Marco Sturm wants James Hagens skating with two veterans, and the Bruins coach paired that plan Wednesday with a pointed message for his 19-year-old.
The rookie gets Casey Mittelstadt and Elias Lindholm as linemates, with Utah coming to Boston on Thursday night. Sturm framed it as a work in progress.
"Yeah, it's gonna take two, both parties, right?" the Bruins coach told reporters. "Hopefully it's gonna be a line."
He sold the veterans as much as the trio itself, calling Mittelstadt and Lindholm "not just good hockey players, but they're also good people."
His advice for the kid was simple. "He shouldn't be nervous. He shouldn't be tight."
Then came the sting: "He's a young kid, yes, but he also needs to be better too."
Funny choice of target. Hagens has two goals through four games, which is exactly two more than Mittelstadt.
Casey Mittelstadt's quiet start raises the stakes for Boston's new line
The 27-year-old is still looking for his first point. He's carrying a $5.75 million cap hit and a -1 rating into Thursday.
Elias Lindholm has done a bit more, with a goal and an assist. Together, the two veterans eat up $13.5 million against the cap.
Picture a restaurant pairing its newest line cook with one chef whose plates keep coming back and another who's merely holding steady. Then telling the new guy to step it up.
Calling out the only forward on that trio who's actually scoring is a strange way to settle a teenager's nerves. Sturm just finished telling everyone he didn't want the kid tight.
And the bigger mess sits above the rookie's pay grade. The Bruins dropped 4-1 decisions to Minnesota and Ottawa in their last two games.
That skid leaves the Bruins at 2-2-0, with only nine goals scored through four games.
David Pastrnak has two assists and no goals so far. When the $11.25 million star goes quiet, the scoring burden slides down the lineup and lands on the rookie's stick.
So who's supposed to be learning from whom here?
The runway is short. Philadelphia visits Saturday, and then the Bruins pack for a four-game road trip through San Jose, Anaheim, Los Angeles and Dallas.
That trip includes a back-to-back in Anaheim and Los Angeles, the kind of stretch where a line still figuring itself out gets found out fast.
If the trio clicks against Utah, Sturm gets to call it chemistry. If it doesn't, which name moves first? Don't bet on the one making $7.75 million.
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Is Marco Sturm wrong to publicly challenge James Hagens while Casey Mittelstadt still hasn't recorded a point?
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