The Boston Bruins have had a few eyebrow-raising moments this offseason, not the least of which was the selection of Zach Senyshyn with the 15th overall pick at the NHL draft.
It wasn't the calling of Senyshyn's name that was questioned, but rather the timing, as many pundits had him pegged as a second-round choice. The Bruins, therefore, were deemed guilty of reaching on a player they could have selected later.
The 18 year old has been participating in the team's development camp, and while he's aware of the talk surrounding his draft-board position, he's eager to prove his worth to the Bruins.
"I heard a lot of chatter and stuff. But I’m really confident in my abilities," Senyshyn told Matt Kalman of CBS Boston. "The Bruins staff really believes in me and I believe in myself ... I’m really excited to show those fans what I have to offer.
"Again that’s motivation," he said of the draft-day chatter. "It definitely lights a little bit of a fire under you."
The Bruins will no doubt keep a close eye on the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds this season, where Senyshyn recorded 26 goals and 45 points as an OHL rookie playing fourth-line minutes in 2014-15.
Jay Pandolfo, a former NHL forward and Boston's development coach, appears to like what he sees so far.
"You can tell right away how powerful a skater he is," Pandolfo said. "And he’s young. You can tell that he still hasn’t really matured, even his body. So he’s just going to keep getting better. But you can tell right away the explosiveness he has. But I think he has a lot of room to grow so it’s exciting to see what he has."
So while he may have a few years of development ahead, Senyshyn and the Bruins both seem to think he can live up to being a 15th overall selection at some point down the road.