By: Neil Simmons | Follow me on Twitter / X: @NSimmz
The end of the College Hockey season annually brings roster turnover for every team in the country, with players either running out of eligibility, leaving early to sign pro contracts, or entering the transfer portal to play elsewhere. Of the Boston Bruins’ 13 college prospects from the 2024-25 season, only three have left their schools, with two moving on as graduating seniors.
As of mid-April, none of the ten holdovers have transferred to another school or signed with the Bruins organization, a welcome sign of continuity for their development. For this coming fall, they will be joined by four newcomers from the United States Hockey League (USHL), all of whom will be attending brand-name schools:
Returners:
Andre Gasseau (C) – Boston College – Gasseau’s status has yet to be determined as of Tuesday, with the most recent reports stating he is still mulling whether to return or turn pro after posting a career high 15-15-30 in 36 games for BC. Should the veteran center return to Chestnut Hill, he would be in line for consistent top-line minutes following the departures of Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault.
Oskar Jellvik (LW) – Boston College – Jellvik’s junior season was cut short due to an injury in the Beanpot, and there has been no indication that he will leave BC this summer. He was having a down season to that point, with just 4-9-13 in 23 games, and will have his chance at competing for Perreault’s vacated top-line LW position, potentially next to long-term linemate Gasseau.
Dean Letourneau (C) – Boston College – Letourneau’s box score stats and advanced analytics tell very different stories of his freshman season with the Eagles. The underlying numbers suggest he was a serviceable contributor defensively and in puck possession. However, a 0-3-3 stat line in 34 games and dwindling ice time down the stretch imply he would’ve benefited from a year in the USHL before arriving on campus. A whole offseason of development at the college level can only benefit Letourneau, who will have plenty of eyes on his performance.
Chris Pelosi (C) – Quinnipiac – Pelosi’s second-half tear (11-8-19 in 23 games) was vital for Quinnipiac’s run to secure the ECAC regular season title, and NCAA tournament qualification, and will set the tone going into his sophomore season with the Bobcats. The departures of graduate seniors Travis Treloar and Jack Ricketts will leave a void in scoring production and at the faceoff dot for Quinnipiac to fill, and Pelosi should be more than up to the task.
Elliott Groenewold (D) – Quinnipiac – Groenewold hit the ground running with Quinnipiac as an 18-year-old defenseman, made significant strides as the season progressed, and should continue to develop heading into his sophomore season. Groenewold only played fewer than 17:30 in a game five times in 38 games and recorded 4-8-12 in scoring. The Bobcats have already experienced heavy turnover on defense, particularly on Groenewold’s left side, with three departing seniors. He will be expected to play heavier minutes next season.
Ryan Walsh (C) – Cornell – Walsh took a big jump in his sophomore season, eclipsing his freshman year totals for every significant statistic (17-14-31 in 36 games) and being a central cog in Cornell’s run from the sixth-seed in the ECAC conference tournament to coming within a goal of the Frozen Four. Already the top-line center for the Big Red, Walsh will have significantly more responsibility to carry the offense heading into his junior season following the departures of both linemates Dalton Bancroft and Sullivan Mack, among other significant losses on defense and in goal.
Mason Langenbrunner (D) – Harvard – Coming off a career-best season, Langenbrunner will return to Harvard for his senior year as co-captain of the Crimson. Langenbrunner posted a 6-4-10 stat line during his junior season, doubling his previous career best point total. His play took a noticeable jump mid-season, from being the seventh defenseman at the start to consistently skating second-pair minutes after the new year. He will be expected to take on a more significant role following the departure of top-pair defenseman Ian Moore on the right side.
Beckett Hendrickson (LW) – Minnesota – Hendrickson finished his freshman season with 3-9-12 in 39 games for the Golden Gophers, splitting the Big Ten regular season title with Michigan State. Hendrickson spent most of the year playing a bottom-six role, as the Gophers rode a veteran-heavy forward group to one of the nation’s most prolific offenses. Heavy offseason turnover will open the door for Hendrickson to break out in his sophomore season, as Minnesota has lost its top four scorers to the NHL.
Casper Nassen (LW) – Miami (OH) – Nassen started his freshman season red hot, scoring six points by the end of October before he, and the RedHawks as a whole, came crashing down to earth. Nassen finished 6-4-10 in 34 games, and Miami finished 63rd out of 64 teams in the Pairwise rankings. Significant change is underway with the program, with over a dozen players leaving via the transfer portal or signing with pro teams, including most of the top six forwards. So far, Nassen is sticking around for his sophomore year and could be a leader up front with a large freshman class coming in.
Philip Svedeback (G) – Providence – Svedeback finished his junior season in Friartown with a 14-8-4 record and a career-high .911 save percentage in 26 games as Providence qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2019. The Swedish netminder split starts for the first time in his career, sharing the crease with Merrimack graduate transfer Zachary Borgiel, after starting 34 and 35 games in his first two seasons. There has been no indication to this point that he plans to sign with the Bruins organization, and would be in line for another full season’s workload should he return for his final year of eligibility.
Newcomers:
Will Zellers (C/LW) – North Dakota – Acquired from Colorado in the Charlie Coyle trade this past deadline, Zellers was a third-round draft pick from last June and is headed to NoDak this fall. He just wrapped up his junior season, where he lit up the USHL as a member of the Green Bay Gamblers, to the tune of 44-27-71 in 52 games. Zellers will be a name Bruins fans will want to keep a keen eye on, as he should have plenty of opportunity to impress with North Dakota’s forward attrition both via the transfer portal and pro signings.
Jonathan Morello (C) – Boston University – Like Zellers, Morello is spending a lone season in the USHL before jumping to college, but his expectations should be tempered. Morello has 8-20-28 in 59 games with the Dubuque Fighting Saints, who are still alive in the Clark Cup playoffs as of Wednesday night. He was initially committed to Clarkson University for this past season, but decommitted, opted to play in the USHL, and committed to BU for next year.
Playing time will not be an immediate guarantee for Morello, who will turn 19 in the summer before arriving on Comm Ave. The National Runners-Up have reloaded after losing several key forwards early with two significant transfers from North Dakota – Sacha Boisvert and Owen McLaughlin – and three additional recruits at Center to compete for ice time.
Cole Spicer (C) – Arizona St – Spicer spent two seasons with Minnesota-Duluth before taking a hiatus year with Dubuque in the USHL, and is returning to the college game with Arizona St this fall. Spicer started with the US National Team Development Program in the USHL and joined Duluth as an 18-year-old for the 2022-23 season. He played 49 games with the Bulldogs before being ruled academically ineligible halfway through his second season. Spicer is joining a Sun Devil team that is replacing their entire top line, and should get a chance to compete for the center role.
Kristian Kostadinski (D) – Boston College – Kostadinski will be filling a big role for the Eagles when he arrives on Chestnut Hill, literally and figuratively. The soon-to-be 20-year-old defenseman already measures in at 6’5”, 220 lbs, and will be the second-tallest player on BC behind fellow Bruins draft pick Dean Letourneau.
He’ll also be slotting in for departing captain Eamon Powell, who signed with the Charlotte Checkers in the AHL after 170 games with BC. Kostadinski brings a leadership pedigree of his own, captaining his Frölunda junior teams in Sweden at the U16 and U20 levels, and has been an alternate captain for Dubuque in the USHL this season, with whom he has 6-10-16 in 62 games.
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