Next up on my list is forward Anders Bjork. Bjork played in 20 games for the Bruins last season, in which he produced just one goal and two assists. He also appeared in 13 games for the Bruins’ AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, last season, through which he put up one goal and nine assists. Drafted in the fifth round (146th overall) of the 2014 NHL Entry Draft by the Bruins, Bjork has played in 50 career NHL games, over which he has recorded five goals and ten assists. He has also appeared in 22 career AHL games, in which he has tallied three goals and 11 assists. The 22-year-old left wing has only played for the Bruins organization over his two season professional career.
Poor Anders Bjork. Once one of the most talked about prospects in the Bruins system who seemed like he’d be seeing full-time NHL minutes by now, he has since been pushed down the depth chart. While this is far from entirely his fault given he has had season-ending shoulder surgery in the middle of each of his two professional seasons, he has also had some consistency issues during his time in the NHL. But, he’s still an exciting prospect. He’s speedy and possess a high hockey IQ and work ethic, while also being creative and having good hands. While the severe shoulder injuries are beginning to call into question his durability and could be concerning moving forward, they hopefully won’t have any long-lasting effects and Bjork will still be able to live up to his top-six potential. He needs to improve his shot as while it isn’t terrible it certainly doesn’t stand out, as well as become more consistent, but he’s still young and could easily do so. After making the team out of camp last season and being sent down to Providence due to his not being able to produce, he was starting to play very well down there before he was injured. We shouldn’t write him off yet, as he deserves another chance to prove himself at the NHL when he isn’t rusty and is fully healthy, which he didn’t have last season.
I’m not sure what we should expect out of Bjork next season. In my opinion, it’s doubtful that he makes the NHL roster right out of camp, and I say this for several reasons. First of all, he hasn’t played since January and will probably need some time to get back up to speed, as you can’t fully replicate real game action in practice or while training. Secondly, the Bruins don’t really have an open lineup spot if everyone is healthy. They have one open spot, but that will likely be filled by Karson Kuhlman provided he has a good camp, as he earned enough trust from the coaching staff to play a little in the Cup Final. Also, should that spot not go to Kuhlman, there are several other prospects who will likely be more ready at the start of the season than Bjork, namely Peter Cehlarik, Trent Frederic, or Jack Studnicka. If you want to get crazy, we can throw Zach Senyshyn and Jakob Lauko’s names in there too, although they’re both a stretch in my opinion, especially Lauko.
So, Bjork has a big hill to climb to get that spot out of camp. However, I do think we’ll see him in the NHL at some point next year when injuries inevitably happen, provided he stays healthy himself and plays well down in Providence. Whether or not he sticks in the lineup once called up will be entirely up to him. If he can elevate his game a little more and be more consistent and earn the trust of head coach Bruce Cassidy, he’ll stay. If not, he’ll spend some more time developing down in the AHL, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. As long as his shoulder injury doesn’t keep recurring, I think we’ll still see Bjork become a solid NHL player some day, I’m just not convinced that it will be this season. Again, that doesn’t mean we should write him off yet. I guess we’ll see what happens come training camp though.
Hockey Addict 