By: Eamonn McLean | Follow me on Twitter/X @EamonnMcLean44
Last week, I highlighted strong performances from other members of the 2025 Boston Bruins National Hockey League Entry Draft class, specifically, Vashek Blanar and Kirill Yemelyanov. This week, it was Cole Chandler and Cooper Simpson’s turn to begin their 2025-2026 campaigns. How did they and the rest of the Bruins’ prospects do this week?
Vashek Blanar this week for HV71 (U20 Nationell): Two games played, one assist, even plus/minus, two penalty minutes.
Cole Chandler this week for the Shawinigan Cataractes (QMJHL): Two games played, one goal, two assists, +3 rating, and six penalty minutes.
The Bedford, Nova Scotia, native kicked off his QMJHL season with a bang, helping Shawinigan pick up three of a possible four points this weekend. Chandler had a secondary assist against the Victoriaville Tigres on Friday night and added a goal and an assist Sunday evening against the Drummondville Voltiguers in a 5-1 win. A promising start for the B’s fifth-round pick.
Cooper Simpson this week for the Youngstown Phantoms (USHL): Two games played, one goal, three assists, +2 rating, six penalty minutes.
The Shakopee, Minnesota, native faced his former team, the Tri-City Storm, for the first time since being traded to Youngstown in the offseason on Friday night. The result? Simpson dominated for three periods in his season debut. He started his night off with a highlight-reel goal, where he dangled a Tri-City defender before deking the goaltender and sliding the puck into the net on his forehand. He then set up his teammate Jack Hextall on the power play for a primary assist, in the second period, and finished his night with two more assists in the third period of a 5-0 win. Simpson has held scoreless the following night against Cedar Rapids, but still played well, helping Youngstown go 2-0-0 this weekend.
Kirill Yemelyanov this week for Loko Yaroslavl (MHL): Two games played, three goals, +2 rating, two penalty minutes.
Yemelyanov built off of his strong start to the season with another good week in Russia’s MHL. The Irkutsk, Russia, native had a hat-trick against AKM-Junior on Sunday, in a 5-0 win. The B’s sixth-round pick has six goals in as many games this season, and could be promoted to the VHL or KHL if he keeps this up.
Training Camp and Preseason Game One
Elsewhere, many Bruins prospects are currently at training camp with the NHL roster, trying to make the team. The B’s preseason opener was last night at TD Garden, and players such as Fabian Lysell, Matt Poitras, Fraser Minten, and Frederic Brunet were in the lineup. If you’d like to read about how they did, you can check out company colleague Jack Studley’s article here.
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