In a move that seemed inevitable, the Boston Bruins have sent rookie Anders Bjork to the minor leagues. Bjork came into the season with high expectations after signing following a huge season at Notre Dame, but has seen his role on the team reduced dramatically of late, even spending several games as a healthy scratch over the last month. Boston meanwhile is one of the hottest teams in the league, and has done it without much contribution from Bjork, playing him fewer than 11 minutes in seven of his last eight appearances.
A stint in the AHL may be the best thing for the 21-year old, who came out firing this season with seven points in his first nine games, but registered just five—including just one goal—in the following 20. Bjork was one of just four waiver-exempt forwards on the team, and had clearly the smallest role out of the group. Danton Heinen and Jake DeBrusk have made immediate impacts offensively with 28 and 19 points respectively, while the older Sean Kuraly is a key penalty killer for the Bruins.
Even if Bjork does spend substantial time in the minor leagues, his future still looks bright in Boston. After being selected 146th-overall in 2014, he carved out an impressive college career that ended with his 52-point season for Notre Dame last year. Bjork was the best forward on that team, which also included Montreal prospect Jake Evans, who could be headed to Pyeongchang for the Winter Olympics as a part of Team Canada. Bjork will try to find that scoring touch with the Providence Bruins, who have three games in three nights this weekend, starting with a matchup against Hartford on Friday night.