When Bruins training camp began, few would have viewed Jeffrey Viel as a player that had much of a shot to make the Boston roster.
And considering where Bruins’ management targeted its spending in the offseason – signing three established bottom six players in Tanner Jeannot, Sean Kuraly and Mikey Eyssimont, all of whom have had a good preseason – he probably doesn’t.
But while Viel remains up against long odds in terms of making the varsity, it is not because he hasn’t put his best foot forward.
The 28-year-old journeyman forward, who has played 54 NHL games and 349 AHL games, has been highly visible in his two preseason games. In the exhibition opener at the Garden, Viel, Riley Duran and Patrick Brown made up what was clearly the B’s best line in the 5-2 loss to Washington, playing a rock-em-sock-em style that stood out in an otherwise supbar team performance.
Then in Philadelphia on Saturday night, the man who has amassed five 100-PIM seasons – including 114 in 34 games with the San Jose Sharks in 2021-22 – scored the game-winner late in the third period on what can only be described as a goal scorers goal, pushing the puck ahead of the defenseman, cutting off the same blue liner by going to is forehand and then lifting it over the netminder.
Despite remaining a longshot, a woe-is-me attitude is not in his DNA.
“I’ve been around and I know how this works,” said Viel. “It’s about what you can control. You can’t let the noise from outside be a factor. You’ve just got to focus on what you can and give your maximum and see what happens.”
While it seems likely that he’ll be waived at some point in the next few days so he can get sent to Providence, it will be interesting to see if there’s a team which will decide that Viel’s toughness and professionalism is what it needs.
Does he think he’s opened eyes around the league this preseason?
“Honestly, I don’t know,” said Viel, who played five games in Boston last year. “I’m just trying to focus on myself and working hard. Whatever is going to happen is going to happen. And at least I can be proud of what I did.”
B’s coach Marco Sturm has appreciated what Viel has brought to the table – and he’s not surprised by it.
“He’s just an honest player,” said Sturm. “The thing about Viel is when I was in LA (as an assistant coach for the Kings), I played against him a lot so I feel like I’ve known him forever and I know exactly what he brings. Exactly what I saw I don’t know how many years ago is exactly what I see now. He’s a good teammate, he’s been working and he’s been playing some good minutes for us.”
Viel is not about to give up on his dream of being a regular NHLer, nor should he. Shawn Thornton had played over 600 games in the AHL before arriving in Boston, winning a Stanley Cup here and becoming a folk hero to Bruins fans. Viel, a son of Quebec and Montreal Canadiens fan growing up, is well aware of Thornton’s path to the NHL and takes inspiration from it.
“Obviously being a Canadiens fan growing up, I followed the Bruins a lot. I remember that fourth line was tremendous for years and years,” said Viel. “I remember growing up, I wasn’t the most talented off the bat. But just following those guys and seeing how hard they worked, like Thornton and (Daniel Paille) and those guys, I remember watching the 2011 and 2013 playoffs, they were just working so hard. They were putting the pressure on the opposition. And that’s kind of what my role has been over my career. I try to mold my game to that.”
That’s not a bad example to follow.
Pasta talks PP
David Pastrnak, who missed the first few days of camp with knee tendinitis, looked a lot like himself, picking up a beautiful assist on Kuraly’s goal and dishing out four hits. But he saw the power play as an area for needed growth. It was the first time that the first unit – Pastrnak, Elias Lindholm, Morgan Geekie, Charlie McAvoy and Pavel Zacha – played a game together and he felt it showed. Pastrnak was second-guessing himself for not shooting when he set up Lindholm for a great scoring chance that missed the net.
“We have to be more direct and more ugly with the looks,” said Pastrnak. “Until we start scoring goals and start feeling good about your game, you have to get a couple of ugly ones.”… After having Tuesday off, the B’s get back to practice on Wednesday. They play their final road preseason game on Thursday in Washington. More cuts could come as soon as Friday.
