Boston Bruins: Why 2012-13 Is AHL Playoffs or Bust for Providence

Four members of the Boston Bruins’ 2011 Stanley Cup championship―Johnny Boychuk, Brad Marchand, Adam McQuaid and Tuukka Rask―were key contributors to a 2008-09 Providence team that went to the third round of the Calder Cup tournament.

Before them, fellow future Cup-winners Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci each had one multi-round push through the American Hockey League’s postseason, in 2005 and 2007, respectively.

So far, though, through four years in the organization, that 2009 venture is the only AHL playoff run Bruce Cassidy has partaken in. He was a first-year assistant under Rob Murray when the P-Bruins reached the Eastern Conference finals, then supplanted Murray as head coach after back-to-back postseason no-shows.

Providence three-peated that lack of achievement in 2011-12, Cassidy’s first voyage at the helm. If he expects to return for a third campaign by 2013-14, he must oversee a swift end to the drought for the sake of the organization.

On the whole, Boston did not brook any substantive consequences from their not-so-competitive farm club while trying to defend its title last year. It retained its Northeast Division crown and only fizzled in the first round because its oft-prolific strike force sleep-skated too much against Washington Capitals stopper Braden Holtby.

Looking ahead, though, the Bruins should be more wary of their divisional cohabitants, particularly the Buffalo Sabres. In addition, it would not hurt to be keener on lassoing the presumptive giants of the Eastern Conference, the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Part of that preparation kit is, well, preparing one’s prospects to make a legitimate impact upon being called up at any moment. This means instilling more conviction to the members of the P-Bruins by ensuring they reap more tangible success together in the minors.

Cassidy’s false start as the Providence skipper was owed primarily an incessant injury bug and a particularly unripe blue line. The former can be overcome a little better and the latter can be leaned upon more comfortably in 2012-13.

Of the seven defensemen to play more than half of the P-Bruins’ 76-game schedule last season, all but two―Andrew Bodnarchuk and Nathan McIver―entered with no more than one year worth of professional experience. Three of them were rookies, as were Ryan Button and Marc Cantin, who combined for play 47 AHL games last year.

With that flimsy batch of backliners, puck possession and offensive swarms were generally hard to come by. But it ought to be a little easier in the coming campaign with no fewer than five of last year’s freshmen and sophomores still under contract.

Doubtlessly raring to flaunt how much they have grown from the baptismal fire of 2011-12, that handful will be joined by such rookies as Torey Krug, Zach Trotman and Tommy Cross plus newly signed veterans Garnet Exelby and Aaron Johnson.

If there is an NHL lockout of any significant length, it would not be shocking to see those blueliners backed by Anton Khudobin and feeding Jordan Caron, a budding goaltender and forward who would otherwise be in their first full NHL season.

Even without those two, Michael Hutchinson will be the presumptive starter looking to boast a better brand after two seasons split between the AHL and ECHL. Meanwhile, prized prospects Jared Knight and Ryan Spooner will join Chris Bourque and Christian Hanson in complementing the sprinkling of new homegrown and imported defenders.

Hutchinson, Knight, Krug, Spooner and possibly some of the newly arrived journeymen are all candidates to fill injury- and illness-induced voids in The Show. Matt Bartkowski, Carter Camper, Lane MacDermid and Max Sauve have had that opportunity already and will be seeking similar summons when the next NHL season commences.

Regardless of when that happens, each of those players must first jell under Cassidy’s tutelage and fortify the Providence farm base back to 2000s proportions.