Copyright The Athletic
By Abraham Krishnan
Hi! My name is Abe, I’m a 5th grader at Runkle school, writer for the Runkle Times, and I run the sports section. This year, I will be writing about Bruins hockey, and maybe other sports as well.
In a hockey game, each team has two forwards, a center, two defenders, and a goalie on the ice at all times. Each team typically has 12 forwards and six defenders who alternate ‘shifts’. The forwards are split into ‘lines’, and the defenders are split into pairs. Each line has two forwards and a center on them. The first line is considered the best on the team.
The first line for the Bruins is Patrice Bergeron* as center with David Pasternak* and Brad Marchand*. The second line is Charlie Coyle as center with Taylor Hall* and Craig Smith. The third line is Erik Haula as center with Jake DeBrusk and Nick Foligno. And finally, the fourth line is Tomas Nosek as center with Trent Frederic and Curtis Lazar.
There are also three defense pairs. These are the defenders you will see if you watch Bruins games; Branden Carlo, Connor Clifton, Matt Grzelcyk*, Charlie McAvoy*, Derek Forbert, and Mike Reilly. The main goalies are Jeremy Swayman, and Linus Ullmark.
You may have noticed that some of the players have asterisks next to them. These are players who I consider to be key players for the Bruins success. First off, Bergeron is the captain. He has good leadership, has good defensive instincts and is a good player in general. Pasternak is a really good goal scorer, and has a good shot. He doesn’t have as many defensive instincts as Bergeron though. Marchand is a good puck handler, shooter, passer, and skater. He had the most points last year out of all the Bruins (29 goals, and 40 assists, for a total of 69 points). Hall is also a great puck handler, shooter, passer, and skater. He joined the team halfway through the season last year and still got a lot of points for the Bruins.
Finally for the defense. McAvoy is the best defenseman on the team. He’s an amazing skater, passer, and when he needs to be, goal scorer. He had the most points for the Bruins defense last year. Grzelcyk is a very good defender in many aspects. He’s a good skater and passer.
I hope this article helped you learn more about the Bruins and hockey. I will do some more articles and updates for the Bruins during the year. Let's hope that the Bruins will win the Stanley Cup!