By: Mark Allred | Follow me on Twitter @BlackAndGold277
Last night Boston Bruins prospect and Oshawa Generals forward Brett Harrison extended his season-high point streak in a 7-2 beatdown of the visiting Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. The former 2021 third-round draft selection of the National Hockey League Bruins recorded the primary assist on Generals’ teammate Cameron Butler’s 9th goal of the season, extending Harrison’s point streak to five games.
Harrison, a 6′-2″ 185-pound center, also scored his 16th goal of the season later in the game, striking at the 14:44 mark of the third period and giving the home Generals a 7-1 lead. Brett is off to an impressive start to the 2022-23 regular season in the Ontario Hockey League. Harrison got off to a late start to this Oshawa campaign due to a lower-body injury that had him miss a majority of off-season/preseason training.
The 19-year-old centerman returned to the OHL on October 14th at the home Tribute Communities Centre in downtown Oshawa, Ontario. In that first game, it was a getting back to hockey settling in game for the B’s forward prospect. Although he went pointless against the visiting Ottawa 67’s, he made several impacts in the game that would make any hockey organization comfortable concerning the health of a player moving forward. Harrison had a goal in his next two games in each, officially getting on the OHL’s 2022-23 scoreboard.
In the duration of Harrison’s season-high five-game point streak, the General’s forward has 7-3-1 numbers and 10-6-16 totals in his last ten games. Brett is on pace to hover around the 50-goal mark at the end of the season, surpassing his career-high of 27 last season in 65 games after missing a full year due to the OHL Covid shutdown. Harrison was smart during the OHL shutdown and flew over to Finland for a cup of coffee and an international experience with the KOOVEE club, where he was loaned to.
This season and remarkable start for the talented forward has the Bruins prospect at 16-8-24 numbers in 21 games for Oshawa this season. Harrison has only been penalized two times this season, has 76 shots on goal, and is close to 50% on the dot, winning 107 draws on 220 faceoff attempts. The Ontario, Canada native has four power-play goals thus far this season, and most of the man-advantage tallies came via nasty one-time releases on the off-wing right faceoff circle.
The 19-year-old signed a three-year, entry-level contract on August 1st, 2022, with Boston adding another piece to the NHL organization’s center depth and future plans up the middle. Per several sources that I’ve reached out to confirming information, Harrison is eligible for the American Hockey League next season as it will be his 20th birthday year when Canadian Hockey League prospects selected in the NHL draft can participate in an NHL’s minor-pro systems.
Per the EliteProspects.com website, Harrison is projected to end this 2022-23 regular season around the 70-point mark in 63 games played, which would triple his OHL career season-high point total. If the Boston Bruins want to place Brett in the AHL with their top minor-pro affiliate Providence Bruins, having an explosive year that he’s projected to have will be a solid resume builder going into his first season of North American professional hockey.
It’s hard to believe the Bruins organization would return a player like Harrison for his overage year. With the Bruins organization possibly losing veteran centermen like team captain Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, it’s important to get the next ones involved as soon as possible. With the unknown futures of current Providence Bruins centers Vinni Lettieri and Chris Wagner, a 20-year-old addition of Harrison might be a welcoming addition as he continues to develop.
Correct me if I am wrong. I thought that if you sign an entry level contract, that you can’t play as an overager.