By: Tom Calautti | Follow me on Twitter @TCalauttis
The Boston Bruins’ 2024-25 Rookie Camp starts tomorrow, and the regular season is right around the corner, so I figured now would be a great time to give readers a new prospect ranking. After a season marked by invaluable rookie contributions, it’s essential to take stock of what Don Sweeney & Co. have in their organization and who could be the next player to make a splash.
This list will be quite different from my previous ranking simply because Boston saw three of its top prospects play significant NHL minutes last season. For that reason, Matt Poitras, Mason Lohrei, and Johnny Beecher will be left off this list.
1. Fabian Lysell
Age: 21
Draft: 2022 1st round pick, 21st overall
2023-24 Providence Bruins (AHL)
2023-24 Stats: 56GP, 15G, 35A, 50 Pts
2024-25 Team: TBD
Put all the controversy and criticism to the side, Fabian Lysell is Boston’s best prospect. When you combine the physical abilities, resumé to this point, and ceiling, few others can match what a fully-formed Lysell can be. He has the kind of pure speed that makes even the best defenders anxious and displays the playmaking and scoring ability that translates to the next level.
His size is the biggest concern against him at this point. At 5’10”, he’s undersized at best and may struggle to adapt to the physicality of the NHL. That being said, there’s an open slot at 2RW on Boston’s opening night roster, and Lysell will have his best chance to earn a spot with the big club.
2. Georgii Merkulov
Age: 23
Draft: Free Agent Signing
2023-24 Providence Bruins (AHL)
2023-24 Stats: 67GP, 30G, 35A, 65 Pts
2024-25 Team: TBD
As far as I’m concerned, there isn’t much more Georgii Merkulov can do to prove his case for a spot on the Bruins’ opening night roster. Last season, the Russian center appeared in the AHL all-star game, averaged almost a point per game, and finished the year as a top-five scorer. He’s quick and creative, can create offense for others, can score, and has vastly improved his defensive game.
My fear with Merkulov is that the Bruins simply won’t have a spot for him due to the numbers game at the NHL level. Elias Lindholm and Charlie Coyle are your top two centers, Matt Poitras and Morgan Geekie will fill the 3C role, and one of Johnny Beecher or Mark Kastelic is your 4C. Rubber may be about to meet the road with Merkulov, but he deserves a shot from a strictly talent perspective.
3. Dean Letourneau
Age: 18
Draft: 2024 1st round pick, 25th overall
2023-24 Team: St. Andrew’s College (PHC)
2023-24 Stats: 14GP, 14G, 11A, 25 Pts
2024-25 Team: Boston College
The first thing you notice when watching Dean Letourneau play is how massive he is. The 18-year-old towered over reporters at Bruins Development Camp, standing at 6’7″. That’s what makes his hands and skating ability so impressive. Despite being that size, Letourneau showed off silky hands, a soft touch around the net, and a skating game more advanced than others of similar size.
He’s still an extremely raw prospect who will need several seasons in the NCAA to reach his potential, but if he gets there, the Boston Bruins could have an absolute stud on their hand for the years to come.
4. Oskar Jellvik
Age: 21
Draft: Free Agent Signing
2023-24 Team: Boston College (NCAA)
2023-24 Stats: 41GP, 13G, 29A, 42 Pts
2024-25 Team: Boston College
Oskar Jellvik is my favorite prospect in the Bruins system. He’s a rare skater with straight-line speed, lateral quickness, elite edge work, and excellent start-stop ability without sacrificing his skating velocity. As a passer, he has a unique vision that allows him to see plays before they develop and execute high-difficulty passes through tight windows efficiently.
Bruins head of player development Adam McQuaid lauded him for the jump he made from his freshman to sophomore season at Boston College. He will look to cement himself as one of Boston’s most exciting prospects in his junior season. BC will once again compete for a national title this season, and I implore all fans to catch a game to watch Jellvik’s potential.
5. John Farinacci
Age: 23
Draft: Free Agent Signing
2023-24 Providence Bruins (AHL)
2023-24 Stats: 71GP, 12G, 26A, 38 Pts
2024-25 Team: Providence Bruins
Farinacci is the type of two-way center the Bruins organization loves. He plays a responsible defensive game, has good instincts on both ends of the ice, and can play up and down the lineup whenever called upon. He isn’t an overly gifted skater or physical presence, but he’s innovative, slick with the puck, and creative in tight spaces.
The Harvard alum got off to a red-hot start in the AHL last season, posting 25 points (8 goals and 17 assists) in his first 38 games. He trailed off in the second half of the season, but I think that can be attributed to the ‘rookie wall’ most players hit late in seasons. Farinacci never played more than 31 games in a season while in the NCAA, so with a year of seasoning under his belt, he can insert himself into the ‘centers of the future’ conversation for the Bruins.
