I’ll ask again: Should we be surprised by Alec Regula and his defensive domination?
The short answer is, yes. The much longer answer is, no. And yes, I will explain.
When the Bruins acquired Regula from the Chicago Blackhawks along with Ian Mitchell for Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno, I wrote about how the Hawks were interested in Regula and that they acquired him from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Brendan Perlini. The Wings had drafted Regula in the third round with the 67th pick at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.
The Hawks Head Canadian Scout Jim McKellar was Regula’s General Manager with the London Knights and knew exactly what they would be getting in him. So, why did they part with him?
The Hawks were looking for someone to help bring Super Rookie Connor Bedard along and Hall, along with Foligno could be the guys. Of course, now we know Hall is out for the season with a knee injury, but the thought was sound.
The Bruins, knowing that they were short right shot defencemen in Boston and Providence, knew exactly what they wanted and would only make the deal if Regula was one of the pieces coming back. Credit to the Bruins own OHL Scout Bob Wetick for that one.
What exactly did McKellar and Wetick think they were getting? My thoughts on Regula during his 2017-2018 draft season can be found here.
Regula really started to focus on defence during that 2016-2017 season with the Steel. But it was with London under Head Coach Dale Hunter that he started to perfect his skills. I’ve said it many times before: “I will take a Dale Hunter coached defenceman on my team anytime.” I may be exaggerating it a bit, but all he does is prepare them for the next level.
Fast forward to this season. While Regula may be hard pressed to reach career highs in points, his production has been at minimum, adequate. But it’s his game as a shutdown defender that is opening eyes. Everything I wrote about his abilities to lock it down are at the forefront now. He is a plus-25 on a team that collectively is just plus-7.
His plus-25 leads the league over teammate Dan Renouf (plus-18) and Philippe Meyers (plus-17) both defencemen.
I’m asked whether I think he’s earned a look with the big club and my answer is that the Bruins aren’t in the cap position to just give players a look. It’s going to have to be as an injury replacement and then that depends on who the injury is too. If Brandon Carlo were to go down then yes, I could see Regula getting a call as the shutdown guy who can kill penalties. If it’s Charlie McAvoy that goes down, then I doubt Regula would be the first name to come to mind.
In the meantime, Regula will just keep plugging away doing what he does best: keeping opponents at bay in Providence until his number is called.
Dom - Hockey 