Boston Bruins officially promote an unexpected defenseman following recent announcement

At Friday's skate, the Bruins ran Hampus Lindholm with Aspirot on the second pair, a real signal that the staff trusts him in heavier minutes.

That's wild when you remember how this year started. Aspirot didn't make the opening roster, got pushed to Providence, and felt like classic depth insurance when the season began.

Instead, injuries cracked the door, and he kicked it in. Boston recalled him in late October, then activated him again after his Dec. 11 injury, and he's been in the mix ever since.

I'll be honest, Bruins fans love a surprise grinder story, and Aspirot is turning into exactly that kind of cult favorite.

The numbers back up the eye test too. The NHL lists Aspirot as Boston's plus-minus leader at +10, which is nuts for a guy who wasn't even supposed to be here in October.

He's not running your power play, and that's fine. His value is simple reads, a hard first pass, and not panicking when shifts get messy, which is what this team has needed during the midseason wobble.

If he sticks next to Hampus Lindholm, it also lets the Bruins spread out the damage control. You're not asking Nikita Zadorov and Charlie McAvoy to erase every fire, and you're not hanging the third pair out to dry.

Now the pressure's on Aspirot to keep it steady when opponents start targeting him on the forecheck. If he holds, this «injury fill-in» story might turn into a real roster win heading into the next stretch.