Why Matt Lindblad Has the Most to Prove at the Boston Bruins' 2014 Rookie Camp

The Boston Bruins will commence their 2014 rookie camp this Thursday, precisely three weeks after releasing their roster for the six-day event.

Of those on the scroll, which includes six Providence regulars from 2013-14, Matt Lindblad stands alone with his regular-season NHL experience. The rising second-year pro debuted on March 15 versus Carolina and later joined a host of other call-ups for the April 13 finale.

Current congestion in his two natural positions could, however, complicate his bid for big-club action in 2014-15.

Lindblad is capable of playing center but has generally seen action on the left wing since departing Dartmouth College. As Boston’s depth chart currently stands, no fewer than five fellow left-shooting forwards project to join him in internal competition.

The Hockey News’ interpretation of the matter has the team’s first three left wings straightforwardly plugged with Milan Lucic, Brad Marchand and Daniel Paille. Who claims the fourth-line slot, and maybe a spare position, is less certain.

But at the moment, Lindblad ranks behind Justin Florek and Anthony Camara in THN’s eyes. It makes sense based on recent happenings for each of those prospects.

What a difference a year makes. Late in the 2013 training camp, as the player in question surprisingly lingered, the Boston Globe’s Fluto Shinzawa was writing, “Lindblad is a future NHL fourth-liner for a team whose fourth line of Daniel Paille, Gregory Campbell, and Shawn Thornton is among the league’s best.”

Not that Lindblad’s future ceiling has diminished since then, but that was before a mixed series of individual and team developments.

On the one hand, that was before Thornton left as part of the club’s pursuit of bottom-six reformation. On the other hand, it was also before a multitude of other replacement candidates emerged and made headway in the internal footrace.

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Florek logged six regular-season appearances in 2013-14 and filled in suitably during a four-game postseason call-up. Camara, a fellow soon-to-be AHL sophomore of Florek and Lindblad’s, is coming off an invitation to the 2014 NHLPA Rookie Showcase.

The other budding Bruin who earned a spot in the showcase, Alexander Khokhlachev, is a natural center. But due to an overwhelming logjam of NHL-caliber talent up the middle, the left-shooting striker may need to settle for wing duty if he is to be a Boston regular in 2014-15.

The same goes for Ryan Spooner, who has already played 26 regular-season games with the parent club over two professional seasons. Ditto 33-year-old veteran Chris Kelly, who like Khokhlachev and Spooner carries a left-curving blade.

Whether it is seasoning, speed or scoring touch, most of these candidates can lend more of what Boston is now seeking in its lower-tier lines. There should also still be a place for sheer physicality, which is a boon for the likes of Camara.

As for Lindblad, his THN scouting report notes that he “Is very industrious.” But the same evaluation goes on to caution that he “Isn’t a natural point producer in the professional ranks, so he must find his niche in order to become a staple at the National Hockey League level.”

That search starts with the organization’s first formal function of the 2014-15 season. The Bruins rookies will practice on Thursday before venturing to Nashville, where they will engage their Predators, Panthers and Lightning counterparts.

Those three games will be the front office’s chance to size up Lindblad’s progress with that of Camara, among others. It will be each player’s chance to establish or replenish a foundation as the buildup escalates to full training camp.

That is when Florek, Kelly, Khokhlachev and Spooner jump into the equation and scramble for sparse openings in the left and center lanes.

Both the coming week and the two-plus weeks that follow will not have quite the same implications for other top Boston aspirants. Other rookie campers in other positions will all but certainly get their shot in due time.

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Among overseas prospects, defenseman Linus Arnesson need not rush as he rounds out his 20-and-under years in his native Sweden. The dazzling David Pastrnak will most likely fill a right-wing slot, shooting from his natural side, once he proves himself capable of holding up against established NHLers.

In the meantime, winger Seth Griffith ought to garner a few promotions when Boston needs reinforcement on the right side. Goaltender Malcolm Subban should be raring for the role of the Providence starter and a couple of introductory call-ups.

But Lindblad has more to gain in the coming campaign. He also has more to prove and more to leapfrog in order to gain it.

Those gains need not include a spot on Boston’s next opening-night roster. Even if nothing egregious juts out in Lindblad’s performance this month, he will not underachieve if the gridlock gets the better of him.

The upcoming rookie camp is, however, crucial to Lindblad retaining and sculpting consideration for call-ups throughout the winter. Competing with fellow AHL returnees and scores of even less ripe peers means striving to assert his developmental distance.

If and when he establishes that, he will have his chance to show he can bring what the Bruins need on demand.

This does not mean beating out all of Kelly, Khokhlachev and Spooner. Rather, it entails giving general manager Peter Chiarelli and head coach Claude Julien something to recall when injuries and illnesses strike.

Odds are Lindblad will have company with Camara, Griffith, Subban and possibly Florek when the P-Bruins commence their season Oct. 10 versus St. John’s. The question is whether he will have moved up to their echelon among those most likely to receive a call to the top team.

The fact that he played two bona fide NHL games last late winter/early spring will have little, if any bearing on his chances. What he does in three NHL rookie scrimmages in the dying days of this summer could set the template for his Providence-Boston ratio in the regular season.

That sequence will be his 2014-15 tone-setter, for better or worse.

Unless otherwise indicated, all statistics for this report were found via nhl.com