Austin Czarnik killing it in Providence

We’ve seen him sometimes in the NHL, but did you know that Austin Czarnik has been the best player on the Providence Bruins this season?

Shouldn’t come as a shock. There’s a reason why he’s had two separate stints with the big club where he got some action on the fourth line and looked pretty good. The problem this year for him is that the big club has been too healthy and talented so there hasn’t been a whole heck of a lot of room for him. On any other team, he'd probably be playing in the NHL.

But hey, let’s look at what he’s doing for the Providence Bruins. Despite those stints up in the NHL, he is still the P-Bruins high-scorer with 47 points (14 goals, 33 assists) in 44 games. So basically, guys who have played in 55 games this season don’t have as many points as him. That in itself lets you know how things are going for him. SO yeah...

Last year, Czarnik showed us he’s capable of playing in the NHL as a fill-in at least. The forward had 13 points (5 goals, 8 assists) in 49 games. But he got that action due to a handful of injuries. This year, there’s he’s playing better in the AHL, but there’s less injuries, so there have been less NHL opportunities for the 25-year-old.

After this season, Czarnik is a restricted free agent. If we had to place bets, I’d put my money on the Bruins re-signing him because his trade value would really be in a package deal and I don’t foresee any huge Bruins trades this offseason. Still, that would give him another year in the organization and maybe in the next month-and-a-half and next preseason he can show them he is more than just a depth player.