Merkulov Set for First Chance with Big Club

BOSTON – Georgii Merkulov already knows how he’s going to approach Saturday night.

“My dad told me to play every game like it's my last game,” said Merkulov. “And just enjoy it.”

Easier said than done, of course, but after spending parts of the last three seasons with Providence, the 23-year-old is more than ready for his chance with the big club.

“It's super exciting for me,” said the Russia native, who was signed by Boston as a free agent out of Ohio State in April 2022 and recalled by the Bruins for the first time on Friday morning.

“I talked to the coaches down [in Providence] and they helped me a lot just communicating and keeping me focused…they told me every game to play your game, just work hard, stay consistent with the details and the opportunity will present itself.

“I just stick with what I was doing and got a shot.”

And what he was doing was pretty darn good.

Merkulov is fourth in the American Hockey League in scoring with 30 points in 31 games, while his 14 goals rank sixth. The 5-foot-11, 175-pounder, who leads Providence in both categories, has registered 20 of those points over his last 14 games – highlighted by a five-point showing (two goals, three assists) on Dec. 9 against Wilkes-Barre – and nine goals in his last nine contests.

“I feel confident about my game,” Merkulov said when asked how he rebounded after not making the club out of training camp. “In the summer, you don't play for four months, you come, and it's training camp so all NHL players here, so it's hard. But since we've been playing for three months now, I feel good about my game. So, try to do my best to translate it to the NHL.”

Merkulov’s offensive prowess, however, is not the only part of his game that has caught the attention of the Bruins’ brass as his attention to detail on the defensive end has also shown significant growth.

“Probably a combination of those both [offense and defense],” coach Jim Montgomery said when asked what led to Merkulov’s recall. “We want to score more, but we don't want to score more sacrificing our team defense and that message has been made clear to Merk.

“The reason he got called up is because of his 200-foot game, not because he's scoring a lot. Because on our team we have guys that are paid a lot of money to score goals, right? And he's got to come in and support that and be part of what we're trying to build as a team.

“But it's exciting for him, because here he gets the opportunity to play his first NHL game tomorrow night. That's exciting, and that's good energy to bring to the group as well.”

Rounding out his overall game had been Merkulov’s top focus in Providence.

“The coaches and staff address some of the things that I have to work on down in Providence – hunting pucks, be better defensively, and keep producing, too…be better on the forechecks, and also down low defensively,” said Merkulov, who expects his girlfriend and her parents to be in the stands on Saturday night.

“I think [I’ve improved]. I've been playing with great players in my line, they get a lot of pucks back for me too, so that helps a lot.”

During Friday’s practice, Merkulov centered a line with Trent Frederic and James van Riemsdyk, who the rookie said he watched growing up. The pivot was centering Jesper Boqvist and Justin Brazeau in Providence.

“I remember JVR when I was a kid, I was like 6 years old and he was already in the league,” said Merkulov. “It's cool to be with him on a line. He was talking to me all practice, so it was exciting.”

Montgomery said that trio seemed to be the best fit for the situation.

“You want to put him in a situation where he's going to play minutes, and you want to put him in a situation where he's playing with offensive players. I don't think it's fair to bring a guy up and put him on the first line, either,” said Montgomery, who complimented Mekulov’s hockey sense ability to get to the inside ice.

“You see it with 10-year vets, they get on a line with [Brad Marchand] and [David Pastrnak] and they’re trying to force feed, they’re not playing their game. We want him to just go out and focus on his game.”

Shifting Pieces

With Merkulov’s recall, the Bruins’ lines have a different look – a shift that began Wednesday night in Buffalo as Morgan Geekie centered Pavel Zacha and Pastrnak, while Charlie Coyle manned the middle between Marchand and Jake DeBrusk.

“It probably solidifies your top six,” said Montgomery. “It gives us the ability to win faceoffs on either dot with Zacha, a left-shot center, and Geekie a right-shot center. The Coyle line, I mean, I thought they were by far the best line [Wednesday] night.

