Andrew Peeke is not a much talked about Bruin. By the nature of his role, this is generally a good thing for the third pair defenseman.

Although no one on the Bruins roster has been perfect through this first month of the season, Peeke, 26, could play his role as well as any Bruins defenseman – physical. , difficult to face, no frills.

“I thought he had a really good camp and I thought he started the season really strong for us. The word ‘reliable’ is what it comes down to,” coach Jim Montgomery said. “I think he, like the rest of the team, struggled on the trip, but I thought his position was exactly what it is again (in the B’s 4-3 overtime win against Toronto on Saturday). It’s comfortable to have a guy who is a pillar of your lineup like him. You know you’re going to have physicality, you know you’re going to have someone who’s trying to apply execution offensively and defensively in all three zones.

This is Peeke’s first full season with the B’s after being acquired at the trade deadline last year to add a little more punch to the third-pair backcourt, which he did. Now, with training camp under his belt, he has a growing comfort level.

“Obviously when you get traded, you’re thrown into the fire and you learn day by day,” Peeke said. “But it’s great. Everyone here is super welcoming and made my job easy. But being able to go through camp and preseason and be in all the meetings early on, that obviously helps. And getting closer to your teammates and connecting on and off the ice, that translates well to your game.”

Peeke was a relatively high draft pick, chosen by the Blue Jackets in the second round with the 34th overall pick in 2016. Although he has always been a defense-oriented player, his highest point total at Notre-Dame Dame was 3-21-24 in 40 games his senior year – and the Columbus organization told him what was expected of him, it still took him a little while to figure out what his identity would be at the big league level.

“The first couple of years in the pros, you’re trying to figure out how am I going to stay in the NHL or how am I going to get a chance to play a game in the NHL. And you have to adapt,” Peeke said. “Usually growing up, most of the guys here and around the NHL are the best players that grew up and were the best players in college. You have guys here like (David Pastrnak), but you can’t just come in and be Pasta. You have to adapt. I think for me, learning how to play that heavy, solid game defensively (was the key). And then obviously, if there’s a chance for the offense to continue to join the rush or get pucks to the net, that’s always going to be an asset as well.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Peeke is part of a gigantic D-body designed to help win close games. That hasn’t come to fruition yet, as they blew late leads in Utah (an overtime loss) and against Toronto (an overtime win). It’s a work in progress, Peeke said.

“There were a few games where we weren’t the most happy with our performance. We’re early in the season and there’s room to grow,” Peeke said. “It won’t always be perfect. Sometimes you start out great, sometimes you don’t. But I think for us we know what we have in that room and once we find that consistency and let the attackers work in the zone and the defenders make it so they don’t want to come in in our area, once everything is connected. for 60 minutes – we had some at times – but I think when we play that full game it’s not going to be fun for the other team.

Peeke played with Mason Lohrei, but was recently paired with 6-foot-6, 250-pound Nikita Zadorov, one of two big signings this offseason along with center Elias Lindholm. It’s a formidable tandem.

“He has a presence,” Peeke said. “He’ll win that battle down low and the next thing you know, he’ll be skating the puck towards the blue. For me, I think he knows what he’s getting out of me night after night. For him, it gives him that flexibility if he wants to take that chance, take that leap, have the confidence in himself to do it. And I know he’s also very good defensively, so the times I jump or see a strange man rushing, he’ll be back there too. It’s just about reading each other and I think he knows we’re both going to win those battles and move the puck quickly.

Loose washers

Tuesday was Hockey Fights Cancer night at the Garden and Montgomery said, like most people, it touched him.

“This is such an important night as we raise awareness and continue to raise funds for this horrible disease in so many forms and how it affects so many people,” Montgomery said. “I think everyone in one way or another in their family has been affected by this, whether it was a mother with breast cancer or I lost two brothers-in-law due to cancer in different forms. It’s a really important night and I’m happy that the Bruins are supporters and that we as individuals are a part of that support. … Joonas Korpisalo was set to make his first start in the Garden as a Bruin and his first start since winning Colorado, 5-3, on Oct. 16.

Originally published: October 29, 2024 at 2:36 p.m. EDT