Bodnarchuk Hoping To Make Most Of Chance With Bruins
WILMINGTON (CBS) -- Some healthy scratches are better than others.
Andrew Bodnarchuk found that out over the weekend, as he was informed by Bruins assistant general manager Don Sweeney Sunday morning that he was getting recalled to Boston. So Bodnarchuk didn't play for the Providence (AHL) farm club Sunday afternoon and instead joined the parent club Monday morning for practice.
Boston Bruins head coach Claude Julien confirmed that Bodnarchuk will be available for Tuesday night's home game with the New York Rangers and then will join the team on its six-game road trip that starts Wednesday night in Montreal.
"It's very exciting," said the 23-year-old defenseman. "It's been a long time since the last time I got up here. It wasn't the greatest year for me last year and I put in a lot of hard work and I'm glad to be back here. But I've still got a long ways to go."
Hear what Bodnarchuk said at practice:
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Bodnarchuk, a fifth-round pick in 2006, joined the Bruins twice during the 2009-10 season. He finished a minus-2 with no points in a little more than seven minutes of ice time per outing over four contests. Last season with Providence, he skated in 75 games and posted 1-15-16 totals with a minus-8 rating on a poor team. He never got called up to Boston.
While the Bruins were building up toward their Stanley Cup championship, first-year pros Steven Kampfer and Matt Bartkowski jumped over Bodnarchuk in the pecking order. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Bodnarchuk had to adjust his mind-set in order to make sure his career didn't permanently stall.
"It was frustrating. Boston's got a lot of really good D prospects, and some guys were playing really well last year," said Bodnarchuk. "Steven Kampfer was playing great and Bartkowski was playing great. I consider them friends, so I was happy for them. But at the same time, you know where you want to be and it was something where instead of getting frustrated you just sort of put the [nose] to the grindstone and know what your immediate goal is. I'm happy to be back here, but I've still got a long way to go to be where I want to be."
Bodnarchuk's fourth pro season has provided evidence of both his altered outlook and his longtime dedicated work ethic. In 47 games this season with the P-Bruins, he's posted 4-7-11 totals and an even plus/minus while working on a shutdown defensive pair and serving as an important penalty killer.
"He's been a pretty stable, safe, mobile defenseman, moving the puck," said Julien. "His mobility is very good. So he was a guy that our group thought should come to us and make that road trip with us."
There's no telling if Bodnarchuk will get into a game for Boston. In fact, no one wants to see him play for the Bruins because if he does, that means someone got hurt.
Nonetheless, while Kampfer is finally getting a chance to play a consistent amount of games down on the farm, Bodnarchuk will get a chance in practices (at the least) to turn some NHL heads and maybe earn a job for the future.
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com. He operatesTheBruinsBlog.net and also contributes coverage to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on twitter@TheBruinsBlog.
