Charlie Coyle ready to meet challenge as Bruins face life without Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci

A new opportunity is exactly what Coyle has in front of him.

It'll be up to him and Pavel Zacha to step up and hold down the fort in the top-six after a lack of cap space and draft capital prevented the B's from being able to address the vacancies. Youngsters, like Matthew Poitras, are still a ways off from becoming contributors at the NHL level. 

Coyle's gotten cracks as a top-six pivot before, whether it was for part of the 2021-22 season when Krejci had returned to Czechia or in the 2023 playoffs with Bergeron and Krejci out of the lineup due to injury. The results, to this point, have been mixed. He couldn't sustain a strong start on the second line in 2021 before Erik Haula wound up shouldering 2C duties. This past spring against Florida, Coyle looked the part between Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk, who could be his linemates to begin the year, based off Jim Montgomery's recent interview with the Boston Herald's Steve Conroy. 

Even in his small sample sizes, Coyle. who's carved out a dependable role as a reliable 3C over the course of his tenure in the Spoked-B, has taken the good and bad for the learning experiences they're worth.

"I mean, I've only got a little taste of that, playing with those guys," he said. "I've kind of had a solidified role in my five years I've been here, but it can give me the confidence too. Playing in there in the playoffs when we had those guys out, and taking on other teams' first and second lines and seeing how I fare you know. That's just a small sample size. It doesn't really say much, and it's a new year. So, it's a great opportunity, as I said, and I just want to make the most of that. 

"I gotta prove myself. If that's something that I really want – and I do – I've got to prove that. That's gonna take time here, and we'll see how it goes."

Even with his trustworthy 200-foot game and forechecking prowess, Coyle has still had his struggles with consistently producing. But coming off his best season to date in Black and Gold after posting 16 goals and 29 assists for 45 points, there's reason for optimism. 

He's put in the work on the ice this offseason to put himself in the best position to make the most of his elevated role, working on his shot, footwork and finding the right areas to be able to utilize his release. The biggest challenge will be between the ears as he stares greater responsibility in the face. For Coyle, doing everything he can to get into the right headspace has been his focus training camp looms. 

"It's honestly everything. It's everywhere. I think I'm pretty open to trying new things, whether it's reading a book, listening to a podcast, doing just all those little things that can kind of get you in the right mind space and picking other people's brains on their experiences if someone played in this situation or whatever, all those kinds of little things. I think that can help," Coyle said. "Just having talks. Having talks with the coaches or teammates and kind of everything. It's not just one thing, right? But you always try to fine-tune and find every advantage you can to work on that stuff. Maybe talking to some sports psychologists, you know, things like that. I think that stuff really helps, and maybe it only helps [a little]. But you're that much better every time you do those little things. So I've tried all different avenues like that. We'll see if it works out."

Regardless, Coyle feels he's ready to meet his biggest test yet head-on as Boston closes the book on the first century of Bruins hockey. 

"I want to be a better player, and there's job opportunities open at the position I play," Coyle said. "So, it's a great challenge that I want to take advantage of. You always want more responsibility. You want more responsibility on the team you're on, and that's something I've always strived for. So, it's a great challenge. I'm looking forward to that and I'm excited about it. We wish those guys were back, but in the end, you've got to turn the page and take advantage of what's in front of you."