Caron/By S. Bradley
WILMINGTON, Mass. — Bruins rookie Jordan Caron is not a player you judge on points.
The 20-year-old is among the Bruins’ leaders in penalty-kill time and one of the club’s more responsible players in the defensive zone.
However, he found himself as a healthy scratch for the first time since opening day last night for Marc Savard’s return from injury in an 8-1 romp of Tampa Bay.
Head coach Claude Julien had this to say today after practice at Ristuccia Arena about Caron’s situation and his team’s overall depth.
“He’s been fine. I think as a young player, you have your ups and downs. I don’t think his down has been a bad down,” said Julien. “It’s an opportunity, when guys are in their first year and they’re young players, sometimes sitting back and watching a little bit doesn’t hurt. Right now, with Savvy back in the lineup, I think if you look at our lineup right now, it is what it is, right?
“Dan Paille’s another good player that when he’s playing with lots of confidence is a guy you can easily put into your lineup. So I guess as a coach, you’re happy you’ve got that situation and you’ve got that competition that’s always there. Is it helping certain players play well? I hope so.”
So in addition to the other positive things Caron has done in his first pro season, you can maybe credit him a bit for the revitalized play of the likes of Blake Wheeler and Michael Ryder.
Only possibility is to rotate him in the lineup to spell Recchi; or to replace Thornton and give line 4 some talented spunk; or put him back with Bergie and have Recchi replace Thornton
Whether you like it or not, Aaron is right all along: Caron will be sent down to Providence shorlty. Bruins will not want to carry 14 forwards & they’ll prefer to keep Paille as the 13th. Not that Paille’s better but it’s plain stupid to keep a 20 yo rookie inactive too long. If there are no injuries, there’s no room for him in the current lineup.
There is no doubt Horton is playing like garbage right now, and that he is being outplayed by Ryder, which is sad.
Wheeler has really pushed his game this season. I am a vocal critic of his and I have been impressed. Kudos to him
concur that caron in the press box is the best medicine for any underperforming winger. everyone picks on ryder and wheeler, but horton is the weak sister right now.
Exactly. He’s not going to learn much more in the A’ that he can’t figure out by being around the big club, practicing and watching games from upstairs. The B’s have decided he’s where Boychuck was at this time last year. Boychuck had some injuries clear the way for him and he took advantage. Whether it’s an injury or, like Wermdog says, someone under-performing, I don’t think there’s another team in the league with a Caron or Paille chomping at the bit from the sidelines.
John I agree with you. Keep Caron up. It puts more pressure on Ryder/ Wheeler knowing he is lurking around ready to play if they start dragging their skates.
@Aaron.
You think so? He’s a much better option than Paille and one of our forwards is bound to get hurt soon. He’s gotta stay with the big club, too good.
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Should probably get him down to Providence to get some games in if the current roster is how things settle in. I like Caron a lot but unless an injury or trade shuffles the deck, he’s probably better served in the A for the time being.