Bruins Prospects: How draft picks are playing in juniors
In our second installment of our midseason Bruins prospects check-in, up next is the junior kids.
This offseason, I previewed the six Bruins draft picks playing juniors in North America. Three are playing major juniors in Canada while three are playing Tier I juniors in the United States.
Let’s take a look at how those players are performing.
Fabian Lysell
Arguably the top prospect in the Bruins organization, Lysell has been ripping it up in the WHL with Vancouver Giants. The 2020 first-round pick is averaging over a point per game, with 28 points in 23 games. He’s second on the team in points, tied for first in goals with 11 and third in assists with 17.
The Teddy BRUIN Goal! @NHLBruins prospect Fabian Lysell makes it rain 🐻 pic.twitter.com/mEluho10B6
— Vancouver Giants (@WHLGiants) December 11, 2021
He’ll be stepping away briefly from the Giants to play for Team Sweden at the upcoming 2022 World Juniors, the Bruins lone representative in the tournament. Lysell is performing exactly at the rate Boston hoped for out of him. He’ll be in a Bruins jersey, either Providence or Boston, in no time.
Brett Harrison
Perhaps the sneaky best value pick for the Bruins in 2021 draft was Harrison. Taken in the third round, Harrison is having a great second season in the OHL with the Oshawa Generals. The 18-year-old center has 28 points in 23 games. He previously had 37 points in 58 games with Oshawa during the 2019-20 season, so he’s producing at a higher rate this season.
Back-to-back OT wins on home ice for the @Oshawa_Generals 🎉@NHLBruins prospect Brett Harrison (@Bretth4488) taps in his second of the night for the game winner 🎥 pic.twitter.com/JV5ufxajHO
— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) November 27, 2021
Eerily similar to Lysell, his points rank second on Oshawa, his goals (15) rank second and his assists (13) rank third. Harrison finished the final five games prior to the holiday break with nine points.
He’s a big body center who is good in the corners as well as in the face off circle (54% success rate this season). Harrison may not be well known with Bruins fans now, but he’s a name to look out for in the coming years.
Ryan Mast
Another player in his second season in the OHL, Mast was taken in the sixth round in the 2021 draft by Boston. The defenseman already has more points in 25 games this season (12) than he did the entire 2019-20 season with the Sting (11).
He leads all defensemen on Sarnia in points and has been an integral part of the blue line. Mast broke a four-game pointless skid with an assist in his final game before the holiday break. He continues to develop into a strong two-way defender.
Mason Langenbrunner
The son of ex-NHLer Jamie Langebrunner, Mason is in his first season with the USHL’s Fargo Force. The defenseman from Minnesota hasn’t seen the offensive production translate from high school hockey for Eden Prairie High to the USHL, but he’s secured five assists in 24 games.
While some may have expected a bit more offensive production out of Langenbrunner, he’s improving in his defensive end. For those that put stock in plus/minus, he’s one of just a handful of skaters on Fargo that is on the positive side of the stat. He’s tied for second in that category with a +4.
The fifth-round pick from 2020 is committed to Harvard University for next year, allowing the Bruins to get an even closer look at Langenbrunner.
Andre Gasseau
Gasseau is also on Fargo with Langenbrunner. He made the switch to the Fargo Force after being a member of the U.S. National Team Development Program last season.
One of the Bruins two seventh-round picks from this summer’s draft, Gasseau started out strong with Fargo, recording five goals and two assists in the first five games of the season, including a hat trick. But he cooled off, with just six points in the 17 games since. He is fourth on the team in points with 13 in 22 games as they head into their holiday break.
He’ll be in the Boston area for college next season, joining fellow Bruins prospect Oskar Jellvik as a freshman at Boston College. He’s shown flashes where the offense is there, but the inconsistency is a bit concerning.
Philip Svedebäck
Svedebäck’s transition from Swedish juniors to the USHL couldn’t have gotten out to a better start.
The 2021 fourth-rounder kicked off the season 5-0-2 with the Dubuque Fighting Saints, posting a .906 SV% and .312 GAA in his first seven games. After just two games in the USHL, the Swedish goaltender had committed to Providence College for next season.
But since then, Svedebäck is 0-3-0, allowing 16 goals in the three games, including allowing six goals in both matchups against the Chicago Steel. Now, he’s out with an injury and hasn’t played since the first week of December. Hopefully the Dubuque goaltender can get healthy and get back into the groove he started out with.