NHL Notebook: Bruins prospect taking a break from hockey

It’s unclear what kind of involvement that is now playing in Spicer’s decision to take a comprehensive break from hockey, but it feels like that kind of decision is perhaps about something more than an injury suffered on the ice.

Spicer, a fourth-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, had a solid freshman season in Duluth with three goals and six points in 32 games, and had people taking notice in B’s development camps with his speed and aggressiveness after also playing at the US National Team Development Program in his teenage years. Spicer had declined opportunities to play junior hockey last season when he was forced to leave the Duluth team, and instead continued taking classes at school last season and during the summer while hoping for a return to school.

He sounded optimistic that things were turning around for him at Bruins development camp after a solid week performing with his prospective peers.

“We worked everything out, so I am excited to go back there [to Duluth],” said Spicer at B’s development camp. “I love my team, the coaching staff has been awesome and the training staff obviously has helped a ton with everything I went through this past year. I consider them family so it will really be good to be back with them, and to get back to the normal schedule.”

That all changed a week later when he announced his break from hockey, which very likely signals the end to his hockey career at Duluth if/when he does decide to return to the ice. The USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints hold his junior rights after drafting him this past May, so that may be an option for Spicer should he be ready to resume his hockey career.

He could also potentially sign with the Bruins, though he’d be pretty young at 20 years old to be playing in the AHL this upcoming season.

But at this point, it sounds like the clear priority is for Spicer to feel mentally and physically ready to resume that hockey career after clearly facing some adversity at Duluth over the last year that has him currently taking a break. 

ONE TIMERS

*Interesting details from the Cam & Strick podcast with Jake DeBrusk where he details that he actually had two different trade requests away from the Boston Bruins during his time with the Black and Gold.

The trade request that went public during the 2021-22 NHL season was actually the second time that DeBrusk wanted out of Boston after requesting a trade following the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs when he was a healthy scratch at points during the postseason. Some of it certainly came down to a difference of opinion between DeBrusk and then head coach Bruce Cassidy as the two didn’t always see eye-to-eye, but it was also about the winger feeling that there wasn’t a good enough place for him in the Bruins lineup.

“I asked for (a trade) in the summer,” admitted DeBrusk. “Just with the way the team was shaping up when it came to just where I was looking, where I could possibly play in the lineup and things like that. And kind of how the year ended, I got scratched in the playoffs and I just thought it’s time for maybe just a fresh start for both sides.”

The second trade request under Cassidy was the one that ended up going public and created a really uncomfortable situation for DeBrusk where he didn’t know how it was going to go with his teammates.

“When it came out, it was very uncomfortable,” said DeBrusk. “It was very uncomfortable going into the rink the next day and talking to the guys in the room. The guys that were there were the biggest reason why I got out of that situation, that side of things. They had my back; they were with me through it all and they were all good with me. They understood why in the room, they knew it was just me trying to find a better fit for my career to have a longer NHL career and a better chance at something.”

Things settled down when Jim Montgomery came on the scene and DeBrusk had his best season in Boston playing right wing alongside Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand two seasons ago, and that all led to DeBrusk signing a seven-year, $38.5 million free agent deal with the Vancouver Canucks while finally exiting Boston under his own power this summer.

*The Bruins preseason will officially kick off with rookie training camp in mid-September to be followed by their ninth year playing in the Prospects Challenge in Buffalo. The Bruins will be joined by prospects from the Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets, New Jersey Devils, Ottawa Senators and Pittsburgh Penguins to compete in a round-robin challenge where each team will play three games throughout the event.