It’s no secret that the Boston Bruins prospect pool ranks near the bottom of the NHL. That was been the way under GM Don Sweeney and there are several factors for that. Sweeney has used their first-round pick in trades at the trade deadline to upgrade his roster for a playoff run. That has left them with a lack of picks in the first couple of rounds and over time, missing those picks will eventually catch up to you.
Boston does have some promising prospects in their pool and one problem is that most of them are currently playing in college. Fabian Lysell and Georgii Merkulov are with the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL) and have struggled to get to Boston, but one promising prospect in college is having a breakout season.
Bruins prospect Dans Locmelis is having a breakout year at UMass
Dan Locmelis, selected in the fourth round and 119th overall in the 2022 Entry Draft, had seven goals and seven assists last season as a freshman in 30 games played in 2023-24. This season, he has already exceeded his point total from last season with 15 on three goals and 12 assists for the University of Massachusetts in 15 games entering this weekend, which is good enough to be third on the Minutemen in points.
The 6-foot-0 center impressed at the past two World Junior Championships for Latvia. In 2023, he had three goals in six games, then in the 2024 WJC, he had three goals and two assists in five games.
Boston has some talented prospect forwards in college, which includes Dean Letourneau who was the Black and Gold’s first-round pick in this June’s Entry Draft after Sweeney got a first-round pick back from the Ottawa Senators in the Linus Ullmark trade. Locmelis has been a young player who has been on the radar of prospect scouts and this year so far, he’s having a breakout sophomore season.