Fast forward to today and Boston is beginning to see the type of play they were expecting when they selected the Finnish blueliner. After spending the first half of the season developing with the Providence Bruins, Vaakanainen got his call-up to the big league once the calendar flipped to 2022.
Since joining the Bruins on January 8, the smooth skating d-man appeared in 15 games, missing a handful due to injury. Luckily for the B's, the former first rounder appears to be inching towards a potential return.
Prior to his injury, Vaakanainen was settling in nicely on the Bruins blue line, averaging just under 20 minutes of ice time per game. It will be interesting to see how the roster shakes up once the 23-year-old left hander is officially ready to rejoin his teammates.
For now, however, the Bruins will look to keep building on their 3-game win streak as they continue their west coast road trip.
