Boston Bruins Prospects Series: #25 Lane MacDermid

Lane MacDermid, LW
6-3, 210
August 25, 1989
Shoots: Left
Boston's 3rd choice, 112th overall (fourth round) in 2009 Draft
Signing status: Signed through 2012

Talent Analysis

Physical: Big, strong, physical winger with good bloodlines; his father, Paul, played nearly 700 NHL games for the Hartford Whalers, Winnipeg Jets, Washington Capitals and Quebec Nordiques. slightly below average skater; had trouble keeping up with the play in the AHL at the beginning of the season last year, but worked hard on it and is steadily improving. Puckhandling and shooting skills are also a work in progress, but his real strengths are what could get him to the NHL as an enforcer: the hitting and fighting. He goes out and hits everything in sight, kind of like a poor man's Milan Lucic (when Lucic is healthy and on top of his game). Led Providence with 21 fighting majors last season and probably would have had more had he not broken his thumb in a fight against Zach Sill of the Binghamton Senators in mid-March. Has continued to build his strength in the gym and it shows in his fights, as he stands in against opponents and gives and takes punches while remaining upright. Relishes the fighting aspect of the game and is developing into a feared pugilist in the minors.

Intangibles: Hard worker who understands his role and his limitations. Earned Providence coach Rob Murray's respect for his willingness to go the extra mile to address the shortcomings in his game while regularly fighting and taking one for the team. Character guy who understands what it takes to make it in the pros and has been a model citizen on the farm.

Boston Bruins 2010 Development Camp assessment
Did not attend

Projection
Fourth line enforcer; MacDermid is developing into a similar player to Shawn Thornton and could provide the same kind of impact that 'Sugar" has for the B's. He's a willing and nasty fighter and should elevate his offense a bit in his second AHL season after putting in the work to improve his hockey skills.

Quotable
"We've never had to tell him to get in the gym, to do a little extra. We got back from a Sunday afternoon game a while ago, and as I was leaving to go home I looked in the gym, and there was Dermie. We had Monday off and he understood, 'Here's a good chance for me to get a workout in.'''- Providence head coach Rob Murray to Mark Divver, Providence Journal; March 26, 2010

The Final Word
There are other Bruins prospects in the system with better skills and upside than MacDermid, but nobody's tougher. So long as he's willing to be patient, he'll get his shot with Boston when Thornton moves on. We're at the point where arguing about where the prospects are listed is a bit of an exercise in futility, as the Bruins have only so many openings. But, as far as toughness goes, that will be MacDermid's ticket to the big show. He's not great shakes as a player, but he'll go out and fight anyone without needing to be told what to do. We can certainly argue that the Bruins could have gotten more value for their buck than MacDermid in the 4th round of the 2009 draft, but they also ended up with Alexander Fallstrom, so the two together are not a bad haul from that round and both have a shot at playing for the big club if they continue to take steps forward.