The Yet to Be Named Watch: This Is Why You Wear a Cage

Bruins rookie camp (Photo: Twitter @NHLBruins)

Readers of …On Being a Sports Girl are quite familiar with the reoccurring feature, “The Everyone’s Favorite Goalie Watch,” a series I began to follow the fledgling professional career of everyone’s favorite recent Boston University goaltender, John Curry.  While Curry will always be one of my favorite college hockey players, and I will never give up that feature, my other favorite has now turned pro, and will now get a series of his own.

Readers, welcome to my reoccurring look at the fledgling professional hockey career of former BU right wing Jason Lawrence, a series I have yet to find a good, non confusing name for. (I originally named it something else having to do with the wonderful and memorable restaurants of Lawrence’s hometown, which also happens to be the hometown of my fiance, thus I’m quite familiar with it. However, the name just didn’t work, and I am open to suggestions.)

Lawrence is currently taking part in Boston Bruins rookie camp in Kitchener, Ontario, one of eight invitees to the camp. The remainder of the camp roster is filled with drafted or acquired young players, such as Zach Hamill and Jamie Arniel. (On a side note, another rookie camp participant is 2006 sixth round draft pick Alain Goulet, which makes me picture Will Farrell impersonating Robert Goulet on hockey skates, crooning “Bob Goulet needs a second chance.”)

On Monday afternoon, the Bruins rookies took on the rookies of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the first of three games the rookies will participate in while in Kitchener. The game was live blogged on the Bruins website, and while doing work around the house, I would periodically walk by the computer and check out what was going on.

Everything seemed to be going fine for the Baby Bruins. Lawrence got an assist on a goal late in the first period. Then, I checked back a few minutes later, and saw the following live blog update:

15:48 – Lawrence to the locker room — under his own power — after a shot to the face. Wrister. The B’s training staff was right there and took care of him.

Great. The kid gets injured in his first game action as a semi-member of the Bruins organization. In his first almost-NHL action, he suffers a shot to the face. Remember, in college hockey, players have cages, while in professional hockey, they tend to not wear them. Although I can’t say for sure, because I wasn’t there, this may have been his first game action without the cage. Getting a shot to your face in your first game without a cage is irony at its finest.

Lawrence came back at the end of the second, leading to Bish, the Bruins live blogger, to write the following:

Lawrence is BACK! Thank goodness…

He then proceeded to start the third period with a penalty after he “held someone up.” How could he commit a penalty when he probably either couldn’t see clearly and/or probably couldn’t spell his own name at the moment?

The Bruins ended up winning a high scoring game in overtime, 6-5. No further word on the Lawrence injury was noted by the Bruins, but I imagine since he was playing through the third period, he’ll be fine to play during the rest of rookie camp. The rookie Bruins have practices Tuesday, then a game Wednesday against the rookies of the Ottawa Senators (aka, the future Binghamton Senators…my early condolences on having to play in the Broome County Arena. I don’t wish that arena on anyone.)

When rookie camp concludes later this week, some of the participants will continue on to full Bruins training camp, which starts this upcoming weekend. Those committed to playing major junior this season will go back to those teams. Others will be sent home by the Bruins, and still others will get to continue onto Providence Bruins training camp, starting September 21st. According to the Providence Journal, Lawrence will continue onto Providence camp after rookie camp concludes.

For more information on Bruins rookie camp as a whole, I encourage you to check out the Boston Bruins website. There are some great stories out of these campers, and the Bruins communications team is doing a great job with coverage (including an entertaining blog of the 12 hour bus trip from Boston to Kitchener.)