Boston Bruins: 7 Players to Watch in Rookie Games Against Islanders

On both Monday and Tuesday night, the Boston Bruins will pit their rookie-camp roster against their New York Islander counterparts for the second consecutive season.

Bruins buffs are advised relying on last year’s rookie games at TD Garden to set any sort of bar for this year’s installment. Five of last year’s participants―Jamie Arniel, Matt Bartkowski, Jordan Caron, Steven Kampfer and Tyler Seguin―went right on to combine for 142 games-played, 19 goals and 20 assists.

With such negligible overhaul from last year’s Stanley Cup championship roster, only an undesired rash of injuries will give any of this year’s rookie campers regular time in the show in the immediate future.

Seguin is a staple, Kampfer is undoubtedly the first spare defenseman on the depth chart and Caron is hungry for a full NHL campaign. Meanwhile, the forward Arniel and defenseman Bartkowski look to be the top guys on the list for at least occasional call-ups.

With that being said, these exhibitions take place for a reason. They instill a glimpse into the long-term future to the participants and bystanders alike.

A perfect case in point is Caron, who scored a hat trick in one of last year’s rookie games, played 23 regular-season contests, then finished 2010-11 in the AHL. One year later, he is now raring to assume a permanent position on Boston’s depth chart in 2011-12.

Accordingly, as fans look forward to the return of the many who will vie to add on to their collection of Bruins’ Cup rings, they should also keep tabs on what happens at Nassau Coliseum this week.

The following is a whole starting lineup’s worth of prospective Bruins who could set the tone for their ascension up the farm system against the Islanders' prospects, plus one bonus player who officially completes the Phil Kessel deal.

Goaltender: Michael Hutchinson

A teammate of touted forward Jared Knight on the London Knights in 2009-10, Hutchinson split his first professional season between the Providence Bruins and the Reading Royals. As one of four goalies to don the Spoked-P in an altogether abysmal season on the farm, he managed to post a respectable 13-10-1 record in 28 games-played.

And while there is plenty of reliable netminding in Boston already, this week is Hutchinson’s chance to cement his status as a full-time AHL player for the coming campaign. He is the presumptive choice to back up Anton Khudobin, but he ought to see relatively substantial ice time himself.

Not unlike the established tandem of Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask, neither of the Bruins minor-league goalies should be overworked. And if and when Khudobin gets the call for a little time in the show, Hutchinson will be the go-to starter in Providence.

Defense: David Warsofsky

The Marshfield, Mass. native had his rights acquired by his hometown team in exchange for Vladimir Sobotka prior to his junior year at Boston University. Warsofsky subsequently defected from BU after the Terriers were upset by Northeastern in the Hockey East quarterfinals and managed to extend his 2010-11 season with 10 games in Providence.

For what those 10 games are worth, Warsofsky made an impression by chipping in three assists and maintaining a plus-three rating while helping the P-Bruins close out one lost cause of a season.

In his first full professional campaign, Warsofsky will look to ally himself with the likes of Andrew Bodnarchuk, Matt Bartkowski and Ryan Button to stabilize the Providence blue line. At the same time, he will battle with Bartkowski and Button for the right to go up to Boston and fill in as needed.

Defense: Ryan Button

Right now, the Bruins list Warsofsky along with the likes of Bartkowski on their team roster. Conversely, Button is classified as “in the system.”

But in terms of getting slivers of call-up time in the coming campaign, Button’s size gives him a potential advantage. Whereas Warsofsky is listed as 5'8" and 160 pounds, Button brings an extra four inches and 25 pounds out of the major-junior ranks.

And Button, too, saw some invaluable time in the AHL at the tail-end of last season, scoring two points in seven games for the P-Bruins.

Forward: Carter Camper

As a senior at Miami University, Camper was the second-leading point-getter and playmaker on a team that won the CCHA championship last winter.

After the RedHawks were dislodged from the NCAA regional bracket, Camper signed on with Providence, playing all three games over the final weekend and scoring a goal and assist.

That quick taste of the professional game could pay immense dividends as Camper steps into his first full professional season and tries to help Providence return to the Calder Cup playoffs for the first time in three years.

Forward: Jared Knight

Last year, Knight led the London Knights with 70 points in his third OHL season and then chipped in two points over three late-season appearances with Providence.

He will likely spend the bulk, if not the full breadth of the 2011-12 campaign with the P-Bruins. But if Boston’s top second-round draft choice from 2010 makes an impression this week and pilots the Providence offense, he should get a promotion to the show in the event of an emergency.

Forward: Ryan Spooner

Spooner was chosen along with Knight in the second round of the 2010 entry draft, then went on to have a career year in the Ontario League, scoring a cumulative 35 goals and 81 points in 64 games. From there, he joined in the multitude of late-season call-ups to Providence and averaged a point per game with two goals and an assist over the final weekend of the AHL season.

As a center, Spooner may have to wait a while before he sees any regular-season action in Boston given the Bruins' massive congestion at that position—that is, unless he could flexibly make himself a reliable winger.

But if he fulfills his potential, he will at least be an invaluable source of energy in Providence for the coming year.

Bonus: Dougie Hamilton

While there is no rush to work him into the system, it won’t hurt Hamilton to simulate the experience of donning an NHL sweater in an NHL venue this week.

The Bruins’ top pick in this past summer’s draft only 10 days after they won the Cup, Hamilton ought to return to the Niagara IceDogs after this week for a third major junior season. But the rookie camp and the two games in New York serve as an invaluable way to acclimate him to the Black and Gold family well in advance of his professional debut.