Jessica Belmosto

And so it begins. Torey Krug suffered an ankle injury in the Bruins’ preseason finale. The injury leaves the recovering defenseman in a walking boot for at least three weeks. It was an ankle injury that ended Krug’s 2017-2018 season. Krug isn’t the only defenseman facing an injury. Matt Grzelcyk is currently day to day with a lower body injury. He’s participating in practices in a no contact jersey. What if he isn’t ready for opening night? What are they Bruins options?

There’s name that’s come up time and time again throughout camp. Pair his seamless skating with his defensive skill, nineteen year old Urho Vaakanainen could be your guy. He has the potential to make the team right out of camp. It’s likely that he will. While he is young, he could be your best choice. He doesn’t play a very physical game. Granted, there’s room for physical growth and of course standard player development as well. Is it worth giving him a shot right out of the gate?

The 2017 first round draft pick, is letting his presence be known. Vaakanainen finished with just over twenty minutes of ice time at home against the Red Wings. The Bruins might have lost but head coach Bruce Cassidy had nothing but nice things to say about him.

“He moves well at the offensive blue line. I think he doesn’t look like he gets many shots blocked, so I think he does a good job of finding the lane. It’s not always on net, but at least it’s through to the area. [He’s a] good defender with his feet and stick. Like a lot of young guys, he’ll have to get harder on those small-area battles, but I think that’s normal. I think he’s been really good [in training camp].”

The Bruins are rather lucky when it comes to depth. The Adam McQuaid trade didn’t hurt their depth the way one might expect. While people worry about goalies and Tuukka’s “replacement”, their main concern should be the team’s health. Competition got stiffer over the offseason. It’s going to be an even longer season if injuries become a cause for concern.