Bruins’ Rookie Seguin A Game-Changer

It’s not often that an NHL team has the luxury of keeping the second overall pick resting on their bench while they make a run to the Conference Finals.

It’s even less common for that young player to be suddenly plugged into the line-up and immediately take over the game on one of the sport’s biggest stages.

But that’s exactly what has happened for the Boston Bruins and budding star Tyler Seguin.

The 19-year-old centre from Brampton, Ont., was a healthy scratch through the first two rounds of the playoffs, as Bruins coach Claude Julien stuck stubbornly to his plan to “bring Seguin along slowly.” Goaltender Tim Thomas stood on his head through 11 playoff games and Boston’s veteran forwards provided enough offence to get past Montreal and Philadelphia.

Julien’s hand was forced, however, when playmaking second-line centre Patrice Bergeron suffered a mild concussion at the end of the Flyers series. Seguin was put on a line with Michael Ryder and Chris Kelly and instantly changed Boston’s offence.

He had a goal and an assist in Game 1, but it wasn’t until the second period of Game 2 that he really made his presence known. In that one 20-minute period, he accumulated two goals and two assists, a dazzling display of offence that left most observers gaping in wonder.

His scores came on a deft breakaway deke that left Lightning goalie Dwayne Roloson searching for his jockstrap and a sharp wrist shot off of a pass from Nathan Horton. The four-point playoff period put him in elite company – the feat has been accomplished by the likes of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, but neither did it as teenagers, like Seguin just did.

His speed through the neutral zone is something that’s typically been missing from the Bruins’ offence, better known for big, bruising forwards than flashy playmakers. Inserting a player with his rare mix of speed, skill and scoring brings a level of dynamism the B’s previously lacked.

He failed to add any points to his tally in Games 3 and 4 in Tampa Bay, but between his emergence and Bergeron’s return, Boston suddenly has a glut of skill players that should keep them near the top of the NHL standings for years to come.

And if the rookie becomes the player his coach thinks he can become, they’ll have a perennial All-Star anchoring their top line.