Marc McLaughlin, Oskar Steen throw their hats into crowded Bruin ring

The good news for some young Bruin hopefuls is that there are jobs available, especially in the bottom six forward slots.

The more, shall we say, challenging news is that the B’s brass has not handed what could be the next Black and Gold generation anything, signing young veterans like Patrick Brown and Jesper Boqvist and bringing in established vets Alex Chiasson and Danton Heinen on PTOs, both of whom have looked more than capable so far in camp of earning contracts.

So while opportunity is there, players like Oskar Steen and Marc McLaughlin will have to seize it with both hands, much like AJ Greer and Jakub Lauko did last season.

It won’t be easy making this roster, despite the turnover.

But both Steen and McLaughlin bring some tools to the table that could give them an advantage. Let’s start with Steen. At 5-foot-10, 195 pounds he brings a physicality that the B’s are looking for this year in front of both nets. When he first came up two years ago, he brought a bite to his game that seemed to wane during the 20 games he spent with the big club. But with two more years of physical maturity under his belt, Steen should be in a better place to sustain it over the long haul. And if he skated on a line with Milan Lucic, then that could certainly help any player’s temerity.

The 25-year-old Steen, a sixth-round pick in 2016, is entering his fifth pro season in North America and time may be running out to prove he’s an NHL player, at least in this organization. Coach Jim Montgomery said his play in the first three days of camp suggests Steen is feeling the urgency.

“He’s been very good. Where we’re looking to improve as a team, we want to be physical at net fronts. He’s been physical. When he’s on top of his game, that’s what he’s doing. He’s getting to hard areas, driving to hard areas, making it hard on other teams to have time and space,” said Montgomery, who likes Steen’s low center of gravity.

“I think he’s very comfortable, too, as far as camp goes. Everyone who was here last year kind of knows the drills, knows the routine. They’re a little more used to me. We’ve had a camp that is very good so far in the early going just from familiarity.”

In Saturday’s session, Steen bumped up to play on a line with Charlie Coyle and Brad Marchand. Last year, he didn’t have a great camp and it was no surprise when he got sent down to Providence, making it through waivers. But he did play three games in Boston later in the season and he demonstrated his game better in those contests than he did in camp.

“It was good to get some games in front of Monty, so that was good for me to show myself for him,” said Steen. “They liked my game last year in the three games I played, so I’m just trying to work on my game and be the player that I am.”

And the ask of physicality is right in Steen’s wheelhouse.

“That’s a part of my game and I can bring that to the team,” said Steen.

Meanwhile, McLaughlin’s hook is his versatility, something the B’s have long valued. On Saturday, he played right wing on a line with Lucic and Brown but the B’s have not given up on McLaughlin as a pivot.

“He did have a good camp last year and I think he’s having another good camp. He’s stood out,” said Montgomery. “We’ve talked to him about giving him opportunities on right wing and center because we just don’t know the makeup of our team this year like we did last year, as far as centers especially.”

McLaughlin had such a good camp last year that it was a mild surprise when he was one of the last cuts. He started slowly in Providence but rebounded well toward the end of the season, posting 13-17-30 in 66 games.

“At times it can be (tough to swallow),” said McLaughlin of last year’s demotion, “but they had a great team last year. You can’t get frustrated about that. I think I definitely had things I needed to work on in Providence and I think I made good strides there and I think I made good strides this summer, too, working on all kinds of things with the skating coaches here and around Massachusetts, so I’m excited for this year.”

Rarely does management or a coaching staff say there’s no competition at the start of any training camp. But often times the reality is that there aren’t a lot of jobs open. That’s not the case this year. Every practice, every preseason game opportunity matters. Montgomery is looking for proactive players who won’t sit back waiting for things to come to them.

“In camp, it’s called tryouts for a reason,” said Montgomery. “You try – or you’re out.”…

The B’s released their roster for Sunday’s preseason opener against the Rangers and, as expected, it’s heavy on youth. We’ll get our first look at Matt Poitras, believed to be a center of the future, while veteran James van Riemsdyk will don Bruins’ colors for the first time. Montgomery said Brandon Bussi is expected to get the full game in net.

Here’s the full lineup:

Forwards: John Beecher, Patrick Brown, Jake DeBrusk, Trent Frederic, Morgan Geekie, A.J. Greer, Brett Harrison, Fabian Lysell, Jayson Megna, Poitras, Anthony Richard, van Riemsdyk

Defensemen: Mike Callahan, Ian Mitchell, Alec Regula, Reilly Walsh, Parker Wotherspoon, Jakub Zboril

Goaltenders: Bussi, Kyle Keyser

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