NHL Notebook: Top takeaways from Bruins’ Development Camp

With the Bruins’ annual Development Camp now in the rearview mirror, let’s roll through some of our top takeaways from the five-day event — including the top B’s prospects that showed out over at Warrior Ice Arena.

Mason Lohrei gathering steam as B’s most intriguing prospect

When it comes to the very dangerous game of projecting the future of promising NHL prospects, it’s always important to add some context to a youngster’s stat line, situation and other factors before haphazardly charting out the next major leap in their road to the pros. 

Mason Lohrei — who left many NHL Network producers frantically looking for game tape of the puck-moving D when the B’s snagged him in the second round (58th overall) in 2020 Draft — is no different in that regard, with his tangible talent needing to be countered by realistic expectations for a 20-year-old set to make the jump up to the NCAA this fall. 

Of course, as sterling as his stat line was last season in the USHL (19 goals, 59 points in 48 games with Green Bay), you could downplay that production a tad by noting that Lohrei was routinely orchestrating O-zone chances against younger competition that he should dominate at this stage in his career.

And yet, while the next true test for Lohrei will be how he adjusts to collegiate players that could be 3-4 years his senior, this past week only continued to reinforce the fact that Lohrei’s arsenal of tools and unique skill set could set him on a path toward being a very special (and effective) player in the NHL ranks. 

Despite the fact that he’ll need some seasoning (both in on-ice reps and the need to tack on some muscle) before he positions himself as a legit NHLer, there’s a lot to like about what Lohrei could offer this club if his stock continues to soar. 

Lohrei, who converted from forward to defenseman at 16 while playing at Culver Military Academy, projects as a playmaking specialist and adept puck-mover from the blue line — but with a sturdy frame (6-foot-4, 200 pounds) that could help him eventually morph into a legitimate top-four, two-way stalwart if all goes right with his growth at Ohio State. 

It was easy to see why Boston’s scouts were intrigued by Lohrei’s game upon seeing him in multiple battle drills at Warrior over the last week. His first pass and puck-moving talents were as advertised, but even if the lanky blueliner will need to put on some healthy weight in the coming years, he was still very effective at shutting down matchups along the boards, fighting off skaters when he had the puck on his stick and reading plays developing in front of him in the D-zone. 

“I’d like to give our scouts all the accolades in terms of recognizing he had a longer path of development,” Don Sweeney said of Lohrei. “He was obviously growing. He hadn’t played the position. There’s a bunch of things that you put into context of where he is today, and how much room he still has. We’re excited. There’s a long way to go for Mason. It’ll be a nice challenge for him to go to Ohio State and play against bigger, stronger players, faster. 

“But he has attributes: patience with the puck, offensive blue line confidence, running a power play. A long stick and the ability to defend — he took that to heart. Our coaches were trying to get him to understand how much harder it is, how much more competitive you have to be on pucks in the defensive zone, but without taking away his creativity moving pucks and getting into the offensive flow.”

Again, it’s important to take a pragmatic approach as far as Lohrei’s path to the NHL is concerned. Given his unique profile as a puck-moving D with size that needs to be filled out, Boston should give him as much time as he needs to grow his game and build up strength while playing for the Buckeyes. 

But even if Lohrei might be a few years away, this past week did validate that Lohrei was not a second-round gamble, but a promising prospect that could establish himself as an effective NHL stalwart as Boston ushers in the post-Bergeron era. 

Camp invites stand out 

Granted, it's not always a good thing when camp invites tend to outshine your home-grown draft participants at a Dev Camp, but such was the case for a majority of this five-day showcase at Warrior — with players outside of Boston's organization like forwards Ben Meyers, Parker Ford and Marc McLaughlin all standing out in multiple drills and scrimmages.  

If you are looking for optimism, however, inviting players currently in the collegiate ranks does often give said team an inside track when it comes to signing them down the road. Such a situation played out a few years ago with Noel Acciari after attending Boston's Dev Camp a few years back, while current Providence defenseman Nick Wolff signed with Boston in the spring of 2020 after standing out as a camp invite in 2019. 

"A couple other tryout guys that hopefully want to be Boston Bruins down the road, we can find a way to get them into the fold," Bruce Cassidy said. "So that's always the exciting part about the development camp — what could be down the road from some of these guys like for example, a Noel Acciari that came on board for us. He's an invitee, comes in, he plays well for us, Kevan Miller, there's guys like that out there that you add to the mix, that always make your team better. And we have a few in there this week that hopefully will become Bruins at some point down the road."

Boston will likely need to get in line for Meyers in terms of bidding for his services, with the University of Minnesota product establishing himself as one of the more sought-after college UFAs on the market. Meyers may not be a big body (5-foot-11, 195 pounds), but his motor, hockey IQ and finishing ability all paint the picture of a winger with middle-six potential at the next level. Throughout the five-day camp, Meyers was the most consistent forward in plenty of drills and separated himself from the pack in the early going. 

