On Sunday, the Providence Bruins cut defenseman Marvin Degon loose right after the three-team AHL veteran had faced his hometown Worcester Sharks. While nothing has been readily disclosed, Degon’s departure so soon after his last-minute summons for the season opener on Friday hints toward a return for one of the many wounded Bruins blueliners.
At the start of last week, 207-game AHL veteran Andrew Bodnarchuk was reportedly the closest to game-ready status, ahead of fellow familiar face Nathan McIver and rookie Zach McKelvie.
Either that, or Matt Bartkowski's stand-in stint with Boston could be drawing to a close. That all depends on how soon Steven Kampfer is back in commission.
In addition, the Baby Bs announced the acquisition of goaltender Karel St. Laurent, who spent the previous three years in the junior ranks with the Saint John Sea Dogs and Surrey Eagles.
St. Laurent, who will turn 21 between Christmas and New Year’s, went 29-11-0 over 51 appearances in the Quebec League. He spent the better part of last year in the British Columbia Hockey League, finishing sixth among all league stoppers with a 2.74 goals-against average and third overall with a .916 save-percentage.
The Eagles would reach the Fred Page Cup semifinals ultimately submitting to the Powell River Kings in six games. St. Laurent worked up his biggest sweat of the year in Game 4 of that series, repelling 66 out of 68 shots in an eventual 2-1, triple-overtime loss March 22. The majority of his saves that evening (35) were made in the sudden-death phases.
Already this autumn, St. Laurent has seen preseason action in the NHL (Vancouver), AHL (Chicago Wolves) and ECHL (Reading Royals).
With St. Laurent in the equation, the notion of off-and-on P-Bruin Adam Courchaine being the team’s third stopper if and when needed has been ostensibly dashed. For the moment, though, he will likely remain with the Royals, who commence their regular season in South Carolina on Friday.
