Boston Bruins‘ 5th year defenseman Tommy Cross(56) got what must have been a bit of a surprise playoff recall from affiliate Providence Bruins as the team was preparing for Eastern Conference First Round playoff game 3.
The farm club captain for the past pair of seasons last played an NHL game at the beginning of 2015/2016.
Even though the decently sized blue liner seemed to do fairly well on his only recall with one assist and a -1 rating he was passed over in favor of giving other prospects an opportunity.
He had a career year in the minors through 2016/2017 recording all new bests with 74 AHL games, 12 goals, 23 assists, 35 points, 138 shots on net and a +18 rating.
In his big league postseason debut he skated 19 shifts for 13:08 of total ice with 2 break-ups, 1 giveaway and left the 4-3 overtime loss with a +1.
It will be interesting to see he played well enough to stay or will be reassigned to help the P-Bruins with their Calder Cup quest.
Regardless, the 27-year old is set to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the current calendar and could grab some attention from other squads, if not re-up nicely for another year in the only organization he’s skated for.
Tommy Cross(29) Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins‘ 2nd round pick in the 2007 draft (#35 overall), defenseman Tommy Cross(29) signed a 2-year entry level deal with the club last spring after he finished a mighty successful college career earning two national titles and captaining Boston College in his senior year on the way to that honor.
Upon completion of this academic career he played with Providence Bruins for the remainder of the AHL regular season and got in a couple of pro games that put him up on the stat sheet with 4 shots on goal and a +1 plus/minus.
Even without the impending NHL lockout it was almost a certainty that the 6’3″ 210 lbs. 23-year old would start his first full pro season with the P-Bruins.
In the games and prospect camps we’ve seen him skate, he makes good decisions with the puck and has enough size out there that he’s already tough to play against.