Bruins Prospects: Who’s playing junior hockey this season?

Philip Svedebäck – Dubuque Fighting Saints

It’s never a bad thing to load the pipeline with goaltender talent. Philip Svedebäck was selected in the fourth round in the 2021 draft out of Sweden. He’s got the raw skills to be a successful goaltender, but there will need to be time for him to fully develop, which is typical with goaltenders.

Svedebäck came up through the youth program of the Växjö Lakers HC, playing with their U20 junior team in the J20 Nationell. In 12 games, he was 5-6-0 with a 3.47 goals against average and a .912 save percentage.

This season, he has come over to North American where he’ll tend the pipes for the Dubuque Fighting Saints in the USHL. He’s impressed already in two games, sporting a 1.99 GAA and a .942 SV% with a 1-0-1 record. He recently committed to Providence College for next fall, where he’ll likely join Bruins prospect Riley Duran with the Friars. There’s a lot to like about Svedebäck, but as goaltenders go, patience will be needed.

Mason Langenbrunner – Fargo Force

Mason Langenbrunner is the only Bruins prospect playing in juniors that wasn’t selected in this year’s draft. He’s a fifth-round selection in the 2020 draft. If the last name sounds familiar, that’s because it should. He’s the son of former NHLer and current Bruins Director of Player Development, Jamie Langenbrunner.

The two-way defender played most the of 2020-21 with Eden Prairie High School, one of the top high schools programs in Minnesota. Langenbrunner had five goals and 26 assists in 24 games to help Eden Prairie to a class AA championship. He did see four games in the USHL with the Sioux City Musketeers, registering no points in his appearances.

Langenbrunner is committed to Harvard University and appeared as though he was going to enroll this fall, but elected for another year at the USHL. He was traded from Sioux City to the Fargo Force this spring. So far, he’s pointless in two games with Fargo. The 19-year-old still has a few years to go in development, but signs are there he could become a solid shut-down defender with offensive upside.

Andre Gasseau – Fargo Force

The second member of the Fargo Force that is a Bruins draft pick, Andre Gasseau was one of two seventh-round picks by Boston this summer. Gasseau has a high offensive upside, with his strengths being his shot and his 1-on-1 skills.

The 18-year-old center skated primarily with the U.S. National U18 Team last season, recording 27 points in 42 games. However, he also got the call up to play with the U.S. National Team Development Program in the USHL, finishing with eight points in 23 games.

Through two games with the Force, the California native has already scored a goal, as well as that nifty, successful shootout attempt. He’s committed to Boston College for the fall of 2022, so if fellow Bruins prospect Trevor Kuntar returns to the Eagles for a junior season, the two Bruins draft picks will play together.