Bruins: Vladimir Sobotka
Cross, Warsofsky put rivalry aside
“I think they put it aside,” Bruins assistant general manager and camp director Don Sweeney said. “Now they’re all on the same team so I think they kind of walk on those eggshells and that will change when they go back and play each other again.”
But Sweeney believes the rivalries can also serve as a motivator and incentive to beat out their regular opponents during the season for a spot with the Bruins.
“I believe there will be a little extra incentive because the bottom line is that while you’re on the same team here, you still want to compete against each other for quite possibly the same job,” he pointed out. “So there’s a fine line in that dynamic and there’s a balance. But I would expect there’s incentive to be better than the guy lining up against you because there should be in this sport.”
A perfect example of that this past week was seen with Boston University junior defenseman David Warsofsky (acquired recently from St. Louis in a trade for Vladimir Sobotka) and Boston College junior blue-liner Tommy Cross, a 2007 second-round draft pick of the Bruins. The rivalry between the Terriers and Eagles is one of the oldest and fiercest in any sport. In fact, Warsofsky and Cross demonstrated this when they got into a physical clash that almost led to fisticuffs during the “Battle Of Comm. Ave.” at Fenway Park this past January.
But now that they’re both playing with a spoked B on their chest, the normal hatred must be quelled and the two rear guards are finding a new respect for each other.
“It’s different, first of all,” said Cross of playing with Warsofsky. “But I think you come to realize that he’s obviously a good guy and that’s usually the case. You have mutual respect for each other and even on opposite sides you have that respect for each other. You do go at each other pretty hard and there’s some dislike there, but it’s a different setting here. Like I said, he’s a good guy and that respect is still there.”
Cross had to go through the same transition with former Terriers forward Jason Lawrence, who was a camp invite last summer. But just as he did then, he is learning to play with Warsofsky.
“Last year Jason Lawrence was here and he actually sat next to me so it’s a little better that he’s [Warsofsky] on the other side,” Cross joked. “No, I’m just kidding! It’s all good and we respect each other a lot. We’re on the same side right now and we’ll do whatever we can to help each other out. But come October it’s a little different story.”
And what if they ever became teammates in Boston?
“If it’s up here, I would love it,” Cross said with a big smile. “I’d absolutely love it.”
Spooner Looking To Follow In Footsteps Of Another Kanata, Ontario Native
Ryan Spooner, who was selected in the second round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft (45th overall) last month, is known to be quite the creative playmaker by many NHL scouts. The Kanata, Ontario, native, who scored 112 points for the Peterborough Petes (OHL) over the last two seasons, has not shied away from his game this week.
Spooner tried to make something out of nothing and utilize his vision and creativity during scrimmages Thursday and Friday. When asked if he was afraid some of the Bruins brass or fellow prospects may take that as showboating, Spooner didn’t seemed worried.
“You just want to be yourself, and no matter where you go, you have to play to your strengths,” Spooner said. “You come to a camp like this, everyone is a lot better than you’re used to whether because of skill or experience. So it’s more challenging and you have to go out there and try different things. Sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t, but you want to play your game.”
Not surprisingly, the 5-foot-10 175-pound crafty center likes to emulate his game after the Bruins star pivot Marc Savard, who is the same height but doesn’t let his size impede him and also shares another important similarity.
“Savard is a great player and if I was to try and play like someone, it would be him because he’s a smaller guy yet he’s great with the puck,” Spooner said. “He was also born in the same town I was so I have to like him!”
James Murphy has covered the Bruins and the NHL for the last eight seasons. He has written for NHL.com, NESN.com, Insidehockey.com and Le Hockey Magazine. Murphy also authors a blog, Drop Puck Murphy.
Chiarelli said the Bruins have no plans to take Warsofsky out of school, but the organization really likes the way he plays.
Sobotka was a sparkplug for the Bruins and played a total of 134 regular-season games for Boston in the last three seasons, recording six goals and 16 assists for 22 points. The 22-year-old can play both center and wing and posted a minus-16 rating.
“He’s a wrecking ball, a real competitive kid,” Chiarelli said. “We acquired Greg Campbell [earlier this week] and we’ve got some other centers coming in. Vlady, on the wing and with his size, it’s not that he has difficulty, but he’s had trouble adjusting. I talked to Vlady and he’s happy that we’re giving him a chance somewhere else. He’s a good kid and I like the way he plays, and moving to another organization he’ll get a better chance.”
Warsofsky, 20, is a junior at BU and is a native of Marshfield, Mass. He's played 79 games for the Terriers, posting 15 goals and 31 assists for 46 points and 75 penalty minutes. During the 2009-2010 season, he played 34 games and scored a career-high 12 goals, while tying his career-high with 23 points.
