Things didn’t end well in the 2023 playoffs for the Providence Bruins and during the offseason they revamped the roster much like the parent club. They reloaded with some younger veterans and a plethora of prospects.
Wednesday evening the P-Bruins defeated Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 3-1 for just their second win in eight tries. Things are not dire however, as they are just one point out of third. They can and should turn this around.
Fans have plenty of suggestions, question and complaints, some of them deserving. Some are calling for Coach Ryan Mougenel to be terminated. Some want the veterans sat in favor of the younger prospects so that they can develop. Some have suggested Boston General Manager Don Sweeney step in because Providence GM Evan Gold isn’t getting the job done.
I’m not sure where to begin.
This is not Gold’s roster. There are 24 players signed to NHL deals, either one-way or two-way. There are so many that some are forced to play in the ECHL for the Maine Mariners. Gold has brought in Joey Abate, Owen Pederson, Jimmy Lambert, Adam Mechura, Shane Starrett, Ethan Ritchie and traded for Vincent Arseneau. Only Arseneau has been a regular playing in 7 of the 8 games. The rest are on AHL deals playing mostly in Maine. Placing any blame on Gold seems a bit far fetched, doesn’t it?
Mougenel comes with 20 years of coaching experience either as an assistant or head coach. He knows his x’s and o’s and he knows how to handle the veterans as well as the young players. Coaching in the AHL is not an easy task. Yes, you have to develop the younger players but, and many fans will disagree with me (again) but you also have to win. Win for the owner, the fans, the players and for yourself. If one wants to advance his coaching career, then winning is the key. No one is going to give a losing coach a second look when it comes to advancement. Besides, every organization wants to develop their players in a winning culture.
Watching as a fan, I sometimes find myself questioning Mougenel’s decisions. Watching as an outsider with a coach’s mentality, I understand why he makes some of those decisions.
The P-Bruins added 19 bodies either very late last season or during the offseason. Half a dozen of those have been shipped to Maine to get ice time. Still, that’s a lot of new bodies and coming together as a unit is going to take some time. I will readily admit, at times it has looked awful on the ice. Rarely do I see any blame put on the players themselves. It’s always the coach or someone else.
The players have got to want it more than anyone. They have to put the work in during practice and then they have to play hard – for 60 minutes and I have yet to see a full 60-minute effort. I’m not at practice, so I don’t see it with my own eyes, but I’ve heard some players just don’t give the effort in practice either. You can coach a lot of things, but you can’t coach work ethic.
I’m not ready to write anything or anyone off. I do believe this group will gel and form a cohesive, hard-working unit.
Dom - Hockey 