Boston Bruins Sign Speedy Notre Dame Forward Anders Bjork To Entry Level Deal
The Boston Bruins are already getting active in the deal making market with a signing of a 2014 draft pick in Anders Bjork.
Boston announced that they had signed the fifth round pick to a three-year-entry-level contact on Tuesday after Bjork had completed his junior season at Notre Dame. The Black and Gold made it a priority to sign Bjork who happens to be a speedy left winger that could instantly add much needed offensive skills to their roster.
The Bruins did not want Bjork to return to Notre Dame for his senior season which would have pushed him closer to the August, 15, 2018 date where if he had not signed with Boston he would have been able to go to any of the 30 other teams in the league, very much like what Jimmy Vesey did to the Nashville Predators last season.
Bjork is 20-years-old and many believe he is already at the point where playing in the AHL might be unnecessary and a jump right into the NHL is certainly in the forecast for the very speedy forward who has a consistent nack to get into key areas in the offensive zone and create scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates.
In his sophomore year at ND, Bjork was a point-per-game player, but in his junior season he took it to a whole new level with 21 goals and 31 assists in only 39 games of Division I hockey and was a key part of the Fight Irish duking their way into the Frozen Four before losing to Denver. Bjork’s junior season is what made many around the hockey world elevate him from a good prospect to an elite one.
Bjork also is a Team USA veteran, winning bronze in the 2016 World Junior Championships after striking gold in the 2014 Under-18 World Championships. He played for the National Team Development Program alongside current NHL players such as Jack Eichel, Noah Hanifin, and Dylan Larkin.
At the moment it is looking like Bjork will be a prime candidate to join the Bruins second-line with him currently being pegged ahead of Frank Vatrano, Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen, and Peter Cehlarik. Adding a speed weapon like this to the NHL roster is exactly what Boston needed to do to start this offseason transaction wire.
The future of the Boston Bruins continues to tick upwards as we see a team starting to be built around talented young hockey players who much like the Boston Red Sox across town will help a Boston team become elite once again.