So Far, Bruins' Brandon Carlo Has Proven That Claude Julien Can Trust The Kids
By Matt Kalman, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Regardless of your opinion of Bruins coach Claude Julien's relationship with young players, there might be a reason the bench boss has shown so much trust in rookie defenseman Brandon Carlo: Julien doesn't consider the 19-year-old a first-year player right now.
Julien's latest show of faith in Carlo came in the final 50 seconds of the 2-1 win against New Jersey on Thursday at TD Garden. Carlo was on the ice with Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand successfully killing a Devils 6-on-4 to clinch the victory.
Julien said he had no second thoughts about having a defenseman in his fourth NHL game play at that important point of the contest.
"He's given me no reason to not want to put him out there," Julien said after practice at Warrior Ice Arena on Friday. "He's got a great stick, got great composure, he blocks shots. He does the right things. To me right now he's not playing like a first-year player. He's playing like a player that's been in the league for quite a while."
At 6-foot-5, Carlo certainly looks all grown up. He's eloquent in interviews. And so far his play, almost exclusively paired with Chara, has shown the poise and confidence of a veteran. Most important, he's proven the ability to bounce back from mistakes. Defensemen in any league are going to make at least a handful of gaffes in a game. The best ones brush them off. Many talk about forgetting their miscues but it's their actions that count more and Carlo hasn't let anything stop him from taking his next shift as though it's his first.
"Just through the experience with these older guys. They talk to us all the time it's day-to-day, shift-to-shift sort of basis," Carlo said about his ability to stay even-keeled. "So just going through that experience and learning from them as well. But mainly just get it throughout the experience of doing it. But the older guys have been so helpful. If I've had a bad shift or something and I come to the bench, they're already right on top of it where they're supporting me and just [saying] 'next shift matters' because they've been through it so many times. There's ups and downs in this league, but I feel like I'm starting to learn pretty well."
Chara has had the closest look at Carlo and has been as impressed as anyone by the first-year pro's performance.
"I think when you look at Brandon, he skates well. He sees the ice well. He's making simple plays. He's recognizing when he can join the rush and when he's staying back," the Bruins captain said. "So I think he's making good decisions with the puck and without the puck. And just the ability that he can even recover from maybe something that doesn't go right or when he makes mistakes. He's able to recover."
But even the most poised rookies sometimes get overlooked when it comes time to protect a one-goal lead with a two-man disadvantage in the first week of their NHL career. Some might even ask out of that situation. Not Carlo. So when Julien rewarded Carlo with the chance to be part of the closing lineup, the rookie wanted to make the most of it. The proof he was ready for the assignment came in the form of an important blocked shot and the Bruins' eventual victory.
"Pretty crazy. I can tell you even now that I love that energy and I love going out there in those type of situations," Carlo said. "I wanted to be out there for sure and battling and came up with a blocked shot there which was awesome, and just a really fun and exciting experience. Also nerve-wracking, as you can probably tell. But overall I just love that type of energy. It's an adrenaline rush."
It's also a sign that the Bruins' back end is making strides toward improvement from last season and Carlo is probably going to be fixture among the defense group for a while.
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.
