By: Jake Ferraro | Follow me on Twitter/X @18Jxxx18
After being drafted 38th overall at the 2022 National Hockey League Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs, it wouldn’t be until the 2024-25 season that Fraser Minten got to play in the NHL. Minten played in 15 games as a Maple Leaf before being traded to the Boston Bruins at last season’s trade deadline.
Minten played in six games as a Bruin and recorded just one goal following the trade. This season, as a true rookie at 21 years old, it was uncertain what type of player the Bruins would get. So far, Minter has been a productive forward, but his ability to score clutch goals is quickly turning into a golden gift already for the Bruins.
Minten has caught the Bruins’ eyes, ranking seventh on the team in points with 25. Minten’s impact on the ice is clear for the Bruins, with his +15 rating being the third-highest on the roster. However, it’s Minten’s goal scoring that has turned him into a pivotal player as a rookie. Minten’s 13 goals are the fourth-most on the Bruins. Minten is tied for fourth with Matthew Schaefer for goals among all rookies in the NHL. Being tied in goals with Schaefer, the first overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, isn’t bad at all. However, it’s the timing of when Minten scores that matters.
This season, nine of Minten’s goals have been scored either in the third period or in overtime. Minten has two game-winning goals this season, both of which have been overtime winners. Minten scored the overtime winner in the Bruins’ first game in January against the Vancouver Canucks, becoming the first Bruins rookie to score multiple overtime winners. Minten’s overtime winner against the Canucks may have been the start of the Bruins’ hot January, as the team sits with a 30-20-2 record and holding the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference with 62 points.
Along with his overtime winner against the Canucks, Minten has scored big goals during January at pivotal moments for the Bruins. During the Bruins’ game on Jan. 13 against the Detroit Red Wings, Minten scored an early third period insurance goal, which the game resulted in a 3-0 Bruins win. In the Bruins’ last game against the Montreal Canadiens two nights ago, Minten scored a goal with 7:05 remaining in regulation to tie the game at three. The Bruins went on to win the game 4-3. Ten points and seven goals have been recorded by Minten in January.
Before January arrived, Minten was scoring important goals before 2025 ended. On Dec. 9 against the St. Louis Blues, Minten scored two goals in the Bruins’ 5-2 win, but his second goal is where he delivered in the clutch. Minten scored a huge insurance goal with under 8.5 minutes in regulation to give the Bruins a two-goal lead. In his return to Toronto on Nov. 11 against the Maple Leafs, Minten scored a goal to extend the Bruins’ lead to 5-3 with 3:02 remaining in regulation. The Bruins went on to win the game by that exact score.
Minten has turned into one of the most important and rising players on the Bruins’ roster this season, and his timely goal scoring and January play show why. Tonight, Minten has another chance to score more against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. When the Bruins played the Rangers the last time on Jan. 10, Fraser recorded three points and scored two goals in the Bruins’ 10-2 win.
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