( Photo Credit: Ohio State Buckeyes Athletics )

By: Mark Allred | Follow me on Twitter @BlackAndGold277

This afternoon the American Hockey League Providence Bruins signed defenseman Grant Gabriele to a one-year AHL-only contract for the 2022-23 campaign. The former NCAA Ohio State blueliner will join the top minor-pro affiliate of the National Hockey League Boston Bruins for the remainder of this 2021-22 regular season and upcoming playoffs on an Amateur Try-Out agreement.

Gabriele, a 6′-2″ 196-pound Minnesota native who went undrafted, recently completed his fifth season at Ohio State, where he posted 13-37-50 numbers in 124 career NCAA games for the Buckeyes. This past season the 24-year-old blueliner had a career year posting 5-15-20 numbers in 37 games alongside fellow defenseman and NHL Bruins prospect Mason Lohrei who recently completed his freshman year at Ohio State.

Per New England Hockey Journal and NHL.com contributor Mark Divver on his Twitter account, Gabriele is a good-sized right-shot defenseman, and per source, the AHL Bruins believe he has a solid skillset with plenty of room for development. Divver also added in his tweet from earlier today that Grant played with current Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy when both played with the United States Development Program.

The Providence Bruins are in action for three straight games this weekend, starting tonight at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. Gabriele will not play in tonight’s game against the visiting Hershey Bears, but if needed and works hard to earn the trust of the B’s coaching staff led by first-year AHL Head Coach Ryan Mougenel, he could see some action soon.

Providence is currently sitting in the second position in the Atlantic Division with a 28-17-3-6 record with 65 points eight behind division-leading Springfield Thunderbirds. The AHL Bruins are on a three-game losing streak and 4-3-0-3 in their last ten games. Hershey, who’s in town tonight, are in fifth place and have a road record of 11-14-3-0 and are 4-4-2 in their previous ten games.