“I think I want to give Geekie a little more of a look between Zacha and Pasta. That's kind of been a revolving door there, just because of sometimes it's matchups. And I really like Coyle and Marchy together, it really gives me a shutdown line.”

Montgomery acknowledged that having Marchand play with a right-shot centerman – as he’s so accustomed to after over a decade alongside Patrice Bergeron – is a major benefit.

“Yeah, I think it's what he knows, right?” said Montgomery. “So, it's a huge comfort level – and also, right centers tend to pass to the left wing more, and left centers tend to pass the right wing more.

“I think they’re getting more odd-man rushes, I think they're getting more accustomed to where the spots they find each other on the ice and who likes to hold on to pucks where. I think Charlie’s done a really good job of becoming a shooter first and getting inside dots.

“Both his goals [in Buffalo], look where he is. How often was he there last year? He scored forecheck goals on the backside post there, he got set up by Frederic. He's getting into scoring areas and that's why he’s scoring more this year.”

The moving pieces also included Danton Heinen bumping down to skate with Jakub Lauko and Johnny Beecher.

“He's a guy who's…I don't know if he's been playing about 13 minutes in the last, say, 15 games, and he's produced for us,” said Montgomery. “He might have fifth most 5-on-5 points in that stretch. I'm not sure of those numbers, so don't quote me on it.

“But he has made plays that…maybe he doesn't deserve to be on the fourth line, but that's what I'm asking of him, and to relish that role and help us have four lines that are going to be able to play against New Jersey [Saturday night].”

Wait, There’s More

• Merkulov said his first call after finding out about his recall on Thursday in Utica was to his girlfriend. “I should have probably called my parents, but I called them later,” he said with a smile. His parents, who were already planning a visit in a couple of weeks, will not be able to make the trip from Russia on such short notice.
• Matt Grzelcyk practiced with the team in full for the second straight day. The blue liner has missed the last three games with an upper-body injury. “Grizzy is starting to trend in the right way,” said Montgomery. “We’re continuing to ramp him up to see when he's going to be available.”
• Montgomery, meanwhile, did not have an update on Derek Forbort, who has been sidelined since Dec. 3 with a lower-body injury. The blue liner has not yet been spotted back on the ice.
• The holiday break led to standing-room only crowds at Warrior Ice Arena on both Thursday and Friday as families filled the stands to catch the B’s practice sessions. The energy in the rink provided some added jump for the Black & Gold on the ice. “I thought that was our best practice in a long time,” Montgomery said following Thursday’s practice. “I thought the energy of our fans being here…I think the guys want to put on a show or whatever it was, but we practiced with really good pace and intensity today.”
• Montgomery on the performance of rookie defenseman Mason Lohrei during his most-recent call-up: “We see progress. It’s hard in the NHL, because as a defenseman…forwards make mistakes and a lot of times they go unnoticed, but as a defenseman if you made some mistakes, all of a sudden it’s a 2-on-1. You notice that breakdown, everybody does, right? So, you’ve got to have thicker skin, but what we like about Mason is that Mason's very coachable, and he wants to be a player. You see it every day with how meticulous he is about going out on the ice, and we’re very confident that his game is just going to continue to grow.”

Friday’s Practice Lineup

FORWARDS

Pavel Zacha – Morgan Geekie – David Pastrnak

Brad Marchand – Charlie Coyle – Jake DeBrusk

James van Riemsdyk – Georgii Merkulov – Trent Frederic

Danton Heinen – Johnny Beecher – Jakub Lauko/Oskar Steen

DEFENSEMEN

Mason Lohrei – Charlie Mcavoy

Hampus Lindholm – Brandon Carlo

Parker Wotherspoon – Kevin Shattenkirk

Matt Grzelcyk – Ian Mitchell

GOALIES

Jeremy Swayman

Linus Ullmark