Wayne Whittaker

Wayne Whittaker has been a Boston Bruins Correspondent for TheHockeyWriters.com since 2010. As a Berklee College of Music graduate, and Massachusetts native, Whittaker has been around Boston, the Bruins, and the game of hockey his entire life. His work has also been featured in Sports Illustrated, Huffington Post, CBSSports.com, and Yahoo.com.

The Curious Case of Nathan Horton

When Boston sent Dennis Wideman and a pair of draft picks to Florida in exchange for Nathan Horton and grinder Gregory Campbell, they were hoping to get a power forward with a well’s worth of untapped potential. The thinking was that the move from a non-traditional hockey market to a contending hockey town would be all that was needed to bring consistency to Horton’s game.

For a while there, it looked like they were right as the 25-year old winger put up 6 goals and 5 assists in his first 10 games with the black and gold. However, in the subsequent 36 games, Horton posted just 6 goals and 10 assists.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before.

Boston Bruins: Has Claude Julien Lost His Team?

Since Claude Julien was hired as coach of the Boston Bruins in June 2007, the Bruins have gone from basement dwellers to Stanley Cup contenders. Making the playoffs for three consecutive years, and reaching the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals in back-to-back years for the first time since 1992.

But coming off of the now infamous playoff collapse against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Bruins needed to make a statement in the regular season. They needed to prove that they were tough, they were resilient, and that they were ready to compete for hockey’s greatest prize. So far this year, it looks like just another Claude Julien era Bruins team.

Great Expectations: 2010-2011 Boston Bruins

As the calendar quickly races towards the start of the 2010-2011 NHL campaign, the Boston Bruins are still feeling the lingering effects of disappointment. A year ago the expectations for this team were so great, that anything less than a Cup would be virtually unacceptable. Now, coming off the heels of a record breaking postseason meltdown, Bruins fans are trying their very best to mask the uncertainty that has quietly crept into the Hub.

But the time for speculation is coming to a close. Soon all the talking will stop, at least momentarily, as the 2010 Boston Bruins try and separate themselves from last season, and turn their focus onto this year.

The team that will take the ice on October 9 is not last year’s team. There are new faces, new roles, and new expectations. Here I’ll try and break down what Bruins fans should expect from this year’s group.