There may be skepticism in the Boston media about Robbie Ftorek as the Boston Bruins’ new head coach, but not from former University of Maine star Scott Pellerin, who signed a two-year free agent deal with the Bruins last month.

“I played for Robbie for three and a half years [in the New Jersey Devils organization],” said left winger Pellerin. “He really helped me along during my career.”

Pellerin was relegated by the Devils to the Albany River Rats of the AHL and that didn’t sit well with him.

“I got discouraged at times. But Robbie kept believing in me. We had some great teams and won the Calder Cup. I became a better hockey player,” said Pellerin, who has earned a reputation as a tenacious checker and defensive specialist.

Pellerin spent four years with the St. Louis Blues before being obtained by the expansion Minnesota Wild prior to last season.

He had 11 goals and 28 assists and was Minnesota’s leading scorer when he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes late in the season. He had five assists in 19 games for the Hurricanes and didn’t register a point in six playoff games for them. He gained college hockey’s top honor at Maine, the Hobey Baker Award.

He became a free agent before signing with Boston.

“It’s a great situation. I’m really excited. I always used to watch the Bruins play. They have a [distinct] identity in the area. Being a Bruin is special,” said the 31-year-old Pellerin.

“They want me to play center as well as left wing so I’ve got to start working on my faceoffs,” said Pellerin, who has 67 goals, 112 assists and 281 penalty minutes in 423 career NHL games.

Pellerin, wife Jennifer, and their two small children have a summer home in Windham, N.H., which makes his move to Boston an added plus.

He is looking forward to training camp, which begins next month.

“The Bruins have made a lot of changes. They have a lot of new players. It’ll be a great opportunity for me,” said Pellerin.

Kinney, Pressley eye better days

Former Bangor American Legion teammates Matt Kinney and Josh Pressley have had frustrating seasons.

Kinney, who was 2-2 with a 5.10 earned run average after his call-up by the Minnesota Twins last season, has toiled for a last-place Pacific Coast League (AAA) team this season.

Kinney is currently 2-11 with a 5.88 ERA for the 49-74 Edmonton Trappers.

He has allowed 154 hits, including 23 homers, in 131? innings.

He has struck out 114 and walked 70. Kinney has unleashed 11 wild pitches.

Pressley suffered a broken wrist in May and hasn’t returned to the Orlando Rays’ (AA) lineup yet.

He was hitting .279 with a homer and 12 RBIs in 30 games when he was injured.

Kinney’s situation is interesting.

When he was traded to the Twins by the Boston Red Sox in 1998, it seemed like a positive development for Kinney.

The Twins were a struggling low-budget team and the Red Sox were high-budget contenders so it appeared he would have a quicker road to the majors with Minnesota.

That proved true last year.

But the Twins have one of the best young pitching staffs in all of baseball and the Red Sox have given several young pitchers a look this year due to injuries.

Still, as long as Kinney doesn’t get discouraged or injured, he should make it back up to the majors.

As for Pressley, I know the Devil Rays love the way he swings the bat but I still think he could pitch in the big leagues some day.

When he was in Bangor and winning the Zone 1 Player of the Year award at the tender age of 16, Pressley proved that he knew how to pitch. He had a live arm, tremendous poise and he worked the hitters. He always had the one dominant pitch that set up everything else: a great changeup.