Savard to Pursue Coaching. . . Eventually

Marc Savard (Photo Courtesy of slidingsideways/Flickr)

Marc Savard’s future as an NHL player came to an abrupt halt when Pittsburgh Penguin Matt Cooke blindsided him with an open ice hit. The end result, a concussion that three years later, still lingers.  However, that doesn’t mean a career in hockey is completely dead.  In fact, the reality of Savard becoming a coach isn’t all that far off.  He tweeted the other day that he would be ‘very interested’ in coaching the OHL.  While it’s not the NHL, it could be the necessary stepping stone to get there.  After all, you have to start somewhere.

While Savard hasn’t played since January of 2011 after a hit sustained from Matt Hunwick and his playing career is a possibility, the light at the end of that tunnel is dull.  Savard still deals with headaches and memory loss, but remains positive on the outlook of his future.

Regardless of how Savard fits in, whether it is playing or coaching, he will make a positive impact, Despite where he fits in, I will gladly call myself a Savvy fan.

Bruins And The X-Factors

(Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

This season the Bruins opted to keep their roster relatively the same as they had with their Stanley Cup run. While they featured much of the same roster last season, there are a few key factors being installed this year. While we have all heard the news of there being yet another lockout, making this number three for Mr. Bettman’s career, we’re optimistic with the players around the League that there will be a season. Taking a look at the roster for the Bruins, there are two names that are going to make a large impact on the team this year, Nathan Horton and Dougie Hamilton.

When it comes to concussions, the Bruins are no stranger to either outcome when it comes to the healing process having forward Marc Savard still sidelined after a blindside hit from Pittsburgh Penguins’ Matt Cooke in 2009 and forward Patrice Bergeron missing a large chunk of the 2007-2008 season due to one.  The most recent, Nathan Horton. Horton originally suffered a concussion in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals, but was cleared for action by last October.  However, as Horton took to the ice he still wasn’t acting quite like himself.  He was more hesitant in play-making and hardly took any shots.  Fans were beginning to wonder if he was really 100% better or if he had come back too soon.  Then November came along.  It appeared as though Horton had found his legs again and had just gotten back into the groove of things when Tom Sestito blindsided him and sidelined him for the remainder of the season.  Just ten days prior to the injury Horton had scored five goals in his past four games, matching his total from his previous 22 games in less than a week.

While Horton was present the team was averaging 3.54 goals per game, that dropped to 2.69 per game after the injury. To say that Horton is an important player and key aspect of this team would be an understatement.  As for the win-loss record, the Bruins were 31-13-2 prior and 18-16-2 afterward, not including the playoffs.

In July Coach Claude Julien announced that Horton had been medically cleared to play and would be ready for the start of the season.  If Horton can avoid having a slow start this season and come out roaring the way he did in December-January right before his injury, the Bruins will have two top scoring lines to work with for a more balanced offensive attack.  There is no question that Horton will be under an intense microscope and immense pressure to perform come the beginning of the season, but he won’t be the only one.

Although defensemen Dougie Hamilton‘s status remained unknown for some time this off-season, he will be a member of the Bruins this season, assuming he makes the team out of training camp.  The 19 year-old did state that he would go back to the OHL for the Niagara IceDogs if there’s a lockout to start the year, but he’s pretty sure he’ll be leaving Niagara to report to Bruins training camp once the CBA is finally completed. (via Joe Haggerty)

“My goal is to make the Bruins and hopefully I get that opportunity,” said Hamilton, who will miss out on the rookie preseason games on Florida that were recently cancelled in one of the first B’s casualties during the work stoppage. “Those were pretty fun games that got you ready for camp. It will be different without them, but it will obviously be different this year with the lockout. I’m just going with the flow.”(via CSNNE.com)

Hamilton has been working hard to make the Bruins squad with hardly a days rest in between camps.  He went from Bruins Development Camp to the Canada/Russia Challenge and then to World Junior tryout camp while training for NHL camp with the Bruins. He skates with his brother and some AHL and European players during the downtime in the summer. He was also a part of the  NHLPA Rookie Showcase in Toronto.

With another young gun working so hard to make it into the NHL, posting  72 points in 50 games and then before posting 23 points in 20 playoff games, the Bruins are definitely adding defensive depth to their game.  Throw Tuukka Rask into that defensive mix and you are creating a concrete barrier that is going to be hard to get through in order to score this season.

 

Bruins Birthday Twin

Happy Birthday Marc! (Credit: Flickr/Victoria Welch)

Today as I turn the big 21+1, one of the Boston Bruins turns 35. Though you haven’t seen him play in a little while, today is Marc Savards birthday. I can think of no better Bruin to share my birthday with, just saying!

As we all know Savard hasn’t playing in a game since  January 23, 2011 due to a hindering concussion that has been following the forward since 2010. And unfortunately it doesn’t appear that he’ll be back on the ice anytime soon.

But Bruins fans will forever love Savvy for the many seasons he’s had for the black and gold so today we’re sending him some birthday love with a look at a few of the moments that made Savard a star for the Bruins.

