Boston Bruins Forward Ryan Spooner Ironing the Last of His Development Wrinkles

The logical consensus surrounding Ryan Spooner has been that the 2014 AHL playoffs would be his last round of refinement before becoming a full-time Boston Bruin. All that is missing on the other side of the summer is the formality of a sound training camp to certify his graduation.

A few fractions of the performance he gave up front in Tuesday’s exhibition against Montreal should do that. An upgrade in his operation below the Boston blue line ought to merely spell the difference between any position and a more prominent position.

Amidst a fall-from-ahead 3-2 falter on the team’s part (official NHL.com box score here), Spooner graced his offensive ceiling in Spiderman fashion. At the other end, while he did not escape without nicks, the secret is out as to what his bench boss is still looking for.

Centering the third line between veteran wingers Daniel Paille and Simon Gagne, he won eight of his 13 draws. He logged 150 seconds of penalty-killing duty and 117 seconds on the power play.

Boston’s first of two man advantages was a product of Spooner’s hustle. With 7:14 gone in the opening frame, he compelled Canadiens forward Rene Bourque to commit a holding infraction.

Less than six minutes beforehand, he translated another burst up the ice to an entry in the other key section of the scoresheet.

Upon pressuring Nikita Scherbak along the center line, Spooner absorbed the resultant giveaway and promptly cut around defenseman Greg Pateryn on Montreal property. Barely pestered by the poke of Pateryn’s blade, he deposited his first of five shots on net to the lower left of goaltender Dustin Tokarski.

That only sums up the quantifiable items on his Tuesday time sheet. He could have charged up a little more within that opening stanza alone.

Per CSNNE.com beat writer Joe Haggerty, after giving the Bruins the first goal and the first power play, Spooner “almost had a shorthanded breakaway after blowing past Andrei Markov and Greg Pateryn.”

Not a bad follow-up from the team’s intramural scrimmage in Providence two nights prior. While he did not jut out among other participants that night, the Bruins’ Twitter feed paraphrased general manager Peter Chiarelli’s observation that “Spooner had flashes.”

Granted, Spooner still needs to double, if not triple, his 2014 preseason sample before locking away his position on the NHL roster. He will most likely dress for no fewer than three of the remaining six scrimmages between now and next Saturday.

Although, depending on how many minor-league assignments the Bruins issue in that span, he may see action in more.

Come what may, a steady all-around balance between his Sunday and Tuesday efforts will certainly suffice. Everything that kept him from turning a 20-game call-up into a permanent midseason elevation in 2013-14 has improved.

The fact that Spooner led all participants on both sides in shots on net Tuesday night accentuated his eagerness to demonstrate broader horizons.

As a natural pivot, he will generally initiate more plays than he finishes. But given Boston’s overstock down the middle, regular shifts in that position are no sure thing at this level for the foreseeable future.

Even if he is to stay at center, he will need a more reliable NHL-caliber scoring touch. Recall that as recently as eight months ago, that touch was enough to yield no goals and 11 helpers with the big club.

After addressing that drawback through actions in the offseason, Spooner addressed it verbally prior to training camp. As quoted by NESN.com’s Nicholas Goss in a Sept. 12 report, he offered:

"

I didn’t have any goals, which was a big issue for me…I worked on my shot in the summertime. I’m trying to score. I think sometimes I looked to pass too much, so I got to shoot more…I guess the only thing I could kind of change is if I get into a scoring position instead of trying to pass just try to get the shot off.

"

Naturally, that need not entail an unconditional five stabs at the opposing cage in each of 82 ventures. But that quantity of opportunity will emerge on occasion, and Spooner’s output against the Habs suggests he has properly diversified his instincts.

Francois Lacasse/Getty Images

The nature of his topmost Tuesday night highlights emboldens his chances of filling virtually any opening in the depth portion of the strike force. The way he bested Scherbak in the near lane of the neutral zone, in particular, is an integral part of a winger’s job description.

If he can evoke enough of that grit on the flanks, he will have his chances to flaunt his speed, playmaking and release accordingly.

Considering head coach Claude Julien’s remarks following Tuesday’s tilt, Spooner also needs to spruce up his efficiency on the home front. Spooner’s line was in action when the Bruins brooked the deciding goal with 48 seconds to spare in regulation.

In the wake of that play, per The Boston Globe’s Fluto Shinzawa, Julien said, “As a centerman, you’ve got to be reliable down low…That’s the biggest thing we want Spoons to work on. He’s such a good skater. But there’s times he just backchecks slowly. He could be backchecking better.”

File that under one of the sparse aspects of the 22-year-old’s game requiring improvement over the balance of the exhibition slate. But by the regular season, the worst-case scenario will likely involve indefinitely monitoring opposing point patrollers instead of plunging below the Bruins' hash marks.

Sports teams do conduct practices for a purpose, after all.

If Julien’s red flag still waves in another 10 days, it should not amount to demoting Spooner back to Providence. Whether he is a regular on game nights or a spare, he should be a front-runner to plug one of the many voids on Boston’s wings.

Besides alleviating the down-low defensive concerns, that move would add the advantage of putting a speedster at the front of any given counterattack. That is, have a proven pivot and the two rearguards dig out the puck and relay it to the likes of Spooner for a swift transition.

Regardless of where he fits in, Spooner’s improvement at the faceoff dot also deserves recognition as a plus. It never hurts to have an expert backup standing by in the event the linesman ejects your go-to center from the draw.

There are ways around the defensive nitpicks Julien underscored following Tuesday’s action. If he recognizes that and fulfills the patient prophecy by penning Spooner to the 2014-15 roster, a slew of stretches resembling Tuesday’s first period could be lying in wait.

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