( Above Photo Credit:  Photographer Keith Hershmiller )

By: Mark Allred                 Follow Me On Twitter @BlackAndGold277

Boston Bruins prospect Jesse Gabrielle entered his first year of professional hockey in October of 2017 with the B’s top minor-pro affiliate the Providence Bruins, but after a four-point effort in 21 games in Rhode Island, the B’s organization felt his development would benefit him greatly with a return to the Western Hockey League. His career in one of the top major-junior leagues in Canada has been impressive so far for the 20-year-old forward as he’s contributed 214 points in 254 games.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

Gabrielle, a Moosomin, Saskatchewan native was drafted in the fourth round of the National Hockey Leagues Entry Draft in 2015 and Bruins scouts saw something in him for a mid-round selection as a player with grit, speed, and uncanny offensive attributes. That is still true today as he continues to develop and his demotion should not be a question of character or draft bust. Moves like these from NHL clubs happen quite often for those who follow players in the prospect rankings on a regular basis, and most turn out successful as an act of continued learning. His offensive talents can’t be denied as he posted 130 goals as a bantam in 117 games as a 13-year-old to move up to be a fifth-round selection of the Brandon Wheat Kings to start a four-year career in the WHL to score 113 goals.

The Hockey Writers Bruins contributor Brandon Share-Cohen wrote a solid piece about Jesse back in September of 2017, mentioning that the rugged winger could be in the mix of cracking the NHL B’s roster as his “dark horse” pick. Although Brandon’s thoughts didn’t come to fruition, that doesn’t mean he won’t be in the mix next season during the 2018 Development Camp, Rookie Camp, or NHL training camp from the Warrior Ice Arena during the Bruins events in the summer offseason. Even if he doesn’t make the NHL roster next season, he’ll still be a valuable asset to the Bruins depth with two remaining years left on his Entry-Level contract that he signed in December of 2016.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

This year, the City of Regina, Saskatchewan was selected to host the 100th Anniversary of the Memorial Cup which today is sponsored by Mastercard. This is a great opportunity for Gabrielle to not only be an agitator and offensive threat but his experience and WHL veteran leadership will be heavily relied on regardless of what line he plays on. With the City of Regina hosting the popular four-team round-robin tournament from May 17th – 27th 2018, a return to the Providence Bruins isn’t out of the realm if the B’s make a deep Calder Cup Playoff run.

So far this season the Regina Pats are sitting in the first position in the Eastern Conference Wild Card standings with a 24-19-4-0 record (52 Points) in 47 games played and are on a four-game winning streak since the Gabrielle was returned to the area he grew up around. From the video provided above from the Pats official Twitter account, he looks happy to be bad and has a positive attitude regardless of the current situation. One of his key attributes is his eagerness to help any team no matter what level as in the short time with the Pats so far in his return with 3-2-5 numbers in those four games.

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js