The Boston Bruins played two preseason games so far, and are now into the second week of training camp. With that, the Bruins still have two separate groups, but this morning it became quite clear which group is the NHL group and which group is not.
The most notable omissions from the NHL group this morning undoubtedly were Joonas Korpisalo, Fabian Lysell, and John Beecher.
Lysell and Beecher, first-round picks from 2021 and 2019, respectively, came into camp with strong competition from outside players brought in, such as Tanner Jeannot, Mikey Eyssimont, Matej Blumel, and Alex Steeves.
Neither has stood out, but for now, they remain bubble Bruins roster players. That's indicated by the group divide, including Beecher and Lysell with most AHLers, run by AHL Head Coach Ryan Mougenel.
Beecher played 78 games for the Bruins last year, scoring three goals and 11 points. Beecher scored seven goals and 10 points in 52 games a year prior, a much higher total in terms of goals and points per game.
If Beecher is sent to Providence, he would need to pass through waivers first.
Lysell, meanwhile, played his first 12 NHL games last season, scoring once and assisting twice. He failed to impress in his two preseason games. Though still tantalizing with the puck on his stick, Lysell turned it over officially four times, twice in both games, leading the Bruins. Lysell is waiver exempt.
The other notable omission from the main group today was Joonas Korpisalo, but he did not skate with either group, seemingly indicating a potential injury or maintenance day.
As for the Bruins lines, they've gone for an intriguing, but somewhat expected look.
The top line has been untouched throughout all of training camp. Intriguingly, Blumel remains on line two following his great goal on Tuesday evening.
Matthew Poitras shifting to the right wing is a very interesting call. The battle for the opening night third-line wing is down to three guys: Poitras, Marat Khusnutdinov, and Steeves.
The fourth line remains locked in just like the top line, penciled in since day one, inching closer to Sharpie territory from the lineup card.
The team also did plenty of special teams work as well:
The power play units did not change much from Monday's work. It's very clear who the team wants in the man-advantage units, and Blumel is receiving a massive opportunity, one he's earned.
As for the kill, it also remained untouched.
No shocks for Boston's kill. The guys you'd expect to be killing are the guys killing penalties.
Fraser Minten skated as the team's fifth center, but with everything he's done right, he's going to play games sooner than later. He's waiver-exempt, something Steeves and Khusnutdinov are not, making it easier to initially start him in the AHL.
As of right now, Minten is likely the final forward cut due to his waiver-exempt status, while Victor Soderstrom and Jordan Harris battle for the seventh defenseman spot to begin the year. Neither of the two is exempt from waivers.