By: Tom Calautti | Follow me on Twitter/X @TCalauttis
Will Zellers’ freshman season has come to a close. He and the North Dakota Fighting Hawks came up one game short of a national championship appearance, falling 2-1 in the Frozen Four to Wisconsin.
Zellers has now completed his first full season with the Boston Bruins, having been acquired at last year’s trade deadline. In that deal, Boston sent Charlie Coyle and a 2026 sixth-round pick to Colorado and received Casey Mittelstadt, Zellers, and a 2025 second-round pick in return.
At that time of the trade, the former third-round pick was lighting up the USHL to the tune of 44-27-71 in just 52 games. That stat line was good enough to earn him multiple accolades, including USHL Forward and Player of the Year.
The Maple Grove, MN native seamlessly adapted to the NCAA in his rookie campaign, posting 18-16-34 in 38 games. Although the Fight Hawks missed out on the ultimate goal, Zellers’ performance this season was a bright spot and should give Bruins fans hope for the future.
His 18 goals were good enough to put him in the top 25 amongst all collegiate goal-scorers. His seven power-play goals were tied for 12th in the NCAA, and his six game-winning goals tied him for third in the nation.
North Dakota entered this season’s NCAA tournament as the number two overall seed in the country. They bested New England competitors Merrimack and Quinnipiac in the first two rounds of the tournament, before faltering in the semifinals. For Zellers’ part, he posted 0-4-4 across the three tournament games.
Zellers’ inaugural collegiate season was impressive, but his World Junior Championship performance was without a doubt the highlight of this season. After initially being left off Team USA’s roster, the 20-year-old was late added to the squad and made an immediate impact while there.
The shifty winger led all US skaters in scoring with 5-3-8 across the five games played. His five goals were far and away the most for Team USA, and he continued to show off his clutch gene by scoring three game-winners.
The expectation is that Zellers will return to North Dakota for his sophomore season. He will be joined there next season by another promising Boston prospect in Cooper Simpson (34-40-74 in 61 USHL games). That duo will be must-see TV for Bruins fans everywhere. The next opportunity to see Zellers skate will be this summer when Boston’s prospects descend on Warrior ice Arena for Development Camp.
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