Bruins prospect profile #6: Jordan Caron

Jordan Caron, RW
6-2, 205
November 2, 1990
Shoots: Left
Boston's 1st choice, 25th overall in 2009 Draft
Signing status; Signed through 2013


Talent Analysis


Physical: Big frame with natural strength and a wide skating base. Should add another 10-15 pounds to get to his maximum playing weight. Average skater; straight-line speed is good and has decent East-West agility for a big man. Lacks a an explosive first-step and can be exposed when playing in games with a quick tempo requiring rapid changes in direction. Still, demonstrated that when he gets up to speed that he has a breakaway gear and uses his hockey sense/anticipation to get a step on defenders and compensate for his average suddenness. Superb hands; handles passes cleanly and can advance the puck up the ice, or protect it down low and on the cycle. Excellent shooter with an NHL-ready release. Shot is hard and heavy; he generates a lot of power and torque on it. Can roof it from the outside or in close- proved that when scoring an NHL goal against the Washington Capitals. Caron is not an overly physical, nasty player with a mean streak, but he does initiate contact and use his big body to shield the puck well in the offensive zone. He goes hard to the net and like most players of his type, sets up shop in front and is difficult to move. Responsible defensive player who can play any role on a team and could make an initial impact on the bottom-six.


Intangibles: Solid feel for the game. Has an easygoing personality that belies a good competitive drive; he beat out other more skilled players to earn a spot on the 2010 WJC team because he brings certain attributes that can't be taught/are appealing to any team's makeup such as size, strength and two-way play. Caron is never going to be a 'rah-rah', in-your-face kind of guy, but is starting to exhibit solid leadership traits that will serve him well. Intelligent and easy to work with; makes a concerted effort to address his faults and isn't a player who dismisses the observations and suggestions from his coaches. Struggled with making the adjustment to the AHL when he was sent down after making the Bruins roster out of camp (with Marc Savard out); admitted to B2011DW that he was disappointed and put too much pressure on himself in Providence.


2011 Development Camp assessment
Did not attend.


Projection
It was a tale of two seasons for Caron in 2010-11: He made the NHL out of camp and played pretty well for Boston in a limited role, gradual break-in situation. However, when he became a victim of the numbers game and was sent down because he wasn't playing in Boston, he struggled mightily and only showed off his upside in flashes. In fairness, last season's P-Bruins were a young, inexperienced team that was up-and-down all year, and Caron's inconsistency was a microcosm of the team's larger non-playoff dynamic at work. Caron is tougher to project at the NHL level because he is still very much a work in progress. The Bruins saw a top-six forward and solid power winger in him to draft him where they did (and they indicated that he was pretty high on their '09 board). However, other NHL teams saw him more as a third-liner and checking guy, and that's what he did for Team Canada, so whether he can improve his skating and his hands can be enough to score at the next level is going to be the biggest factor in how effective he'll be in the NHL. He's a smart, coachable kid who has a very good reputation in the dressing room and is willing to work. He has the hands to be a 30-goal guy in the NHL one day, but whether his feet and overall skill will get him into the top-two lines to get that kind of ice time remains to be seen.


Quotable


“I think I gotta work on my speed again and my explosion. If I can do that, I think everybody here is gonna have his chance. So I gotta keep working out and going on the ice a lot to make sure I’m ready in September.”- Jordan Caron at Development Camp, July 2010

"Being on (Team Canada) was huge for me. It was a big goal to make that team and be able to play with so many of the best players in the world. It was a great experience, even though we didn't win. I think it helped me a lot to have a chance to make the NHL this year, and it taught me that I gotta keep working hard and working on my game."- Caron; July, 2010

"Jordan's quiet; he's not going to tell you that he knows the expectations are there. But I just like their (Caron and Joe Colborne) daily approach; it's no-nonsense, it's I want to get better, I need to get better. Recognizing that I need to get better, and that's an important aspect of anyone's development curve. And I think that it sets a great example for the rest of our guys. If we can find the guys that have been earmarked as first-round selections who set the bar for everybody else, then we're heading in the right direction. But I would expect that regardless of what round you're drafted in, each and every one approaches it that way, then we're headed in the right direction as well."- Bruins Assistant GM Don Sweeney at Development Camp, Wilmington, Mass.; July, 2010

“It was a numbers game for Jordan. He wasn’t sent down because of anything he did or didn’t do. When you’re a 20-year-old, you need to be playing (not sitting in the press box) every night, so it was strictly a decision to get him that playing time.”- former Providence head coach Rob Murray, December, 2010

"I think it helped me a lot playing in the best league in the world. I was playing with Patrice Bergeron and (Mark) Recchi and learned a lot from them, just being around the team and seeing how professional they are."- Jordan Caron; February, 2011

"In the first four or five (AHL) games I thought I did pretty good. But there was a five-10 game stretch where I lost my confidence a bit. I started thinking too much and that’s what happens when you don’t score goals."- Caron, February, 2011