Boston Bruins Young, Fast Ryan Spooner Part of NHL Speed Train of Now and Future; Developing, Keeping B's Center Wise Investment

Midway through the third period with Boston leading Pittsburgh 2-1 at TD Garden in a close late February battle between two teams fighting for the playoffs, Adam McQuaid blocked a shot and Ryan Spooner took an ensuing pass deep in his own zone just shy of the right faceoff circle.

Spooner quickly turned up ice with the puck and as if he was shot out of a cannon, exploded like a rocket by two defenders through center and into the Penguins zone, drawing one down on the left side before laying a perfect pass across the goalmouth to a wide open Jimmy Hayes for an easy tap-in score. The Bruins never looked back, pulling away for a 5-1 victory.

It’s that explosive skating acceleration from Spooner, breathtaking speed and skill with the puck in full stride that brings fans out of their seats. The Bruins were thrilled to see things finally pay off for the large majority of his first full NHL season after the team invested significantly in his development since drafting him in the second round of 2010. Boston needs his off the chart speed, pinpoint touch passing and game-breaking ability in its game, and he’s one of their few emerging young players who has the ability to supply it.

Spooner scored nearly 50 points and had a long stretch where his confidence, puck possession ability, creativity, playmaking and speed soared before he tailed off a bit near the end of the year - perhaps in part due to a lower body injury and becoming a little rundown in his first full NHL season, notching only 9 points in his final 22 games although he continued to push until the end and had a nice assist leading a rush against Detroit in the second to last game. “It’s something that I need to get used to. It’s definitely not an excuse, I’m in good enough shape, I wish I could have played a lot better,” he said on the Bruins website in April after the B's season ended, clearly disappointed. “The stretch between December and February I felt good. [So] some of the challenges for me I guess was just being a little more consistent. I think as a whole I had a fun season. It didn't end how I wanted it to.”

Spooner was among a group of several young Bruins who gave the team a new look this year and promise going forward with more speed and youthful energy. It paid off in stretches where the Bruins were able to run with fast teams. “That experience they got this year is going to be valuable going forward. There’s a reason for our team to grow here with those guys having the experience and knowing how to handle those situations better next year,” said coach Claude Julien during the Bruins year-end presser last month.

The team just needs to get more consistent as a whole, while adding or integrating a couple new pieces to their defense, as well as a backup goalie and scoring winger.

'Spooner and Senyshyn are both from Ottawa and have skated together previously in local offseason leagues, so the idea of the two of them speeding up ice on rushes is an exciting one'

For the large majority of the season Spooner was an impact player. Highlights included a career high 4-point game in December and an incident that drew universal praise from teammates and endeared him to Julien when he dropped the gloves and was willing to go with Patrick Hornqvist after the Pittsburgh winger lit up Dennis Seidenberg with a big corner hit.

More importantly, his defense seemed to improve throughout the year as he became much more reliable at backchecking, covering in front, digging pucks out of the boards, coming back to strip it away and use his speed in counterattacks. He also was more aggressive on the forecheck and pressuring to pull pucks out of corners to set up teammates. His face-offs improved as the year went along, as well, and while he finished a respectable 43% he’ll continue to work to lift those numbers, his plus-minus rating (career -7) and winning even more physical battles.

Offensively, the 5’10”, 184-pound left-shooting center finished with 49 points on 13 goals and 36 assists in 80 games – good for 5^th on the team in points and tied for 3rd in assists. Those are really solid numbers for a third line center making just $950,000 a season (next year will be the second of a two-year contract) who often played with different wingers and is still on the upswing at just 24. He’s part of the B’s new youth movement to incorporate their own drafted players and college free agents onto the roster, and recover from overpriced contracts for veteran role players that handcuffed the team in recent years. Trading away promising MVP-potential youth like Tyler Seguin also mortgaged their future, so Boston needs to hang onto bargains like the speedy, skilled Spooner and maintain pace with NHL trends favoring fast, young players.

Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs said last month on the Bruins website that young impact players with lesser dollar amounts are key to a roster balance that also allows some flexibility to compete in free agency. Spooner fits that mold perfectly.

“Having to acquire players is harder than drafting and developing, getting them into your lineup,” added Bruins President Cam Neely on the Bruins site April 20. “We had quite a gap of saying, ‘OK, these guys are ready to come in and play now.’”