He also played for the United States National Development team in 2007-2008. The 5-foot-9, 170-pounder was originally drafted in the fourth round (95th overall) in the 2008 draft by St. Louis.
The 5-foot-10, 183-pound Sobotka was Boston's fourth-round pick (106th overall) in the 2005 draft.
Bruins' Ference, Thomas have surgery
Ference's expected recovery time is two months. Thomas' surgery was performed by Dr. Bryan Kelly in New York City, who performed a similar procedure on Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell. Thomas' expected recovery time is three to four months.
Sturm suffered an undisclosed injury (it appeared to be his right leg or knee) when he body checked the Flyers’ Matt Carle on his first shift and needed to be helped off the ice. He immediately went to the locker room, and the team announced a few minutes later that he would not return to the game.
Later in the period, a puck-carrying Sobotka crashed the net and was taken down and slammed into the post before a Philadelphia defender fell on him. Sobotka was slow getting to his feet, skated to the bench and did not return in the period. However, he was back on the ice early in the second period.
First-period notes
-- As expected, Bruins forward Shawn Thornton was a healthy scratch for Game 1.
-- In his first game back since he suffered a Grade 2 concussion March 7, Marc Savard played a total of 3:36 on six shifts.
Sobotka not bothered by Ruff's comments
Sobotka has played well this series and it’s been obvious he’s been getting under the skin of the Sabres. He’s played physical and has done a very good job of avoiding hits.
“I’m not afraid of anything,” he said after this morning’s game-day skate. “I’m just trying to play hard and that’s part of my game.”
The grit and determination Sobotka has been playing with hasn’t gone unnoticed on either team, especially the Sabres. He even got into his first fight when he dropped the gloves with the Sabres’ Andrej Sekera in Game 2.
“I’m actually surprised that they’re coming for me,” Sobotka said. “They’re trying to hit me all the time and I’m just trying to play my way. I like it when someone hits me because I hit back. That’s hockey.”
Sobotka said he didn’t want to respond to Ruff’s statement, he just plans to take it out on the ice. As far as ducking checks, Sobotka says it’s just instinct to avoid getting hit, especially since he’s generously listed at 5-foot-10 and 183 pounds.
“If I see that I’ve got no chance to stand up the guy and he’s going to hit me and [possibly] hurt me, I’ll try to get out of the way, but it’s instinct when I see him coming and I duck. More times the guy is bigger than me, but if I know he’s going to hurt me, I’ll stay there.”
Sobotka shows no ill effects from concussion
He played a total of 11:53 and showed no ill effects from the head injury he suffered against the Thrashers on Tuesday in Atlanta. He played with grit and was mixing it up on the ice, being a complete pest.
He said prior to the matinee game that he was feeling “great” and was ready to play.
“I think he just wanted to get back to where he was when he last played,” said Bruins coach Claude Julien. “We really thought the last couple of games before he got injured, he was really turning the corner as well and his game was getting better. Tonight he went in there and did the same thing for us. There were no worries about his situation because he had been cleared and passed all the tests. It wasn’t like we were taking a chance with him.”
In 54 games this season, Sobotka has four goals and five assists for nine points.
Sobotka practiced with the team on Friday and had a neuro-psyche test later in the day.
“I feel great and I’m ready to play again,” he said this morning.
Sobotka was slammed into the boards by the Thrashers’ Evgeny Artyukhin in the early minutes of the first period on Tuesday in Atlanta and did not return. The initial diagnosis by the team was a sore neck.
Quick hits from Friday morning practice
The Bruins practiced at Ristuccia Arena this morning in preparation for their game on Saturday at home against the Calgary Flames.
Boston is sitting in the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with nine regular season games remaining. The Bruins are two points ahead of the Atlanta Thrashers, and Boston trails the Philadelphia Flyers by two points for the seventh spot.
"Our guys are still sticking together and they still believe," said Julien. "You've seen us play some really good games, even last night, unfortunately those mistakes really takes away from a lot of the good things we did.
"It's about bouncing back and realizing the importance of the next game," added Julien. "There's a lot at stake here. First of all, we have to be better at home. It’s been a disappointing second half and we have to re-establish our presence at home."
* Julien admitted that forward Vladimir Sobotka has a mild concussion. He will have a neurological test later today before he can be cleared to play on Saturday.
* Defenseman Andrew Ference did not practice today so he could receive proper treatment for his groin injury.
* Julien gave his daily update on Marc Savard who is out for the remainder of the season with a Grade 2 concussion: "He's slowly doing better. That's all we have now in his situation. It's obviously a pretty serious concussion, but he is improving, probably at a snail’s pace. He is getting better.”
