Hall Looking Forward to Full Year in Providence

BOSTON - Curtis Hall is anxious to make up for lost time.
Like so many people over the past 18 months, the 21-year-old had his plans tossed into a blender as the COVID-19 wreaked havoc across the globe. Hall began the 2020-21 academic year as a junior at Yale University and ended it as a member of the Providence Bruins, taking online classes in between workouts and practices.

In November 2020, the Ivy League announced that its winter sports seasons would be canceled due to the pandemic. At that point, the B's 2018 fourth-round pick had a decision to make: stick it out in New Haven and miss an entire season of development or head for the pros.
Ultimately, Hall opted for hockey and inked a one-year AHL contract with Providence in late January. The Ohio native's AHL debut on February 5 hardly went as planned, however, as he suffered a leg injury that kept him out for six weeks and derailed his first foray into the professional game.
Hall eventually returned, playing in 12 more games with Providence, and went on to sign a two-year, entry-level contract with the Bruins on March 1.
"It's been a great experience jumping up to the next level," Hall said following Day 2 of Bruins Development Camp at Warrior Ice Arena. "Unfortunately, with Yale, our season got canceled so I decided that rather than sitting around for a year I wanted to make the next step. With all that being said, getting hurt in my first game wasn't the best start for me.
"I was also handling a full semester of school so I guess it gave me a little bit of time to balance what was going on. It was great to just be there and meet all the staff, meet the players, and see what professional hockey is like. Really looking forward to next season."

Hall learned quickly from his abbreviated stint with the P-Bruins that he'll need to adjust to the uptick in speed and strength from college to the AHL.
"It's quicker, faster, guys are stronger. Really been doing my best to work on my footwork and my speed, as well as getting stronger," said Hall, who checks in at 6-4, 216 pounds. "I think I've grown a little bit each year since the draft year. I want to say I was maybe 6-1 or 6-2 back then. But the big thing is the weight that I've put on. When I was drafted, I was maybe 200 pounds and now I've gained a good 15 pounds since then. I'm happy where I'm at."
Bruins Director of Player Development Jamie Langenbrunner believes there is plenty of room for growth in Hall's game, too - particularly when it comes to his mobility and puck management - but was encouraged by what he saw over the winger's final few games with Providence.
"He got his feet wet a little bit last year," said Langenbrunner. "Unfortunately getting injured right away set him back a little bit from the plan we had in place there. But I think we saw what type of player we're gonna want towards the end. His last game of last season was his best by far as a pro. He did end up scoring that game as well, but I think just his approach was better.
"He's gonna have to be a direct player, he's gonna need to continue to work on his mobility, his side to side movement. In a straight line, his downhill speed is very good. But his mobility will need to continue to improve. And learning to be a pro and manage pucks on the way or in the middle, he has some habits that will continue to need to be worked on.
"I think there's a lot of positives to his game…it's hard to get a real evaluation and call him a first-year pro. I think we look at this year as that and go from there."
While Hall gets set to embark on his first real professional campaign this fall, he's also working hard toward finishing his political science degree, which he hopes to have secured by next summer.
"I was enrolled in four classes last semester. I've got just about one more semester left to finish out my degree," said Hall, who is currently taking one online class at Yale. "Personally, going from school to the AHL this season, it wasn't a whole lot different in terms of my time management. I was taking a full semester of classes, so I'd go to the rink and practice in the morning, go home and do class all day. Those were my top two priorities."

Setting the Tone

While much of Development Camp is used to evaluate the on-ice skills of the Bruins' prospects, the organization also makes sure that they're aware of what is expected of them off the ice. Whether it's how to act around the dressing room, the work ethic required in the gym, or how to be involved with the community, they learn that their responsibilities away from the rink are just as important.
"It means a lot to be a Boston Bruin - on the ice, off the ice," said forward prospect Jake Schmaltz, who was drafted by the B's in the seventh round of the 2019 NHL Draft. "You've just got to act like a professional and hold yourself accountable. Don't put it on anyone else, put it on yourself and just be a hard worker and show up every day and give it all you got."
That type of approach was on full display on Monday morning when Bruins alternate captain Brad Marchand walked into the gym at 7 a.m. to begin his workout as the group went through their testing on the opening day of camp. The 33-year-old, who is gearing up for his 13th NHL season, even jumped on the assault bike to try out the testing himself.
"That was a testament to how hard he works. He's really an inspiration for all of us," said Hall. "I remember a couple years ago - it might have been my second year - [Patrice] Bergeron came and talked to us. Whenever we get a chance to see those guys, it's really something special for us. Those are the guys we really look up to."
Following his workout, Marchand also took some time to address the group and discuss what it means to represent the Spoked-B.
"Anytime we can have that kind of guy with that experience and knowledge around the rink, especially as us young guys learning and trying to emulate some of these guys, I think it's huge for us to see the kind of work ethic and what he brings to the rink every single day as a professional," said goalie prospect Kyle Keyser, who was the club's third goalie during the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs, during which he had the opportunity to see Marchand's drive and commitment firsthand.
"His speech was awesome, just talking about the compete level and what it takes to be a champion at this level. He's won a Stanley Cup here in Boston. He knows what it takes and how to push it until the end. I think it's important for us, especially me, to hear from his experiences and what worked and what didn't, him talking about not waiting or opportunities and going out and getting them. All those types of things touch him for us guys.
"Anytime we can have a guy like Brad or Bergy or any of those guys that have been around this organization for a while come in and speak to us, we're very thankful for it."

Taking A Look

The Bruins recently acquired the rights of 23-year-old defenseman J.D. Greenway from Toronto. The 6-foot-5, 212-pound blue liner, whose brother Jordan plays for the Minnesota Wild, was drafted by the Maple Leafs in the third round of the 2016 NHL Draft. He played the last two seasons at the University of Maine after spending two seasons with the University of Wisconsin (2016-18) and one with Dubuque of the USHL (2018-19).
"We have his rights. We've signed him to an American League contract," Langenbrunner said of the camp invite. "We see an athletic kid that has some molding to do as a player. There's some raw skill to his game, his length, his skating ability, even though he has some work to do, we're finding out, in his overall conditioning and whatnot.
"We saw some raw skill that can be molded into a player. We have some time with him. We like the athletic ability and we'll see where it goes."