The Next Generation: Who Do the Boston Bruins Build Around?

By: Ryan Bosworth | Follow me on Twitter / X @RyanJBosworth

The Boston Bruins were sellers at the 2025 National Hockey League Trade Deadline. Core pieces of this team’s leadership were traded for pieces that will help Boston build toward a better future. Last Friday’s deadline saw Charlie Coyle, Brandon Carlo, and, of course, Brad Marchand get dealt, and overall, the return was quite promising. Bruin’s management seemed to accept that a change needed to be made if they wanted to right the ship and be Stanley Cup contenders in the near future. Now that a large chunk of the core has been traded away, who does management look toward as the new core in Boston?

Obviously, alternate captains David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy remain in Boston, and the captaincy will almost certainly fall to one of those two stars. But beyond those two players, who does Boston build around? The Boston Bruins have the second-youngest team in the NHL. With such a young team, who does management see as mainstays on a roster that lacks a sense of identity?

Behind McAvoy and Pastrnak, the biggest name on the Bruins would be Jeremy Swayman. Though he isn’t having as strong of a season as I’m sure he’d like right now, Jeremy Swayman, 26, put on a clinic in the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs and was arguably the biggest factor that kept Boston in the race through two series before ultimately falling to the Florida Panthers. Throughout this season, though, we have gotten glimpses of what Swayman is capable of, and needless to say, it’s very promising. Being in the first year of his eight-year, $64 million contract, he will be a foundational piece of a successful team if he isn’t already.

Alongside Charlie McAvoy plays a young, promising defenseman named Mason Lohrei. Lohrei, 24, is in his first full season with Boston, and despite some growing pains, his play has been extremely promising. Lohrei is certainly an offensive-defenseman, as he handles the puck with fantastic skill and can generate plays in the offensive zone. So far this season, he posted 4-24-28 numbers, already tying his goal total from last season.

Since McAvoy has been sidelined with an injury he suffered in the 4 Nations Face-Off, Lohrei has been manning the quarterback position on the first power play unit.. Since shifting from McAvoy to Lohrei on the first power play, the Bruins’ man advantage has been more successful. Lohrei is continuing to gain experience at the NHL level, and he’s continuing to improve. Alongside McAvoy, Lohrei will be an impactful player on the Bruins’ backend.

Moving on from the backend of the Boston Bruins, Matthew Poitras is a young, 21-year-old center who’s had an up-and-down season between the Boston Bruins and American Hockey League affiliate Providence Bruins. Currently, Poitras is on the AHL Bruins roster for what looks like the remainder of the season as Providence heads into the postseason prepped for a Calder Cup run. Though Poitras has been called up and sent down throughout the 2024-2025 campaign, his play has been promising, with the ability to win puck battles and create plays into the offensive zone despite his numbers not being the strongest.

Posting 1-10-11 through 33 games played with Boston, his AHL stats are much better, and he doesn’t struggle to find the back of the net when down with Providence. Posting 9-12-21 through 24 games played, the biggest influence on Poitras seems to be the culture surrounding both teams. Providence has had a successful season thus far and is, as previously stated, heading into the postseason, prepping to make a run for the Calder Cup. Up in the NHL, the culture isn’t quite as successful, which can affect how a player performs. As Poitras gains more confidence in getting the puck in the back of the net, he will become a strong piece down the middle for Boston as things start to turn around for the organization. Pair a strong playmaker with the likes of David Pastrnak, and good things are going to happen. That’s certainly something management can look forward to.

While he’s a little bit further back in terms of NHL readiness, newly acquired William Zellers, via trade from Colorado as part of the return for Charlie Coyle, has an extremely promising upside in terms of goal scoring. Currently, he’s in the USHL with the Green Bay Gamblers, and Zellers is currently second in the league in points, posting 38-22-60 in 42 games played, and he’s leading the league in goals scored.

He’s young, at just 18 years old, but if he’s given time to develop and evolve his game, he’ll provide additional scoring that the Bruins are desperate for. Originally drafted 76th overall in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft, Zellers has been impressing with his goal production in the USHL. For the 2025-2026 season, Zellers will play at the University of North Dakota.

Another young, promising player the Bruins received via trade is Fraser Minten, who came to Boston as part of the return for Brandon Carlo. Another promising young center, the 38th overall pick of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, has played 15 games so far this season with Toronto, posting 2-2-4. Similarly to Matthew Poitras, Minten has better numbers down in the AHL, where he spent most of this season with the Toronto Marlies.

Posting 6-7-13 in 26 games played, Minten shows promise of being a depth scorer for the Bruins with continued development. He’s currently with the Providence Bruins (where he’ll likely stay for the remainder of the season but has yet to play due to the work visa he needs to get cleared), with the potential to be NHL-ready at the start of the 2025-2026 season.

The Boston Bruins made many changes at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline. Most notably, they traded away veteran defenseman Brandon Carlo and captain Brad Marchand to division rivals. However, the overall return to Boston holds a lot of promise. From promising prospects to a few important draft picks, Boston has the makings to be a contender once again in the near future.