Seguin just scratching surface

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OTTAWATyler Seguin has come a long way from the unsure youngsterthat joked about being a fifth-line center for the first time in his career oncelast years Stanley Cup playoff run got going.

The uncertain feelings and ebbed confidence sure didnt last very long.

The 19-year-old Seguin enjoyed his first real snap, crackle and pop moment of superstar promise during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals last spring when he was injected into the lineup against the Tampa Bay Lightning. A four-point period in a giant playoff game is certainly a nice first step, but more importantly Seguin has followed it up with a summer of hard work and a first half of cold, hard, undeniable results.

The speedy, playmaking right wing ended the traditional first half of the NHL season leading the Bruins with 19 goals scored, tied with Patrice Bergeron for the team-lead with 43 points and leads the entire NHL with a plus-34.He has teamed with Bergeron and Brad Marchad to give the Bruins one of the most dangerous forward lines in hockey, and has earned the confidence of the coaching staff.The numbers are certainly there, and the eye-popping individual examples of skating burst, marksman wrist shot and passing abilities have been in constant viewing mode through his first 46 games this year. The 11 multi-point games this season are a pretty indicator of Seguin's ability to simply kick into another gear when the moment is right. It also gives Boston their best pure scorer since Rick Middleton was piling up points in Black and Gold.The best part: Seguin is nowhere close being fully formed as a hockey player.

The B's wunderkindhasbecome a card-carrying All-Star in Ottawa this weekend among the best players in the game, and has truly has arrived in his second season. Its a heady experience for the youngster, but its something hes been preparing for since he jumped to the NHL as barely more than a high school kid.The dream and goal of every kid is to make the NHL one day and win a Stanley Cup. Thats always been my focus, but the All-Star is cherry on the cake, said Seguin, who must have something against sundaes. I was very lucky getting picked by Boston: an Original Six team that was also already a Stanley Cup contender. I dont think there was anything more I could have asked for.

So why has it all come together for Seguin withthe Bruins this season?

Like anything else in life the first place to look is within the hard work category built uponthe foundation of sweat, repetitions and painstaking attention to improving physical strength and stamina. Where last season Seguin's top-speed burst lasted little more than an instant he can now shift into higher gears for rushes to the net and forays deep into the offensive zone.Many people had a knowinglaugh at the smiling, raucous pictures of Seguin and Brad Marchand enjoying the Boston night life in the days following their Stanley Cup victory, but those were replaced quickly by arduouswork behind the scenes in Toronto.

Seguin exited Boston less than two weeks after the Cup was won, and spent the rest of the summer training with Matt Nichols BioSteel program in Torontoan elite training program linked with the talentedclients of hockey agent Ian Pulver. Seguin tackedon 10 pounds of muscle headed into this season, and worked closely with Nichol to improve the key areas ofskating speed and balance after experiencing a full NHL campaign as a wide-eyed 18-year-old.

Tyler is a fantastic hockey player. He didnt need my help with that. He has gotten stronger, hes gotten a little more ballast and weve done a little work with him on speed, power and conditioning and all the same stuff everybody else does, said Nichol. I think a lot of it is the natural maturation process. Tyler is a fantastic hockey player, and as he grows hes going to keep getting better and better.

Seguin said he loves Nichols system because things are always kept interesting and competitive among the hockey players in theprogram, and he leaves every day of workouts feeling his entire body has been pushed without actually feeling any physical pain. Combine that with the nutritional component and the chance to learn from so many hockey peers, and that gives Seguinan excellent learning classroom during the summer as well asin-season with Boston.

Seguin mingles with players like Mike Cammalleri, Steven Stamkos and Carey Price through the summer at the facility andjust like with the Bruinsis the young guy working his way into an established older group of vets. In both cases he brings both youthful impetuousness and exuberance into the mix, and is good-natured enough to catch flack from the older guys as the new kid on the block.Seguin consistently gives off the vibe of the younger brother that everybody else on the team is taking care of, but only if that younger brother was capable of dropping a hat trick on the Maple Leafs at a moment's notice.

Hes got a great laugh and a great smile, and its a good thing because the rest of the guys hand him a lot of abuse. Hes the young guy in my program and the guys dont cut him any slack," said Nichol. "He takes his lumps because I think hes used to being the young guy in Boston. I got a couple of old farts in the training program that dont care for his musical tastes, but its all in good fun. Everybody really likes Tyler here.Of course not every moment is a hearty laugh or a good-natured grin. That's a part of the Seguin improvement plan as well, and it's been highly successful in its second year of implementation.

Earlier this season Zdeno Chara sat Seguin down shortly after his benching in Winnipeg for being late to a team meeting. TheB'sCaptain laid it all out for his young teammate in straightforward fashion, butdid with an undertone of encouragement and support. The conversation elevatedSeguin out of a temporary funk, and also brought the captain and his young pupil that much closer together.