* The Flames are in town early and practiced at Ristuccia this morning after the Bruins were done.
* Tuukka Rask wasn't as sharp as he has been of late during Thursday's loss to the Lightning, but that doesn’t mean Julien will make a change and will likely stay with Rask for Saturday's game.
"He’s a smart and poised individual to shake those things off," Julien said. "There's no doubt he won't be lingering on that loss very long. He's given us too many good games and too many good wins for him to dwell on that stuff."
Julien: Sobotka has mild concussion
Sobotka did practice with the team and will have a have a neurological test later today, which is the last required step he has to pass before being allowed to play, according to Julien.
“He’s doing better,” said Julien. “Obviously for him to skate today he’s been headache free ... It was deemed a mild concussion, a very mild concussion. Obviously when you have those kinds of things you just have to go through the different stages and he’s gone through all of them. Now the only thing left to do is have the neuro-psyche test. He felt great today.”
Sobotka was slammed into the boards by the Thrashers’ Evgeny Artyukhin in the early minutes of the first period on Tuesday in Atlanta and did not return. The initial diagnosis by the team was a sore neck, but Sobotka admitted between the first and second period of the Bruins game against Tampa on Thursday that he did suffer a concussion.
Sobotka was not made available after the team’s practice this morning.
Sobotka says he did suffer a concussion
The team is saying it’s a neck injury, but Sobotka told ESPNBoston.com between periods of Thursday's game against Tampa Bay at the Garden that he did suffer a concussion on the hit. He said it’s not serious and hopes to be back in the lineup soon.
Tampa is leading after one period 2-1. Boston outshot the Lightning 19-8.
“There’s never timetable for injuries like Vlady’s, but he is better today,” coach Claude Julien said today. “Hopefully we’ll know more about his situation by tomorrow.”
Julien said it’s not a concussion, and that Sobotka is taking steps in the right direction. But between periods of the Lightning game, Sobotka told ESPNBoston.com that he did suffer a concussion on the hit. He said it’s not serious and hopes to be back in the lineup soon.
Sobotka was slammed into the board by the Thrashers’ Evgeny Artyukhin in the early minutes of the first period on Tuesday and did not return. Sobotka was evaluated in Boston on Wednesday.
This is the fourth time this season Whitfield has been recalled from the P-Bruins. The 32-year-old forward has played 14 games for the Bruins this season.
“It’s good to get an opportunity,” said Whitfield. “You always want to stay up here as long as you can, but that’s the way it goes. Unfortunately [for the Bruins] there have been a lot injuries, but fortunately for me I’ve had an opportunity to come up here and show them I can play at this level. They feel confident to bring me in this time of year to keep the ship going.”
He’s played 52 games in Providence this year with 17 goals and 26 assists for 43 points.
“Whit is a guy who can make plays and he’s hard worker,” said Julien.
During the morning skate, Whitfield was on a line with Milan Lucic and Miroslav Satan. After Sobotka was injured, Julien inserted Steve Begin on that line and the coach said this morning he’ll make a game-time decision for that line.
It took Sobotka a moment to get to his feet and he was able to skate to the bench on his own after the hit. He was clearly shaken up on the play. Sobotka is generously listed at 5-foot-10 and 183 pounds, while Artyukhin is 6-foot-4, 255-pounds.
“He’s pretty durable and he plays hard, but that’s a pretty big boy he ran into,” said Whitfield. “It’s unfortunate for him, but it’s another opportunity for me to come in here and contribute.”
According to Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli, Sobotka has a sore neck today, but is feeling better. He will be evaluated today and again Thursday, but is not expected to be available for Thursday’s game against the Lightning.
“I’d say it’s doubtful,” said Chiarelli, who added the team may make a roster move.
It took Sobotka a moment to get to his feet and he was able to skate to the bench on his own after the hit. He was clearly shaken up on the play. Sobotka is generously listed at 5-foot-10 and 183 pounds, while Artyukhin is 6-foot-4, 255-pounds.
Check out Wheeler's production
BOSTON -- Can the Czech Republic get Blake Wheeler dual citizenship in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics?
The Minnesota-sports-loving, video-game-playing Wheeler probably wouldn't want to relinquish his American ties, but playing with Czech centers does seem to bring out the best in the 23-year-old Bruins winger.
As a rookie last season, Wheeler produced most of his 21 goals with David Krejci as his pivot. He's coming on offensively again, this time with Vladimir Sobotka serving as his "Czech mate." Sobotka set up Wheeler's goal, which broke a scoreless tie, and Wheeler returned the favor during the Bruins' 2-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday afternoon at TD Garden.