With the NHL favoring more offense, speed and skill through a series of rule changes over the last several years, including the institution of obstruction penalties and elimination of two-line offsides, Spooner’s high octane skillset is key for the Bruins in keeping pace with the rest of the league in moving with these trends. Puck possession is another crucial piece of it and Spooner is among the team’s best, ranking 3^rd with a 56.9% Corsi (shots, attempts and goals for versus against while on the ice) behind only Patrice Bergeron and Torey Krug. He’s also a whopping 57.8% for his career.

Spooner further led Boston in shootout goals and percentage, going three for four on the year, helping the B’s improve to 4-2 in shootouts from 4-10 the previous season.

But it’s Spooner’s elite speed and ability to rush the puck in full flight through center ice or drive up the wing to get a shot on net, spot and lay a pass out for a trailer, stickhandle by a defender to gain entry into the zone, or work the halfwall on the powerplay where he can impact the game the most. If he utilizes his hard wristshot and drives the net just a little more often to keep defenses honest and complement his excellent passing skills, and lift his goal total to the 20-range he could become a top force in the league. He put up 162 shots, a little off the previous year’s pace when he had 73 in 29 games.

While the Bruins have invested in teaching the offensive-minded Spooner the two-way Boston system and he ‘gets it’ now, he has certainly put the work in. After putting up 113 goals and 259 points in 230 junior OHL games, he racked up 136 points in 150 games in Providence and gradually worked his way into the Bruins lineup. He initially covered for an injured Chris Kelly, notching 11 points in a 23-game stretch during the 2013-14 season before solidifying his role at the end of 2014-15 in another injury call-up in which he never looked back. He now has 78 points over 136 NHL games, with his average ice time per game rising each year from 12:49 in 2013-14 to 14:32 last year and 15:08 in 2015-16.

Spooner Gives Bruins Valuable Lineup Flexibility

Spooner also gives the Bruins needed lineup flexibility and depth. He has the ability to play a top-six center role and has filled in very well for pivot David Krejci on two occasions, once two seasons ago when he put up eight goals and 18 points over the last 24 games to cement his spot in the lineup and again this past season when Krejci was sidelined in January with an injury and Spooner notched 11 points in eight games during his absence.

That ability to play a top line role when needed becomes even more important with Krejci, now 30, undergoing left hip surgery April 25 and expected to require five months to recover, according to the Bruins website. That would put his recovery date around September 25, just a couple weeks before the regular season opens. Krejci had similar surgery on his right hip six years ago.

Spooner additionally can play wing as an option for Julien if he wants to stock a line with offense to generate more scoring.

As the most experienced, fastest and skilled young center in the Bruins system, Boston would be wise to hang onto Spooner for not only this season but years to come and benefit from the investment they’ve made in him as he’s only going to get better. What’s exciting is the prospect of pairing him with another speedster and upcoming player like 19-year old right winger Zach Senyshyn, the B’s 2015 15^th overall pick who torched the OHL with 45 goals this past season. Spooner and Senyshyn are both from Ottawa and have skated together previously in local offseason leagues, so the idea of the two of them speeding up ice on rushes is an exciting one. At 6’2”, 195 pounds, Senyshyn may also match Neely’s desire to bring some ‘heaviness’ to the wing at the same time, or the B’s may try to add a big winger in free agency, as well. Spooner also had good chemistry with another speedy, skilled young Bruin in winger David Pastrnak when they were lined up together a couple seasons ago.

Pastrnak brings similar speed and quickness, and an array of moves, particularly once he’s already inside the offensive zone.  After a rollercoaster first half in which he was hurt early in the season, returned for the World Junior Championships with the Czech Republic and worked his way back to form, he started to take off in the last quarter of the season after finally being injury-free. He showcased his dynamic skill and speed with penalty shot and breakaway goals, and was often the B’s best forward in the final stretch, buzzing around in the offensive zone creating multiple chances. In addition to finishing with 15 goals and 26 points in 51 games (5 more goals than last year and a pace of 24 over a full season), Pastrnak led Boston in penalties drawn per game with 1.3 -- something the B’s desperately need more of to increase their powerplay chances.

The Bruins need young, fast, skilled players like Spooner and Pastrnak, and others on the way like Senyshyn to add to their emerging speed train in order to match the league’s top big wheels for years to come.

“Some of the kids that we were fortunate enough to draft even as recently as last summer may come in and have a very good impact on our NHL roster,” Jacobs said. “Hopefully one or two will pop for us. I think there are brighter days ahead.”