Spooner’s Success at Bruins Camp Continues
There’s not a lot to hate about Ryan Spooner.
The Bruins’ 2010 second-round draft pick reported to the team’s Development Camp at Ristuccia Arena this week at 5-foot-10 and 175 pounds, and through three days has been one of the best performers. Already regarded for his vision and shooting, he’s also been unafraid to throw his body around, hip-checking people off the puck in board battles and fighting for real estate around the crease.
“He’s a highly skilled player,” Bruins assistant general manager Don Sweeney said following this morning’s on-ice workout. “He plays at high, high speed, something we want to continue to have in our organization and I think he’s going to make other players better. He’s got a real good mind for the game.”
It’s been a quality 12 months for the Kanata, Ont., native. After getting drafted, he returned to the OHL’s Peterborough Petes, was traded to the Kingston Frontenacs after 14 games, and ended up tallying 81 points in 64 regular-season points. After the season, he reported to the Providence Bruins on April 4, three days before he signed a tryout agreement, and tallied two goals and an assist in three games.
While nobody’s about to throw around any Brad Marchand-ish comparisons — he’s no agitator — the 20-year-old has been showing some of that blend of physical spunk and skating ability in his second go-around at Development Camp. And it’s probably encouraging when your team’s front office are saying things like, “I could sit here and guess, but I bet you I’m accurate in the fact that he thinks he can make this hockey club,” as Sweeney said yesterday.
“I love the fact that he came down to Providence at the end of last year unsigned, but wanted to come and play hockey and wanted to kind of be a sponge to absorb, he wanted a taste,” Sweeney said. “You could just tell that the kid is gung-ho; he wanted a taste of what it was going to be like to play against bigger, stronger players. And he came in and did very well, we asked him to shoot the puck a little bit more and he did that.
“I think that most of his growth has come off the ice, to be honest with you. I think he’s maturing, as all these kids are, but he’s kind of understanding the work he needs to put in, and particular areas that he needs to pay attention to, and it’s starting to translate on the ice.”
Strength is the most immediate area of improvement for Spooner, who said he did “pretty average” at the team’s strength testing on the first day. It doesn’t hurt, either, that in Kingston he’s had the tutelage of Hall of Famer Doug Gilmour behind the bench. Following the season, Gilmour left the bench to take over as the team’s general manager, and tapped former Maple Leafs teammate Todd Gill as the next head coach.
“It was awesome,” Spooner said of playing for Gilmour. “Having him as a coach, he’s been there before so if I had any questions, he’s always been there to help me.”
Article Courtesy of Brendan Hall and ESPN Boston : http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/bruins/post/_/id/7235/spooner-continues-to-grow-and-mature
