With Centers done and over, it’s time that we move on the the other forwards. Today we’ll be grading the Left Wings: Begin, Lucic, Paille, Sturm, and Thornton.
Boston Bruins Report Card — Left Wings
Steve Begin Meh. Thats really what we had to say about Begin. When the Days of Y’Orr group were coming up with the grades and Begin’s name came up, we just sort of looked around the room and shrugged. Obviously we didn’t expect much when he was first acquired. He’s a 4th liner player, not someone who is going to contribute a whole lot offensively. I guess the big disappointment here was that we expected him to be much more of an agitator/instigator than what we saw from him. As it was, his physical presence was less than impressive. Overall he was just very average throughout the season and playoffs. He didn’t do much that stood out, for better or for worse. We wouldn’t necessarily be disappointed to see him re-signed, but we’d be fine with seeing him go.
Final Regular Season Grade: C+
Final Playoff Season Grade: C+
Milan Lucic
Daniel Paille Much in the way that Lucic got better as the season went on, we saw a pretty steady decline in Paille. Disappointing really, because I’ll be the first to admit that I was a HUGE fan of Paille’s play when he first arrived in Beantown. Once the B’s received Paille from Buffalo early in the season, he became a force for them early on. Sadly, as the season went on, he fizzled out fast and was almost invisible in the playoffs, recording just two assists. Paille did tend to shine most on the penalty kill and admittedly was one of the reasons why it was so successful. Overall, pretty solid for the season but towards the end and into the playoffs, he was non-existent. He was quite adept at getting breakaways, but not so much adept at scoring on them.Playoff Season Grade: C-
- His spirits are up!
Shawn Thornton He’s the best at what he does, and what he does isn’t very nice. Thornton is a favorite of the Days of Y’Orr staff. That being said, we tried not to be TOO biased when grading him. Our love for Thornton really comes from his work ethic. He’s often benched when less deserving players are allowed to take the ice (I’m looking at you Wheeler). Despite that though, he never complains and gives 100% every shift. We’re not kidding ourselves, he’s not much of an offensive weapon, although he’s shown some fairly impressive puck handling. He just plays his role as good or better than anyone in the league. Needless to say, we’re hoping he’s re-signed Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
