Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Boston Bruins that fans have a love hate relationship with. One second, Kelly is playing solid two way hockey, blocking shots, back checking, winning face offs and killing penalties. Other times, he fires a shot high off the glass or misses an empty net and you want to jump through the TV or jump on to the ice and shake him repeatedly and just yell how? How? How do you even do that!
Kelly has consistently proven to be one of the best two-way hockey players in the NHL. Since he doesn’t have the point production of most forwards, he often flies under the radar, which is unfortunate because what he brings to the table is more valuable than goals and assists. I wrote an article similar to this regarding Milan Lucic, while they are two very different players when they full fill their roles and play with in themselves they make everyone else on the ice better.
Kelly isn’t going to give you 20 goals. He may not even hit the net 20 times but he logs important minutes on the penalty kill and the during key defensive shifts during the game that allow players like Patrice Bergeron to catch their breathe and focus on offense if need be. When players like Kelly receive contract extensions its often hard to believe why but when you really dig in and look at Claude Juliens scheme it actually makes perfect sense. Kelly is a role player and a great teammate. Look for him to have an above-average year and log key minutes.
Tony is a columnist for the Boston Bruins on www.rantsports.com you can follow him on twitter @tonytboston
