Last season, when NESN handed out the 7th Player Award, it was a no-brainer when it was handed to Morgan Geekie. Nobody saw the season that he ended up having, which earned him a nice payday over the summer.
As far as this year's nominees went, there were some tough choices as to who it would come down to. Shortly after the Olympic Break, NESN posted on its X account the nominees for the 7th Player Award, which is given out to a player who goes above and beyond expectations for the season.
The nominee list was Jonathan Aspirot, Mark Kastelic, Fraser Minten, and Marat Khusnutdinov. Really, there is no way that the votes could have gone and they would have been wrong. In the end, it was a rookie who won the award, Fraser Minten.
Your 2025-26 7⃣th Player Award Winner:
— x - Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) April 14, 2026
Fraser Minten 👏#NHLBruins | @NESN pic.twitter.com/jJVyE4YoMR
Fraser Minten wins NESN's 7th Player Award
Talk about having a season that not many people, if any, saw coming from Minten. When he took his first shift on Tuesday night against the New Jersey Devils, it marked his 82nd game of the season, meaning he played a full schedule in his first full season in the NHL.
Entering the regular-season final, Minten has 17 goals and 17 assists with a plus/minus of plus-20, centering the Black and Gold's third line. For his career, in 106 games, he has 20 goals and 19 assists with a plus-15. This season, Minten has been valuable to first-year head coach Marco Sturm, being able to play in all situations.
You may remember that Minten was acquired at the trade deadline last March from the Toronto Maple Leafs in a deal that sent Brandon Carlo to the Leafs. Also coming to Boston was Toronto's first round draft pick in this June Entry Draft, which is top 5 protected, and the NHL Draft Lottery night will be interesting. Minten winning this award is another gut-punch to Maple Leafs fans.
Add us as a preferred source on Google