This video is from the 2010 playoffs in which he got the OT game winner in game 1 against the Philadelphia Flyers:

And this one is a tribute video featuring some pretty awesome goals. Tribute videos on birthday are pretty key if you ask me:

Here’s to hoping that 35 means a healthier year for Marc Savard and that his post concussion symptoms will diminish.

If you want, you can send Savvy some bday love here!

72 more days til hockey season, now that’s how I plan on using my birthday money!

Bring on the Bolts

Seguin and the Bruins are ready to take on the Lightning in the fourth and final match up tonight (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

After being on the road for the past three games out West, the Bruins are ready to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight at home. This is the fourth and final game between these two teams for the regular season, and are concluding the 23rd of 29 series. In the past five games the Bruins are 4-1-0, the most points gained in a five-game span since they went 4-1-0 from January 4 – January 12, 2012.

For the Lighting, players Vincent Lecavalier (hand), Nate Thompson (upper body) and Adam Hall (upper body) are listed day-to-day. While  Mattias Ohlund (knees), Dana Tyrell (knee), Marc-Andre Bergeron (back), Mathieu Garon (lower body) and Ryan Shannon (upper body) are out. For Boston Tuukka Rask(abdomen injury),Nathan Horton(concussion) and Marc Savard(concussion) are the only scratches.

The lines are expected to be the same tonight as fans saw in Sunday night’s game against the Ducks, with Tim Thomas expected in net instead of Turco.

“I think our approach seems to be a lot better…we’re skating, we’re competing and we’re battling…Still have work to do.”-Calude Julien (post practice via @NHLBruins)

Tonight the Bruins are going to have to come out strong againt the Lightning to avoid being outscored. The Lightning are a strong team and the Bruins are going to need fresh legs if they stand a chance. Although the Lightning are most likely going to be witnessing the playoffs from their television screens, they aren’t going out without a fight, winning five straight, coming off of a 5-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Tonight’s players to watch are Brian Rolston who has a six-game point streak in progress with 3goals and 8assists for 11 points. Chris Kelly who has seven points in his last five games, Benoit Pouliot who  has 4 goals and 7assists in seven of his last nine games played, including 3goals and 5assists in five of his last six. You can also be on the lookout for captain Zdeno Chara who has 3 goals in his last four games.

Tonight’s game is on NESN at 7:30pm EST.

Savard and Horton, One In the Same?

Nathan Horton (Photo Credit: Steph Phillips)

For the past year the Bruins have had only one player listed on injured reserves, that being center Marc Savard. Marc suffered a grade two concussion back in March of 2010 and has never been the same since. Prior to the incident with Penguins forward Matt Cooke, Savard had registered 10 goals and 23 assists for 33 points in just 41 games played. There is no question he is an important asset to the Bruins Organization.  He was able to make a brief debut last season, playing in 25 games with 10 points, but all it took was one hit, one clean hit and he went down.

“He made a great play to [Michael Ryder] in front on the net, then he got hit,” explained Julien. “It was just a clean hit and he went down.(via Boston Bruins Official Website)

The prognosis at that point in time seemed clear, he was simply shook up and they were taking precaution. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. Savard has missed the last 106 games, dealing with post concussion symptoms, still with no time table for a return. While he has stated he doesn’t want to retire, one has to wonder if the choice is still there, or if his fate has already been decided for him.

Concussions are the most dangerous injury a hockey player can endure and are increasing rapidly in the midst of the 2011-2012 season, becoming more popular than Bieber Fever.

When one suffers a concussion, the brain suddenly shifts or shakes inside the skull and can knock against the skull’s bony surface. A hard hit to the body can result in an acceleration-deceleration injury when the brain brushes against bony protuberances inside the skull. Such forces can also result in a rotational injury in which the brain twists, potentially causing shearing of the brain nerve fibers. It is not yet known exactly what happens to brain cells in a concussion, but the mechanism appears to involve a change in chemical function.(via Brain Fit Lab)

While the Bruins have tried to fill Savard’s shoes on the power play, they still struggle without him, despite efforts from the dynamic duo Nathan Horton and Milan Lucic. The dark horse in the room now is, will Horton be following in the same footsteps?

Horton suffered a severe concussion back in the beginning of June 2011 stemming from a hit by Aaron Rome in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. He would go on to miss the rest of the play-offs and make his debut back on opening night of the 2011-2012 season. Although he was back on the ice, he wasn’t the same player he had been in years past. His timing and rhythm was off and the dynamic duo was lacking the drive and determination that had helped carry them to the Final. It wasn’t until January 17 that he seemed to come out of his funk, scoring two out of the three goals against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Just as he was starting to get his groove back he gets side-lined again, this time with a mild concussion, suffered by a high hit from Flyer’s Tom Sestito.

The plus side is that the side effects from suffering a mild concussion are more likely to go away in a timely manner than if he were to have suffered a moderate or another severe concussion. The down side, this is his second brain injury in just over six months.  While there is still some hope in the near future for Horton, the main concern is will his game suffer again or will he be able to pick up where he left off? Unfortunately, only time will tell.