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Kalman: Final Thoughts From Bruins Development Camp

By Matt Kalman, CBS Boston

The Bruins development camp ended one week ago Friday. Here are some leftovers from the four days that featured the future of the organization:

Goaltender Daniel Vladar is a goaltender without a team.

The 18-year-old signed his first pro contract with the Bruins this offseason, ending his junior career after one season with Chicago of the United States Hockey League. Now it's a matter of finding the 2015 third-round pick (75th) a home for the 2016-17 season.

"I have no clue. So we will see after camp," Vladar said during development camp. "I have a couple ideas but I want to stay here in the U.S. and I will hope my best for it."

Vladar, a giant of sorts at 6-foot-5, 185 pounds, honed his positional game with Chicago last season. The work paid off with a 2.31 goals-against average and .920 save percentage. He also spent half the season commuting more than an hour by train to the rink from a house he was comfortable in because of the family. That showed his dedication and maturity, as he learned about his new city and country, and improved his English.

With Malcolm Subban and Zane McIntyre ticketed to be Providence's two goaltenders in the American Hockey League the Bruins might consider sending Vladar to the ECHL. Or the Czech Republic native could find a team overseas. Depending on where he plays, and how well he keeps learning to use his size and athleticism, he could be pushing for a job in Boston or near Boston sooner than expected for such a young goaltender.

- With the Bruins defense corps a major cause of concern both in the present and the future, the blueliners at development camp garnered extra attention. Among that group was Jeremy Lauzon, who was one of Boston's three second-round picks in 2015. In addition to having a strong camp, Lauzon impressed Bruins general manager Don Sweeney by returning from a lacerated neck he suffered during the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs in April. Lauzon returned to his team in time to play in the Memorial Cup.

"Well Jeremy's compete level is off the charts," Sweeney said. "You realize he had a very scary injury and he circled the calendar that he would be back for the Memorial Cup. And doctors, his parents are actual doctors, were saying 'put the brakes on here.' But he did, he made it back. I went to see him play his first game back after having been off. And the competitive nature didn't take a backseat despite the injury. Developmentally, he's got areas that I think like everybody else is going to focus on and work. We've identified them, we're going to talk to him about it. But he's excited about going to camp."

Lauzon, who had 10 goals and 40 assists in 46 games, is 19 and will have to return to the QMJHL if he doesn't make the Bruins NHL roster in the fall. He'll definitely be in the mix for a job until that decision has to be made.

- Sean Kuraly might've dropped from 19 goals as a junior at Miami to six goals as a senior, but the Bruins still have big plans for the forward, who turned pro in the spring. Kuraly, who was acquired from the San Jose Sharks in the Martin Jones trade, showed his strength and ability to win battles during some of the drills at development camp. Bruins executive director of player personnel John Ferguson liked what he saw from Kuraly.

"He's demonstrated the things that he does well, he protects the puck very well, he's strong on the puck, hard down low. Retrieves it well, pursues it well and he used his body to get to the crease and he's been able to demonstrate some of that. And give us some of what he has shown Miami and the San Jose organization who drafted him. He's now ready to turn pro and has done and he's ready for the next step," Ferguson said.

- Ferguson was asked to compare Ryan Fitzgerald, a Boston fourth-round pick (120) in 2013, to the player's father Tom, a former Bruins forward who played more than 1,000 NHL games.

"It's interesting. I played with his father at Providence College and played against his father in the pros," Ferguson said." There are some similar attributes in his two-way game, his conscientiousness with and without the puck. Ryan's hands may be a touch quicker around the net. And he doesn't quite have his father's size. I think the aggressiveness is pretty similar."

As a junior at Boston College last season, Fitzgerald had 24 goals and 23 assists in 40 games.

Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.

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