While it was a solid training camp for Jeremy Lauzon, the 19-year-old is under no illusion that he’s anywhere close to fully realizing his potential as an NHL defenseman somewhere down the line.
“I want to show the coaching staff and management that I can play both sides of the ice, good offensively and defensively. I want to just keep building every practice and every shift, and keep improving every time,” said the 6-foot-2, 197-pound Lauzon, who returned from a nasty skate blade injury to his neck last spring during the Memorial Cup playoffs. “It’s really important to compete every time you’re on the ice. You can’t be soft. You have to work if you want to play in this league and everybody knows it.”
One of a series of excellent second round picks from the 2015 NHL Draft, Lauzon came into camp looking to join Jakub Zboril and Brandon Carlo as an impressive group of young D-men ready to make their mark at the next level.
Carlo has showed that he’s definitely the closest to breaking through the NHL after pairing with John-Michael Liles for a couple of impressive, big minute performances in the preseason, and Zboril probably has the highest upside of any of them after being selected 13th overall in the draft a couple of years ago.
But Lauzon has impressed the Bruins scouts and GM Don Sweeney with his play at the junior level, and he impressed B’s assistant coach Bruce Cassidy while also showing he’s got some things to work on at Rouyn-Noranda.
“He’s a good young player in terms of his compete and his willingness to learn. He’s raw. I think physically his footwork needs to improve in certain areas, going back on pucks and angling. That just comes with playing, and playing against better players he’ll have to adjust,” said Cassidy of Lauzon, who finished with 10 goals and 50 points in 46 games in the Quebec League last season. “But he’s certainly got the heart part, and the courage.
“It’s just getting the rest of the package up to speed, and for an19-year-old it’s difficult to come in and really excel. But if he did he’d get a look, and he still has time. [First game vs. Detroit], I thought he was okay at times, and other times he had some junior habits that need to be improved.”
Boston Bruins
Clearly Lauzon wanted to make the NHL roster in this training camp just like the other 50 plus players on the ice for the first 10 days, but he also understands what’s in front of him if, or when, he’s sent back to juniors as one of a handful of young players (Zachary Senyshyn and Jesse Gabrielle) not yet old enough to play in the AHL.
“My objective when I came here is to make the team. But if management and the coaches think it’s better for me to go back to junior, then I’ll go back to junior and keep on working, and keep improving myself,” said Lauzon. “We all have something to learn. Even if I play [in Boston] in the future, I will keep on learning things.”
While the NHL might not be calling for him this time around, Lauzon will keep getting closer not only based on talent, but also on his attitude and willingness to work for the ultimate goal in Boston.