6. Brett Harrison
Age: 21
Draft: 2021 3rd round pick, 85th overall
2023-24 Team: Providence Bruins (AHL)
2023-24 Stats: 47GP, 5G, 9A, 14 Pts
2024-25 Team: Providence Bruins
Harrison is a gifted scorer with the kind of shot that NHL talent evaluators dream of. Whether he’s teeing up a one-timer, ripping off a quick release in transition, or firing a shot through traffic, he has the kind of goal-scoring velocity and touch that excites me. He’s a shooter first and foremost, but he’s also an underrated distributor with good vision and a knack for completing low-percentage passes into tight windows.
Harrison struggled with adjusting to the speed and physicality of the AHL game as a 20-year-old. He’s a player who can sometimes drift into the background when the pace of the game picks up, but when he has his legs moving, he can be a legitimate goal-scoring threat. Look for him to make a big jump with Providence this season.
7. Riley Duran
Age: 22
Draft: 2020 6th round pick, 182nd overall
2023-24 Team: Providence Bruins (AHL)
2023-24 Stats: 11GP, 2G, 2A, 4 Pts
2024-25 Team: Providence Bruins
Riley Duran has been a pleasant and unexpected surprise for the Boston Bruins organization. The Woburn, MA native is one of the high-motor, relentless forechecking forwards that fans of the Black and Gold have come to know and love. He put his speed and finishing ability on display when he cameoed in the AHL last season, and Don Sweeney made a point to mention he could compete for a roster spot this year.
Duran is someone I refuse to bet against. Whenever I try to put a ceiling on what he can be, he makes me eat my words and reaches another level in his development. I think he’d benefit from a year in Providence to work on the details of his game and his scoring ability, but sooner rather than later, Duran is going to don the spoked-B.
8. Jonathan Myrenberg
Age: 21
Draft: Acquired via Trade
2023-24 Team: Linkoping (SHL)
2023-24 Stats: 50GP, 2G, 9A, 11 Pts
2024-25 Team: Linkoping (SHL)
Myrenberg may be the best prospect Bruins fans don’t know about. The Swedish defender was acquired in the Jack Studnicka trade and has played in the Swedish hockey league for several seasons. Myrenberg reminds me of Hampus Lindholm in many ways: He’s an excellent skater, moves the puck well, and defends vigorously without playing an overly physical game.
His stats may not jump off the page until you realize he’s been playing against grown men in the Swedish Hockey League in his early twenties. He’s an immaculately smooth skater with a great stride and an active stick that allows him to make plays in transition. Myrenberg may very well be the best right-handed defenseman in Boston’s system.
9. Frederic Brunet
Age: 20
Draft: 2022 5th round pick, 122nd overall
2023-24 Team: Providence Bruins (AHL)
2023-24 Stats: 48GP, 2G, 10A, 12 Pts
2024-25 Team: Providence Bruins
Brunet’s offensive game has a chance to blossom this season. With Mason Lohrei up with the big club and Reilly Walsh leaving in free agency, he’ll likely have an opportunity to quarterback one of Providence’s two power-play units and show off what he does best: move the puck. He’s a good skater who gracefully traverses the offensive blueline and can zip both shots and passes into tight windows.
Brunet joined Providence last year after several seasons in the QMJHL. Although he is a good size (6’3″, 190 lbs), he struggled at times with physicality and on-puck defending in the AHL. Now that he’s a year older and stronger, he will be more equipped to adjust to pro hockey while also highlighting his strengths in his own game.
10. Jackson Edward
Age: 20
Draft: 2020 7th round pick, 200th overall
2023-24 Team: London Knights (OHL)
2023-24 Stats: 59GP, 7G, 23A, 30 Pts
2024-25 Team: Providence Bruins (AHL)
The 6’3″ Edward made a name for himself in hockey circles due to his physical play and downright violent style of defending (see below). The grizzly defenseman has already exhibited the ability to limit the time and space of opposing forwards, dominate below his goal line, and use his legs to defend on the rush.
Perhaps the most telling development from last season is the expansion of his offensive game. He finished the season with career highs in goals, assists, and points throughout the regular and postseason. Edward is rough around the edges and will probably take a year or two to get where the organization wants him, but make no mistake; he’s somebody the team has penciled into their long-term plans.
Honorable Mentions: Dans Locmelis, Trevor Kuntar, Chris Pelosi, Beckett Hendrickson, Ryan Walsh, Elliott Groenewold, Jonathan Morello, Andre Gasseas
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