“It’s a good fit for us, because he takes a lot of the left-side faceoffs for David,’’ Hitchcock said before the game. “That helps. They start with the puck more. The other thing is he’s a smart player. He knows how to manage the game properly. He’s good on the forecheck.
“He’s a lot like Kelly is or Peverley is for Boston. He’s able to move up and down the lineup and be productive. We’d like him to hit the net more. He’s wearing out the glass in some of the buildings. If we can get him to hit the net more, he’ll be all right.’’
In three seasons in the Boston organization, Sobotka made a name for himself as a gritty third-line center. In 2009-10, he had four goals and six assists in 61 regular-season games.
On June 26, 2010, the Bruins traded Sobotka to St. Louis for the rights to Boston University defenseman David Warsofsky. The Bruins already had David Krejci, Patrice Bergeron, and Marc Savard as their top three centers. Four days earlier, they had acquired Gregory Campbell from Florida in the Nathan Horton trade. The previous day, they had drafted Tyler Seguin. Sobotka was the odd man out.
So far, St. Louis is the winner in the deal. Last year, Sobotka had seven goals and 22 assists in 65 games. This season he has three goals and 14 assists while averaging more than 15 minutes of ice time per game. He also has 110 hits, third most on the team.
Prices going up
Season ticket-holders will be eligible to renew their 2012-13 seats starting today. According to the Bruins, seats will go up by an average of $5.25 for next season. Amy Latimer, senior vice president of sales and marketing, said season tickets will be capped at 12,000 seats, which is this season’s ceiling as well.
According to Shaun Vigeant, a fourth-year season ticket-holder, the price of his balcony seats will rise from $32 apiece this season to $52.50 in 2012-13. Vigeant, who lives in Melrose, will renew, but said he had to think about it.
