00:00Is James Higgins, the first-run draft pick of the Bruins last year,
00:03going to be suiting up for this team this week?
00:06Well, I certainly think there's a spot to slot him in, right?
00:09At left wing on the third line, that spot's been kind of available all year.
00:13You know, Alex Steeves has been in there.
00:15Mikey Asimov's been in there.
00:16Lucas Reich of the last two games, who, you know,
00:18looked pretty good in his two-game audition.
00:21Had a penalty shot the other night.
00:24But, yeah, if you want to give James Higgins a shot,
00:27and, sure, by all indications, this kid's ready for professional hockey, right?
00:31So is it at the AHL level or the NHL level?
00:33And that's what they have to decide.
00:35It's a big ask to have a kid come in as a professional
00:39in the middle of a playoff race and take a spot on, you know, on the third line.
00:44But from what I've seen out of James, and I think he can do it
00:48because I think he has the vision and the speed
00:50and the creativity to make an impact.
00:54But it's kind of, like I said, it's hard.
00:57Do you want to burn a year of his entry-level contract
00:59for a dozen games or so?
01:01That's what you have to weigh.
01:02And I think that's what the Bruins are deciding.
01:05And I would agree with Elliott.
01:06I think it comes to a head, you know, today or tomorrow.
01:09You know, he's going to sign, but where does he start?
01:11Providence or Boston?
01:12And I think, you know, I think the logical choice is probably Boston
01:16because there's a spot there to give him a shot.
01:18There's a lot of rhetoric surrounding this player
01:21in this, you know, particular circumstance.
01:23Everything from don't you dare, you know, waste a year
01:27of that entry-level contract, you know, for a team that doesn't have much shot
01:31to the other side.
01:32If Higgins wants to play in the NHL, you let him play.
01:35You know, you just...
01:36That's the thing.
01:37Sweeney might want to send him to Providence.
01:39The kid's like, no, I'm signing.
01:41I'm playing with the big guys.
01:43Yeah.
01:43I mean, I don't know anything about him personally, Jim.
01:46But, I mean, is there any reason to believe he would have, you know,
01:51feeling strongly one way or the other?
01:53Or is he going to do, you know, whatever he is instructed to do
01:57without much feedback?
01:59Yeah.
02:00I spent some time with him and his family in L.A. last year at the draft,
02:03and he doesn't strike me as that type of person,
02:06like a kid that's going to demand this or that.
02:08I think he's, you know, coachable, and he'll listen to what the Bruins have to say.
02:14From a financial, you know, point of view, like,
02:18if you want to give him a dozen games,
02:19that's probably worth burning that entry level that year
02:22because it's, you know, in the grand scheme of things,
02:24it's not going to be a big deal.
02:25But if you're going to give him, you know, a cameo,
02:28one or two games to burn an entry, you know, a year off that deal,
02:31that doesn't make a ton of sense to me.
02:33So I think if they're going to burn that year,
02:36they're going to get him in the lineup as soon as possible
02:37because, you know, you want to get a look now.
02:40Now there's, you know,
02:41there's not a lot of friendly landing spots, right?
02:44Because every game is so important.
02:46You know, maybe it's tomorrow against the Toronto team
02:49that has, you know, underperformed tremendously this year.
02:53Maybe that's the spot.
02:54But I don't know if you want to throw him in Wednesday night
02:56against Buffalo, which has been the best team in the league
02:59since, you know, late December.
03:00Whatever.
03:01.
03:01.
03:02.
03:03.
03:03.
03:03You
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