If there has been one thing that Boston Bruins management has been pounding on the table for years is the need to inject some youth into their lineup. Every time they appear to be going down that road, general manager Don Sweeney seems to veer off into another direction.
Defenseman Mason Lohrei has struggled this season in Boston, but it wasn’t without growing pains, something that he needed to go through. Then there was Matthew Poitras, who was up and down between Boston and the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL).
Top prospect Fabian Lysell got his first run in the NHL this season and a solid look as he is someone who the Bruins need to make an impact as soon as next season. At the trade deadline, Sweeney made a slew of trades as a seller and got back some prospects in return. One of the bigger names Sweeney got back was Fraser Minten and he is someone who could be an x-factor next season in the Black and Gold’s lineup.
Boston Bruins need Fraser Minten to be an x-factor in 2025-26
Trading one of your better defenseman to a bitter division rival and someone with term on their contract, the return better be good. That was the case when Sweeney traded Brandon Carlo to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a conditional 2026 first-round draft pick, a fourth-round draft pick in this summer’s draft, and prospect Fraser Minten. After beginning his stint with Boston in the AHL with Providence, Minten came up at the end of the season for the Bruins and showed flashes as someone who could be a regular in the lineup in 2025-26.
Granted, the sample size with Boston at the end of the season was small, six games, it was six games where he made an impression. He scored his goal as a Bruin in a 7-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on April 8. He averaged 15:01 a night with the Black and Gold and won 42% of his face-offs. He landed eight shots on the net.
What happens this summer with the roster remains to be seen, as there are going to be subtractions and additions. Whatever happens, there is going to be a need for some youth to make the roster out of camp in September, and Minten is one of those players. A solid player in all three zones, there is no doubt that he is someone who can make the lineup next season and be an x-factor. The Bruins need him to be.