The 2026-27 NCAA hockey season heads into Halloween weekend a little more than a month old and the Bruins have some notable draft picks playing college hockey at a high level. The Bruins are all over the country, not just Boston. Boston College and Quinnipiac both hold multiple picks, as the rest are individually spread out west. The big names are producing and the smaller names are building buzz.
As the weekend continues, these are 3 Bruins draft picks to highlight in college hockey.
Chris Pelosi, Quinnipiac University, Junior
Pelosi is an intriguing player for the Bruins. The assistant captain is sitting at almost a point per game with 6 points in 7 games with 3 goals and 3 assists, after today's win against #5 Providence. He’s a physical front of the net presence, but skilled enough to see power play time. Pelosi has been able to provide impressive complimentary scoring on a top 10 team.
He had a nice breakaway goal against then ranked #2 Providence earlier in the year.
Rand Pecknold has helped QU be a stronghold in college hockey. But unfortunately for Pelosi and his teammate, who might make an appearance shortly, the list of NHL contributors is fairly light. The B’s are familiar with the program as alumni Connor Clifton is one of the few currently rostered. It is a solid team, and he’s a very good player. While the ECAC is getting better, it’s still not quite there, which makes it tough to translate into the professional game.
With the pace that Pelosi is on, he could be a consideration to leave and sign a deal with Providence after Quinnipiac’s season comes to a close.
Will Zellers, University of North Dakota, Sophomore
Will Zellers is a very intriguing Boston Bruins prospect. Coming from Colorado via trade he’s different than what the usual Bruin’s prototype player is. Zellers has a scoring touch, as he was 2nd on the team in scoring last year, 1st among freshman by a wide margin.
A point per game isn't struggling, but just 2 early season goals on a very low .070 shooting percentage is not easy to ignore.
That’s really low.
He leads the team with 27 shots, so his luck could turn very quick. Now is just the waiting game to see if that happens. He’s still a very highly skilled forward who is not seeing any shortage of opportunities, so his time should come.
It seems like it would be smart to have Zellers stick around North Dakota one extra year after this one. Unless there’s a big jump in his play they’d be smart to let him develop and become the teams’ true top option.
Ellio Groenewold, Quinnipiac University, Junior
Fellow Bobcat with Pelosi, Groenewold is a solid two-way defenseman who was taken in the 4th round of the 2025 draft. Last season he led the nation last year with plus-39 rating, while scoring 20 points himself. Also being selected to this year’s leadership team Groenewold has continued to anchor the defensive core.
He is a smart puck moving defenseman who can contribute offensively but also prove to be extremely reliable in the defensive zone.
With a very defensively structured Bruins system, this is a great match.
Groenewold being a rock that can cover defensive zone play, will allow for someone with an offensive tendency to feel comfortable making a play.
With the Bruin’s somewhat unexpected start yet seemingly lacking defensive power Groenewold becomes an interesting thought at the end of the year. Between Devon Toews and Connor Clifton, there has been some success at the NHL level for QU defenseman.
I would like to think the defensive situation would more likely be resolved via trade acquisition. He’s only 20, so there’s room to grow at the NCAA level. He is also a higher probability candidate to be joining Providence rather than Boston at the end of the season.
As Halloween weekend is in full swing, so is college hockey.
There are great story lines everywhere as a struggling BC heads into a very important stretch, Penn State feels lost and the Big10 dominates the top 5.
It’s an exciting time for college hockey, especially when an organization like the Bruins put such an emphasis on NCAA players.
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