The college hockey season is underway across most conferences, and the Bruins have a number of prospects that have already made an impact with their teams. Boston has six skaters and one goaltender competing in Hockey East this season. In Providence, forward Riley Duran recorded one goal and one assist in a win over Sacred Heart.
Between the pipes, goaltender Philip Svedeback stopped 15 of the 16 shots he faced against the Pioneers. The Friars continue the early part of their schedule with games against Clarkson on October 13th, and Northeastern on October 15th. Boston University kicked off the season with a big win over Bentley.
Defenseman Ty Gallagher’s season has gotten off to a solid start. The 2021 seventh rounder recorded one assist and blocked two shots against the Falcons. The Terriers’ season continues with a pair of games at Michigan on October 14th and 16th.
Boston College was shutout in its season opener against Quinnipiac. A pair of Bruins prospects found themselves on the scoresheet in the loss to the Bobcats. Andre Gasseau had a couple of shots on net, and Trevor Kuntar recorded five shots and was 6-of-12 on faceoffs for the Eagles.
BC hits the road for its next game. The Eagles visit New Hampshire on October 15th to open conference play. In the Big Ten, top defensive prospect Mason Lohrei has bounced back from a knee procedure with three assists, seven shots and three blocks over Ohio State’s first four games of the season.
Three of Boston’s prospects began their seasons in the NCHC. Minnesota Duluth’s Quinn Olson has recorded two assists and six shots, and Cole Spicer has one assist and two shots over the Bulldog’s first two games. Spicer is also 8-of-13 on faceoffs to start the year.
North Dakota got off to a great start to its season with a couple of wins over Holy Cross. Jake Schmatlz has one goal and six shots on net over his first two games. The 2019 seventh rounder also won 32 of his 44 faceoffs. The Fighting Hawks season continues with games against Quinnipiac on October 14th and 15th.
The Bruins are no doubt in a position where their draft picks have to start developing into legitimate NHL players. Although the season is still in its early stages, fans of the B’s should be excited to follow the growth of many of the team’s top prospects.
I’d even make the argument that the Providence Bruins will be a more exciting team to watch than Boston. The Baby B’s are coming off a 6-2 win over the Springfield Thunderbirds in their preseason finale. Top prospect Fabian Lysell had an assist and two shots in the game.
Lysell will officially go pro when the P-Bruins open the regular season on October 14th against the Bridgeport Islanders at the newly named Amica Mutual Pavilion. It remains to be seen if Providence will be adding even more veteran players to its roster.
With the conclusion of the NHL’s preseason, Boston waived forwards Nick Foligno and Chris Wagner along with defenseman Mike Reilly. The expectation is for all three players to clear waivers but return to the team once Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy are placed on injured reserve.