When Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney had a firesale at the 2025 trade deadline, he ended up moving out some key players for the Black and Gold. However, it was a firesale that was needed to be done.
The trade to this day that is getting all the headlines was the fleecing that Sweeney had with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Boston sent Brandon Carlo to their heated division rivals for prospect Fraser Minten and a first-round draft pick, top 5 protected, and a fourth-round pick. Of course, Toronto bottomed out in 2025-26 and ended up keeping the pick after winning the NHL Draft Lottery in May.
Another trade that is flying under the radar for Sweeney was the deal that sent forward Charlie Coyle to the Colorado Avalanche for prospect Will Zellers, Casey Mittlestadt, and a draft pick. That deal is quickly turning into a deal that is going to pay off bigtime for Bruins in the not-too-distant future.
Former Bruins defenseman drops a promising outlook for fast-rising prospect
Bruins Director of Player Development Adam McQuaid spoke about some of the Black and Gold's prospects and had a promising take on Zellers.
“He certainly has the ability to be as high as a top-six scoring winger that you can use in different situations,” McQuaid said. “… He knows the right times to try and create.”
That statement is certainly something that rings true. In his freshman season of 2025-26 at the University of North Dakota, the third-round pick of Colorado in the 2024 Entry Draft had 18 goals and 16 assists in 38 games. The 5-foot-10, 163-pound Zellers is just 20 years old and returning for his sophomore season at North Dakota in the fall.
Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com had a prediction that Zellers projected NHL arrival being next season. If that ends up being the case, similar to James Hagens, that could quickly help his development into the NHL. There is no doubt that there is a reason why Zellers is quickly becoming one of the Black and Gold's top prospects. This is another trade that could be a Don Sweeney fleecing.
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