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.”