Boston Bruins: 2 Breakout Candidates For Next Season

With each season that passes, it seems as though every team has players who improve significantly. They often turn out to be prospects naturally, but players who have some experience in the league also can. In this segment, we will be looking at two potential breakout candidates from each team. We will also be setting a max age limit of 26 years old, so older players are not eligible for discussion.

In our last piece we looked at the Vegas Golden Knights. Now, let's draw our attention to the Boston Bruins. They will be an interesting team to watch, as they lost David Krejci this off-season, but added a bunch of new players. These two younger ones also should be due for breakout seasons. One is a goalie who left a very solid first impression, while the other is a young forward who is looking to improve offensively.

Jeremy Swayman G: Jeremy Swayman left a fantastic first impression this past season. In 10 games, he sported a 7-3 record to go along with a 1.50 GAA and .945 SV%. Now, the 22-year-old goaltender is expected to form a tandem with recently signed Linus Ullmark. Tuukka Rask has also expressed interest to return, but he would not be able to play until at least January due a torn labrum in his hip. It will be interesting to see how Swayman follows up his outstanding start in the league. If he continues to succeed at that pace, the Bruins may have themselves another top-of-the-line goaltender.

Trent Frederic LW/C: Trent Frederic was entertaining to watch when he was inserted into the lineup last season. He quickly took on the role of the team's agitator. In 42 games, he scored four goals and added an assist. However, the most notable of his statistics was his 65 penalty minutes. Although he handled himself well in the physical side of the game, one has to wonder if he can take his offensive game to another level. It would help the Bruins immensely if he started to chip in more production. He was their 2016 first-round pick, of course. At a minimum, though, he should be a mainstay in their bottom-six moving forward.