Pandalfo and Mike Mottou and a year after that the cap stole both Andrew Ference as well as their brilliant rookie backup Anton Khudobin.

But now the Bruins are in danger of suffering a loss even more crippling than any they have suffered post Stanley Cup. Jarome Iginla’s contract is up and as of now he does not seem too willing to take a hometown discount of any sort. The fact of the matter is that Iginla will go to the best team that gives him the best offer and that could include a whole host of teams. Some of those teams are already are already being proactive in their attempt to snatch the Boston stud.  It was announced today that Iginla is now listening to offers from other teams and those potential deals are rapidly increasing in their frequency. If the Bruins do not act soon, Iginla is bound to sign one of those deals. 

But if the Bruins are going to prolong their longevity as a Stanley Cup contender, that cannot happen. In just the 82 games since he was signed last off season, Iginla has taken Boston's offence and made it absolutely lethal, infusing the attack with consistency and order in a way that no one else could. 

Obviously, the Iginla story and his relation to Boston does not just confine itself to this season. Prior to the 2013 season, Iginla had been capturing the imaginations of teams for over a decade as he lit the lamp at a ridiculous pace as the captain of the Calgary Flames. However, after sticking it out as a 30 to 40 goal scorer on a last place team, Iginla decided midway through the 2013 season that it was time to win a Stanley Cup and that was not going to happen in Calgary. Additionally though, after almost locking down a trade deal with Boston, Iginla bailed on the team approving a trade to the Penguins instead. 

Well Bruins fans you all know how that worked out for him. The Bruins swept the Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals and went on to play in one of the greatest Stanley Cup Finals in history. As a result of that, Iginla went down the "if you can’t beat em' join em'" road, signing a 1.8 million dollar 1 year deal with Boston.   

The Bruins gave Iginla a serious vote of confidence by forgiving his slap to their collective faces earlier in the season and paying him a serious contract to do what he does best. He did that and more in Boston.

You see, the wonder of Jarome Iginla goes beyond just the number of goals he scores. As the Bruins first line anchor, Iginla never went more than 10 games without a goal and actually seemed to score more against good teams in important games than he did in other games. Iginla was also clutch with 10 of his 30 goals winning the games they were scored in. In all truth, Jarome Iginla is the perfect Bruin. Though he scored 30 goals in Boston which is something that very rarely happens largely because of Claude Jullian's selfless style, Iginla was no puck hog. His line mates, Milan Lucic and David Krejci both scored 24 and 19 goals respectively and Iginla assisted on 31 goals scored by his team. 

As shown by those stats in particular, Iginla's consistency was unique in the fact that it helped more than just his game. He revived the games of Lucic and Krejci when they both were beginning to fall from grace and made the Boston first line as physical as it was potent offensively by throwing hits along the boards while Milan Lucic creamed people behind the net.  

If this train of thought seems overwhelming it is because Iginla's commitment and the new blend of offence that he brought to Boston are almost innumerable. Without him Boston would not only have lacked the goals he himself scored but they also would have lacked probably 50% of the goals Krejci and Lucic scored simply because the two of them were down right awful at times in the year before Iginla came to Boston. 

If Iginla never came, if the team was to hurt by his passing up on them in 2013, there is a great possibility that the team could have absolutely crumbled. I say bravo in reaction to Peter Charelli's signing of Iginla last year but also say that he has to pull of such managerial magic once again. The Bruins need Jarome Iginla.

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Jaromir Jagr and Andrew Ference "Not returning next season"

"They probably don't want me back.... Maybe if is scored 20 goals this playoff I would be back but I fell 20 short!" ~ Jaromir Jagr

Okay so let me get this straight: you fight so passionately to get Jaromir Jagr yet after a playoff season where he notched 10 assists but no goals you announce he will not be returning next year?! I don't really see you logic there. Nevertheless, for Jagr, this 33 game stint with Boston may end up going down as his last hurrah. In less than a year, Jagr will be 42 and has as of now made his NHL debut over 23 years ago meaning that well, a lot has changed since then. Over the past few years, Jagr's intense scoring touch has tailed off as his once acclaimed 12 year streak of more than 30 goals scored back in 2003, with the exception of a 54 goal campaign in 2005 and a 30 goal season a year later Jagr has failed to surpass 25 goals in 4 seasons since the 30 goals streak died. Nevertheless, as the NHL has changed, so has Jagr's role in the league that he is a part of.  

In 2 seasons, playing for 3 different teams Jagr has scored just 35 times, (that is 10 less than Tyler Seguin) yet in his games played for the Flyers and Stars it has been his power play scoring and work to set up players for goals that has really become the highlight of his game. 73 games for Philidelphea 8 out of his 19 goals were scored on the power play. One year later in 34 games in Dallas this season he put up 6 of his 14 goals on Dallas power plays. Regardless of that, once Jagr transitioned to a more balanced Boston team, his goal scoring completely tapered off as with the exception of a completely all luck, off -the foot goal in his first game as a Bruin the future hall of famer put just one goal past opposing goaltenders. 

After so many years of NHL offensive excellence, 2013 might very well be Jagr's last as a pro hockey player. As great as he is, all good things come to an end, yet nevertheless that same phrase can be applied to yet another Bruin not expected to return next year. 

"With the current cap, Peter [Chiarelli] is not going to be able to keep me," Ference said, referring to the Bruins' general manager. "He's got to resign Tuukka [Rask] and obviously do his side of the business....With the new CBA he is restricted. I wish it wasn't so." ~ Andrew Ference

After being acquired in a trade with the Calgary Flames, Andrew Ference has been a key part of the Bruins team despite him very rarely acting as a scoring part of this Bruins offence yet almost always serving as a backup to the shutdown style of Zdeno Chara. Nevertheless unlike the situation Jagr is in, Ference does not need to score to be useful. He blocks shots, he puts shots to the net, and he delivers hits and his team wins hockey games when he does just that and nothing more. 

With that in mind, after the salary cap was lowered following this recent lockout, Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli will be forced to make some tough choices that really might not go down as being that tough. With goalie Tuukka Rask as well as Ference both now restricted free agents and the Bruins pressed against the salary cap there will be no way for both Rask AND  Ference to be re-signed for next year begging the question who is more valuable? I got my money on Tuukka. 

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