Saturday’s training camp notes focus on three players who had significant roles with the Providence Bruins last season and are looking to secure an NHL spot.
Marc McLaughlin
Marc McLaughlin had a strong showing at training camp a year ago, highlighted by a two-goal performance against the Philadelphia Flyers in a 4-0 preseason win on Oct. 1, 2022, but he was still sent down to Providence.
“At times, it can be [tough to swallow],” McLaughlin said about being sent down. “But they had a great team last year. You can’t get frustrated about that, and I think I definitely had things I needed to work on in Providence.”
McLaughlin posted 13 goals and 30 points in the AHL last season. A natural center, he’s spent most of training camp playing on the wing in lines with full-time NHLers such as Pavel Zacha, James van Riemsdyk and Milan Lucic.
“I like to think that I’m versatile and play wing and center, so wherever they want me, I’m good with either,” McLaughlin said.
Bruins coach Jim Montgomery acknowledged how important versatility can be when it comes to deciding the final spots of the lineup.
“Guys that can play all three forward positions, they give you a lot of flexibility in your lineup,” Montgomery said. “And the ability to move up the lineup too is really important to versatility.”
Montgomery said he likes what he’s seen from McLaughlin at camp both this year and last year, and that he’ll get opportunities to play both in the middle and on the wing as the preseason carries out.
With a full professional season under his belt, McLaughlin feels his skill and stamina has progressed enough to be ready for a regular NHL roster spot.
“It’s definitely a huge adjustment going from just playing a 30-game college schedule (with Boston College) to now jumping into that year finishing college, going into the pro game, going to the Olympics,” McLaughlin said.
“It was a lot of hockey for sure, and then this year too. You definitely become accustomed to it and you learn kind of how to take care of your body, the battle with nutrition and all those different things that make you a good pro.”
Oskar Steen
After spending the first two days of training camp on the lower lines, Oskar Steen was elevated to skate with Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle on Saturday, replacing Fabian Lysell.
The 25-year-old appeared in three games for Boston in 2022-23, scoring one goal in a 4-3 shootout win against the St. Louis Blues on Apr. 2.
“They liked my game last year, the three games I played. So just trying to keep on working on my game and be that player I am,” Steen said. “I was playing with a lot of pace and getting pucks on net. [Getting] my shot off.”
Steen spent the majority of the season with AHL Providence, notching 31 points (14 goals, 17 assists) in 64 games. He has 26 total games of NHL experience, and hopes to win a permanent spot coming out of training camp.
“Where we’re looking to improve as a team, we want to be physical at net fronts, [Steen’s] been physical,” Montgomery said. “When he’s on top of his game, that’s what he’s doing. He’s getting to hard areas, driving hard areas, making it hard on other teams to have time and space.”
Georgii Merkulov
After leading AHL Providence in scoring last season with 55 points in 67 games, Georgii Merkulov spent the summer focusing on getting bigger and faster as the 22-year-old attempts to earn a promotion to the big club.
Centering a line with Jake DeBrusk and Danton Heinen over the first few days of training camp, Merkulov had an up-close view of what it takes to keep up with the NHL pace.
“When season’s over you have to go to the gym and work hard because NHL guys are way bigger and stronger than AHL guys, so in order to win battles, you have to be bigger and stronger. That’s the main focus,” Merkulov said.
After lagging defensively on Day 1, Merkulov impressed the coaching staff with an increased effort down low.
“It was so-so [on Thursday]. I thought it was really good [Friday],” Montgomery said on Friday. “It was very evident. He was on top of pucks and his pace of play was a lot better today, and I think that line in particular (DeBrusk, Merkulov and Heinen) was pretty dominant out there with how many goals they scored.”