By: Jake Ferraro | Follow me on Twitter/X @18Jxxx18
Last season, the Providence Bruins dominated the 2025-26 American Hockey League regular season, earning 110 points to capture the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy. Still, the team was stunned by the Springfield Thunderbirds in the Atlantic Division Semifinals in a historic upset. This season, Providence will be eager to have another solid season. In 24 days, Providence will play Springfield in the team’s only preseason game at Amica Mutual Pavilion before hosting the Utica Comets on Oct. 2 to begin the 2026-27 AHL regular season.
Providence saw major changes to its roster and coaching staff this offseason. Providence lost its four leading scorers from last season, and Trent Whitfield was named the team’s new head coach after Ryan Mougenel left to join the Vancouver Canucks’ coaching staff. With how this offseason went, a struggling season by Providence could be feared for the upcoming season.
A new head coach can always raise concerns for a hockey team. Whitfield has been coaching hockey since the 2014-15 season, with one season as an assistant coach with the then Portland Pirates of the AHL and one season as the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen assistant head coach. Whitfield has served as Providence’s assistant coach since the 2016-17 season, so he has strong experience within the organization. However, adjusting to being a head coach could take time, and that is where Whitfield’s status as a rookie head coach raises some concern.
Providence’s offense is another concern for a struggling season. Providence saw Georgii Merkulov, Patrick Brown, Riley Tufte, and Matej Blumel all depart, and those players were the team’s four leading scorers. Providence saw Fabian Lysell and John Farinacci depart this offseason as well. Losing your top-four leading scorers in an offseason isn’t easy for any team, and Providence will desperately need to find forwards who can provide offense and depth.
Young players like Jake Schmaltz, Riley Duran, and Dans Locmelis are three Providence can look to for help in making up for the offseason departures. Last season, Schmaltz was solid, recording 23 points in his first full AHL season; Duran recorded a career-high 19 points; and Locmelis recorded 28 points in 43 games before his season ended due to a shoulder injury. AHL veterans Brian Halonen and Brendan Gaunce will also be looked to for leadership. Brown served as Providence captain over the past two seasons; Gaunce has AHL captain experience; and Halonen was named to the AHL All-Star Classic last season.
Goaltending will be another concern for Providence heading into this season. For the past two seasons, Michael DiPietro won the Aldedge Bas “Bastien” Award as the AHL’s top goaltender. This season, DiPietro is expected to be Jeremy Swayman’s full-time backup in the National Hockey League in Boston. Losing DiPietro’s 1.91 GAA and .930 save percentage is hard for any goaltender to make up for.
Providence will be searching for a new top goaltender on the depth chart for this season. Simon Zajicek, Jiri Patera, Luke Cavallin, and Max Lundgren are all potential options. Last season, Zajicek was solid as DiPietro’s backup in his first season in the AHL, and Patera had a solid AHL season with the Abbotsford Canucks. However, both Zajicek and Patera are on Boston’s depth chart at the moment.
Like offense and goaltending, Providence’s defense saw departures this offseason from Michael Callahan and Christian Wolanin. Callahan’s +30 rating led all Providence defensemen, and Wolanin recorded a solid 31-point season. One defenseman who will be relied on more by Providence is Frederic Brunet, who led all Providence defensemen with 36 points and also recorded a +18 rating.
There is reason to be concerned about Providence’s struggles this season, given a rookie head coach, departures on offense and defense this offseason, and uncertainty about who will be the team’s top goaltender. However, crazy things always happen in a hockey season. Providence has a bunch of young players and veterans eager to prove doubters wrong, but questions remain.
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