Stats courtesy of hockeyreference.com and eliteprospects.com.
Next up on my list is defenseman Jeremy Lauzon! Lauzon appeared in the first 16 games of his NHL career for the Bruins last season, in which he produced one goal and zero assists. He also played in 29 games for the Bruins’ AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, last season, through which he tallied one goal and six assists. He then appeared in all four of Providence’s playoff games, in which he put up one goal and zero assists. Drafted in the second round (52nd overall) of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by the Bruins, Lauzon has appeared in 81 career AHL games, over which he has recorded two goals and 12 assists. The 22-year-old defenseman has only played for the Bruins organization over his two season professional and one season NHL career.
Lauzon began the season as the organization’s ninth string defenseman (counting Urho Vaakanainen ahead of him on the depth chart), but he generally impressed during his short stint with the big club this season. He played a lot of time on the penalty kill and was good there, but he was also good at even strength. He’s a two-way defenseman who is capable of producing offensively if given the opportunity, and he also plays with a bit of an edge to his game and is a hard hitter. He possesses a good shot and is a smooth skater, but his decision-making and consistency in the defensive zone need to improve before he makes the jump to the NHL full-time. It appears to be improving as there weren’t many times during his short stint in Boston this season where he made glaringly poor decisions, but as I said it wasn’t a big sample and before the injuries got out of hand and it was no longer an option, he played pretty sheltered minutes. So, it could stand to improve before he makes the jump and it likely will since he only has two years of professional experience and he’s just 22. Overall, he was a pleasant surprise and played well during his call up, and I’m sure we’ll see him in Boston at some point next season when injuries inevitably hit.
As for what we can expect out of Lauzon next season, he’ll start the season in Providence pretty much regardless of how well he does in camp because the Bruins currently have nine NHL defenseman on their roster. He’ll probably be the second person called up in the event of injuries behind Vaakanainen, but he will likely see some time in the NHL this season when injuries hit. In Providence, he’ll continue to work on his consistency in the defensive zone and he’ll likely also work on producing more offensively, although the coaches will surely focus more on his defensive consistency. But, he’ll likely see a little more power play time this season which should lead to an uptick in production. But, regardless, he’ll continue rounding out into the strong, mobile two-way defenseman he projects to be and depending on what the Bruins do with their glut of NHL-caliber defensemen, he could be on the roster full-time by 2020-21. But, as with everyone else, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens over the course of this upcoming season and in the one beyond.
Hockey Addict 