With Mark Recchi around last season and veteran leaders like Chara, Chris Kelly and Patrice Bergeron around this year and beyond, Seguin has the perfect nurturing hockey environment to bring all of his hockey talents to the fore. Chara is the example by which all other hockey players view hard work and determinationsomething even Senators CaptainDaniel Alfredsson admitted he couldnt equal when the two were teammates in Ottawaand the 6-foot-9 workout-a-holic has given Seguin the thumbs upfor the strides made in his second season.

You see a player thats not happy with himself, and maybe hes too shy to ask for advice. Or go see coacheswhatever. Ive been around the league and seen players for a long time, so I know when somebody is carrying that extra load," said Chara. "Thats the time when you pull a guy aside, talk to him and ask him whats the matter? Its good because most of us at his age didnt have those kinds of people that you ask advice or talk to about these things. Thats what we do here: we support each other.

Charas words during that meeting with Seguin weresimultaneously uplifting and cautionary, and the Bs captain knows as much as anyone Bostons hockey teen still has ampleroom to grow. He may be an All-Star aleady, but his raw skills say he has a chance to be one of the NHLs elite players when the compete level and experience match all the tools in the toolbox.

When youre dealing with players at his ageand the talent that he hason the one side you see a guy thats extremely talented, skates really well, stick-handles the puck really well and shoots the puck well," said Chara. "Then on the other side the work, the battles, the races to the puck those are things that maybe arent as up as the other side. So hes got to find a way to balance it, but hes getting better and better.

Hes learning. At his age you have to be patient and stay with it and on top of it. Eventually he will learn how to battle, when to battle, how to get himself into games. Hes getting better and better. You cant have a complete player in his second year in the league. You have to give him time and eventually it will come. But hes getting better and better, so thats a good sign.

In anycase hes earned the respect of his veteran peers, who shake their heads as Seguin is walking through the sameyouthful lessons theyve already learned combined withthe amazing talent-ceiling Seguin possesses as a 19-year-old boy in a mans body. Former Habs forward Mike Cammalleri trains with Seguin in the summertime at Nichol's facilityand witnessed the on-ice competitor during the HabsBruins tilts. Cammalleri saw the gainsbeing made off the ice, and knewSeguin's second-year explosion wascoming.

I expected it in some senses. When you skate with him and work out with him, you notice that his skill set is so high. Hes a hockey players hockey player, said Cammalleri about Seguin. Hes got really good instincts out on the ice, and there really isnt anything he cant do. He can skate with the puck, pass with the puck, make plays with the puck; hes got that arsenal where he can really be dynamic offensively.

Hes also got that personality where he wants to be counted on to produce. It was more of a matter of him finding a spot. Its not easy as a rookie coming into a Stanley Cup-winning lineup to crack. I think it was more of him getting an opportunity to play with some guys consistently and now were all seeing the fruits of that.

There have already been some amazing snapshots within this breakout second season in the NHL. The hat trick in Toronto stands as one of the hallmarkmoments, but his shootout goal against the Flyers was the definition of clutch while the broken stickscore against the Capitals ended with a filthy roofed backhander in tight quarters around the net. Seguins saucer pass to the tape on Brad Marchands stick for a game-winner against the Montreal Canadiens is the epitome of slick passing at a clutchmoment where games are won and lost in the third period.

Seguin ison pace for 34 goals and 77 points this season, and that would clearlyregister as a major upgrade over an 11-goal, 22-point rookie campaign. But how much better can Seguinadvance beyond an All-Star performer capable of 30-goal seasons and 80-point campaigns when that qualifies as pretty damned good in todays NHL?The consensus answer seems to be "pretty far" beyond that.

The keen attention to his fitness and training, the natural born skill and scoring ability and the health of the Bruins organization mean that Seguins ceiling is higher than wherever his second-year totals eventually rest. He gained the aforementioned10 pounds of muscle in two months of workouts with Nichol and BioSteel last summer, and hell keep getting bigger, stronger, faster and more dangerous with each passing year as his hockey IQ and confidence levels soar.

Nichol compared his athletic ability to that of a basketball player with an elastic quality that gives him rare explosive qualities in skating stride and strength on his skates, and thats only going to become more formidable as he fills into his 6-foot-1 frame. That means Seguion can pack more weight onto his athletic frame to become stronger on the puck, and nothing short of catastrophic injury will rob him of his God-given athletic prowess.

Hes got a real kind of neat dynamic or elastic ability about his speed and strength. Some guys, their speed is a product of lots of raw strength and power. Tyler is really athletic and mobile, said Nichol. Hes just really reminiscent of a much shorter version of some of the basketball players Ive worked with in the past. Hes pretty raw. Hes got a lot of true athleticism. I really believe he still has a lot of upside physically and athletically.

Thats a scary thought for the rest of the NHL as the youngster grins his way through his first All-Star experience. Seguin is already the youngest player at this NHL All-Star weekend, and everyone close to the hockey prodigy feels he is just scratching the surface of how good he will eventually be for the Black and Gold someday.

The present is bright, but the future is blinding when it comes to Tyler Seguin and the Boston Bruins.

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