With Bruins needing scoring punch, can Blumel reach his potential?

However when the Bruins made the decision to signal Blumel to a one-year contract on July 1, Don Sweeney and Boston’s prime brass weren’t specializing in his restricted manufacturing with the Dallas Stars.

Fairly, it was his monitor file of lighting the lamp with the Texas Stars, Dallas’ AHL affiliate.

Over the previous two seasons, Blumel has held court docket as one of many prime goal-scorers within the American Hockey League. 

After scoring 31 targets in 72 video games with Texas in 2023-24, he adopted that up with 39 tallies and 72 complete factors in 67 video games in 2024-25.

For some, Blumel represents the kind of expertise whose expertise are maximized on the AHL stage.

For a Bruins staff in determined want of a middle-six scoring spark, Blumel (and fellow AHL standout Alex Steeves) signify a danger price taking — and a participant who might be poised for a breakout with extra minutes up for grabs with Boston.

“He and Alex, each, they’ve executed what they wanted to do on the American Hockey League stage and scoring at a excessive, excessive stage with consistency,” Sweeney mentioned. “There are a variety of gamers across the league which have gone by means of this, and after they acquired their alternative, they’ve taken benefit of it. 

“The conversations we now have with each Matej and Alex have been, ‘For those who’re going to attain on the Nationwide Hockey League stage, we wish you right here — not anyplace else.’ So we supplied that chance as we speak they usually’re enthusiastic about it. And I mentioned, in the event that they take the job of any individual that believes they’re an incumbent, that’s what occurs within the Nationwide Hockey League when a man will get handed and the inner competitors begins.”

The Bruins would welcome a state of affairs the place Blumel’s sharp wrist shot and knack for working into Grade-A ice interprets throughout coaching camp and the preseason.

Past bringing in a middle-six winger with some scoring pop in Viktor Arvidsson, Boston’s offseason strikes did little to quiet the issues that this staff will labor offensively when David Pastrnak isn’t out on a shift.

Past bringing in a middle-six winger with some scoring pop in Viktor Arvidsson, Boston’s offseason strikes did little to quiet the concerns that this team will labor offensively when David Pastrnak isn’t out on a shift.

Allocating cap area towards the likes of Tanner Jeannot, Sean Kuraly, and Mikey Eyssimont will make Boston a tough out on the ice towards opponents.

However, it additionally would possibly result in some painful readings on the scoreboard if Boston can’t complement that heft with the talent wanted to constantly win on this league.

Collectively, Jeannot, Kuraly, and Eyssimont mixed for a whopping 484 hits final season. And simply 22 complete targets.

Boston goes to want much more manufacturing past the standard suspects like Pastrnak shifting ahead.

As such, the Bruins — unable to reel in massive fishes like Mitch Marner, Boeser, or Ehlers — opted for a participant poised for a higher position within the NHL in Blumel, particularly at an affordable price ticket ($875,000).

Nevertheless it wasn’t simply Sweeney and Co. who have been intrigued by Blumel’s talent set.

Talking to Dominik Dubovci on the Czech web site Hokej.cz, Blümel mentioned he spoke with David Pastrnak previous to signing with the Bruins, with the celebrity ahead making his pitch as Blumel weighed a number of choices in free company.

“The one Czech participant I’ve talked to to date was Pasta,” Blümel instructed Dubovci , per Google Translate. “He left the choice as much as me, and Pittsburgh wouldn’t be a foul determination both. However he mentioned they needed me and that I may assist them.”

A lot of the hope that rests in Blumel creating right into a middle-six NHLer revolves round his AHL stat line translating over to the subsequent stage if Boston carves out some minutes for him.

However, Blumel generated some seems throughout the varied cups of espresso he earned with Dallas over the previous few seasons.

Regardless of averaging simply 9:01 of common ice time per recreation to date in his NHL profession, he generated 4.73 high-danger scoring probabilities per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 hockey with the Dallas Stars (per Natural Stat Trick).

Of the 1,009 NHLers who’ve logged at the very least 100 minutes of 5-on-5 hockey during the last three seasons, Blumel’s 4.73 mark ranks thirty ninth total — forward of names like Timo Meier, Matthew Tkachuk, and Filip Forsberg.

After all, it’s a large ask to count on elite outcomes for a participant working with such a small pattern measurement.

And as evidenced by different AHL standouts like Georgii Merkulov, there’s no assure that working at almost a point-per-game tempo within the AHL will imply that mentioned participant can rating 20-plus targets within the NHL ranks.

However, given Boston’s shortcomings within the offensive zone, Sweeney and his employees should go away no stone unturned in terms of including scoring assist — even when it’s an unproven commodity like Blumel.

 

Conor Ryan is a employees author masking the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Crimson Sox for Boston.com, a task he has held since 2023.