The playoff run that took the Boston Bruins to within two victories of the team's second Stanley Cup win in three seasons was keyed at times by an infusion of youth; particularly from rookie defenseman Torey Krug. Three weeks after coming up short and falling to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games in the Cup Final, the Bruins will continue to look to their prospects in the upcoming 2013-14 season.
"Obviously you want to develop your talent and bring them in and let them play. Sometimes there's not room for them and sometimes you use them as chips in deals, but you always have to develop," Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said while attending the final day of the team's development camp on Sunday. "It will be good, there will be some young guys that will breathe new life and new enthusiasm into the team."
That focus on prospects means Chiarelli has ruled out the possibility of bringing back veteran wing Jaromir Jagr, who was acquired from the Dallas Stars at the Trade Deadline last season and contributed 10 assists in 22 playoff games. The 41-year-old's return to Boston appeared less likely when the team signed veteran forward Jarome Iginla to a one-year, $6 million contract.
Boston will have some roster spots to fill after forwards Tyler Seguin and Rich Peverley were traded to the Stars and defenseman Andrew Ference signed with the Edmonton Oilers. So a number of young players will be looking to crack the roster of the defending Eastern Conference champions. That list includes young forwards Reilly Smith and Matt Fraser, both of whom were acquired in the Seguin trade.
There is also Ryan Spooner, who played four games with Boston during the 2012-13 season and led the team's American Hockey League affiliate in Providence in both assists (40) and points (57). Other prospects looking to crack the Bruins squad could include Jordan Caron, Jared Knight and Anthony Camara.
"We've got enough candidates that are vying for these jobs that I'm going to wait and see how they play," Chiarelli said. "I have a general sense of how I think it'll end up, but I’m not going to comment on it publicly because I want to see."
Chiarelli also mentioned that goaltender Niklas Svedberg, who was a first-team AHL All-Star this past season playing in Providence, would be considered for the backup job to No. 1 goaltender Tuukka Rask. That job was vacated when previous backup Anton Khudobin signed a one-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes.
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