With Daniel Paille completing the trio, Wheeler and Sobotka are starting to show some real chemistry.
"I think now we are starting to understand where we are going to be more, kind of the tendencies of each other's game. Once you know those things, it's second nature," said Wheeler, who has a team-high four goals on the season despite ranking 19th on the club in average ice time (12:42).
Sobotka was having a tough time at wing when he was first called up from Providence. Shifting to center has made him into a better player, one who's around the puck on offense and defense and makes his presence felt physically. And that opens up space for the speedsters Wheeler and Paille.
For all their efforts through the first 40 minutes against the Oilers, however, the Sobotka line had nothing to show for it. The horn sounded at the end of the second period before Sobotka beat Nikolai Khabibulin with a shot from the doorstep. Sobotka admitted to being "a little bit frustrated." But luckily neither he nor his linemates stopped working hard.
Early in the third period, Sobotka warded off defenseman Theo Peckham below the goal line before finding Wheeler with a backhand pass for the first goal at 2:47. Then Sobotka scored on a 2-on-1 by driving to the net and redirecting Wheeler's pass back 4:15 later.
"We had a great shift at the end of the [second] period," said Wheeler. "About 25 seconds of nonstop pressure on the goalie and we were about a second short from getting a goal there. I think we were really feeling good about our game, feeling really good about ourselves the first two periods. Sometimes it just takes hard work to get rewarded and the third period we were rewarded."
WILMINGTON, Mass. -- Anyone can see that Bruins forward Vladimir Sobotka is more comfortable playing center than winger.
And Sobotka won't deny that fact.
"I play center now; I get more pucks and I try to finish my hits and play hard," said Sobotka, who registered six hits for Boston's fourth line Thursday night against New Jersey.
A center for most of his career until last season, Sobotka starred in the AHL as a left winger. But against NHL competition, he struggled on the wing in the first half of training camp and at the start of his most recent call-up from Providence.
Sobotka's effectiveness since moving to the middle against Ottawa on Saturday night has the Boston brass reconsidering its plans for Sobotka's positioning.
"I don't think I would disregard the fact that he can play the wing, but maybe he's more comfortable [at center]. He's played there most of his career," said coach Claude Julien, who should have Sobotka at center again when the Bruins host Edmonton on Saturday (1 p.m.). "At this level, guys are obviously bigger and stronger than in the American league, and for him to battle along the boards all night long might not be the best scenario for him. At center, he probably has a little more space and it still allows him to play gritty.
"Whether we can see the same thing on the wing, I guess at some point we'll probably find out."
Obviously, having a healthy Marc Savard might make it harder for Julien to play Sobotka at center. But with Savard out with a broken foot, Sobotka is making the most of his audition. And he's not only one who has benefited.
Sobotka has been playing between Blake Wheeler and Daniel Paille. Wheeler scored a goal against the Senators this past weekend, and Paille had a few chances against the Devils. Paille knows what it's like to have a center who plays with the strength and grit of Sobotka. Paille's center in Buffalo, Paul Gaustad, fits that description.
Although Gaustad dwarfs 5-foot-11 Sobotka, the effect is still the same.
"I don't know how small [Sobotka] is with his strength," Paille said. "He's got a lot of strength behind his size. I just think he uses that to his advantage and it's hard to take the puck off him."
Prospect update
Jordan Caron, the Bruins' first-round draft pick this year, returned to the lineup with the Rimouski Oceanic of the QMJHL after suffering a broken collarbone in the summer. Caron scored a goal in his team's 4-2 loss to Baie-Comeau Drakkar. … Val d'Or (QMJHL) forward Max Sauve (the Bruins' second pick in '08) and London (OHL) goaltender Michael Hutchinson (third round, '08) were named to their respective league's all-star teams for the 2009 Subway Super Series, in which CHL teams will face Team Russia next month.
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Joe McDonald
Joe McDonald, a native Rhode Islander, joined ESPNBoston.com as a Bruins and Red Sox reporter in February 2010. He has worked at the Providence Journal since 1992, covering the Red Sox, Bruins, Patriots, PawSox and Providence Bruins over the past nine years. Ask a question in our next Bruins mailbag. Follow him on Twitter here.
James Murphy
James Murphy has covered the Bruins and the NHL for the last nine seasons. In addition to being in his second season with ESPNBostoncom, Murphy has written for NHL.com, NESN.com, Insidehockey.com and Le Hockey Magazine. He also hosts the "Hockey Prime Time Show" heard every Saturday from 2-4 p.m. ET on "NHL Home Ice" XM 92 and Sirius 207 as well as hockeyprimetime.com. Ask a question in our next Bruins mailbag
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