Ford, a Providence College product and Wakefield, R.I. native, regularly made his presence felt during Friday's scrimmage — with the 5-foot-9 forward regularly driving to the net and making plays happen by being assertive with the puck. McLaughlin could be the next Acciari-type player that Boston brings into the fold soon, as the BC captain and North Billerica product regularly made his presence felt on the forecheck and had some nice finishes on a few breakaway bids.

Add in some very encouraging drills and scrimmages from big-bodied collegiate defensemen like Anton Malmstrom (Bowling Green / 6-foot-4, 203 pounds), Travis Mitchell (Cornell / 6-foot-3, 201 pounds) and Brandon Scanlin (Omaha / 6-foot-4, 213 pounds), and Boston could have a whole crop of intriguing talent worth scooping up as free agents within the next year. 

Tough break for Lysell and Swedes 

While Boston's latest Dev Camp was a great opportunity for multiple B's prospects to raise their stock, the event was undercut a bit in that Boston was unable to see their 2021 first-round pick (and arguably most dynamic youngster) in person in winger Fabian Lysell. 

In fact, all of Boston's Swedish imports from the 2021 NHL Draft (Lysell, forward Oskar Jellvik and goalie Philip Svedeback) were all unable to participate in Dev Camp due to COVID-related vaccination requirements. 

"Protocols for these camps were vaccination protocols because of the need for quarantine and separation," Bruins Director of Player Development Jamie Langenbrunner said. "The three Swedes had not yet been vaccinated so that's why they were unable to attend. I was actually in Plymouth, [Michigan] for the World Junior [Summer Showcase] the last few days and did spend some time with Fabian. He definitely wanted to come, he just wasn't able to with the rules in place."

Ultimately, Lysell failed to get on the stat sheet during his time over in Plymouth, but did regularly find himself on highlight reels thanks to his straight-line speed and hands. Obviously, there's going to need to be some polish there, but it's easy to see why the Bruins were thrilled that he was available to them at No. 21 overall last month. 

Kuntar primed for a breakout year?

A lot of camp invites might have been the most consistent players throughout this five-day showcase, but one B's forward that really hit his stride down the stretch at Warrior was BC sophomore and 2020 third-round pick Trevor Kuntar — who drew plenty of "oohs" and "ahhs" from the crowd on site thanks to his heavy shot and nifty set of gloves. 

"Kuntar, I really like," Cassidy said. "He's got second-effort around the net. He really shoots the puck to score. Like his game as a winger. There's always you know areas in their game as these young guys that need to get better to play at the pro level but I like that about him."

Given both his offensive tools and the opportunity in front of him in his second go-around at Chestnut Hill, Kuntar could absolutely be the much-needed breakout candidate that Boston is looking for from its pool of forwards in 2021-22 — with top-six minutes potentially in line for the Buffalo native after BC lost a trio of its top forwards in Matt Boldy, Alex Newhook and Mike Hardman. 

"I think from an opportunity standpoint, it definitely opens up a lot of opportunities for me and some others," Kuntar said of the departure of BC's big guns up front. "There are some big shoes to fill. But I've been working really hard this summer and I think I'm ready and I know some of the other guys will be ready, too. I'm really excited for that opportunity."

Kuntar's shot and ability to make something out of nothing with the puck on his stick already make him an appealing prospect given that a number of Boston's other youngsters are a bit limited as far as their offensive ceilings are concerned — but Kuntar is not just a one-trick point in the O-zone. 

A solid share of his goals as a freshman at BC came via netfront tips, deflections and rebounds — and the 20-year-old skater (who dropped another camp participant with a heavy reverse hit during a drill on Day 2) is not afraid to scrap down low and throwing his weight around on the forecheck. 

Sure seems like Boston has a good one here — especially if he makes the most of his opportunity in 2021-22. 

‘I think I play a really hard-nosed game,” Kuntar said. “But I also have some skill too. So I think I am a very versatile player. I can play top-six, bottom-six, power play, wherever they need me. So I think just moving to the next level, I'm working on my skating, getting better and everything —  bigger and stronger."

My Dev Camp All-Star team:

Forwards: Ben Meyers, Trevor Kuntar, Parker Ford

Defensemen: Brady Lyle, Mason Lohrei (for an in-depth look at Brady Lyle, click here.)

Goalie: Kyle Keyser

Honorable Mentions: Riley Duran, Marc McLaughlin, Anton Malmstrom

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Bergeron, B’s discussing contract extension

In each of the last two offseasons, the Bruins have seen a group of franchise cornerstones depart in free agency — be it Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug in 2020 or David Krejci last month. 

Next summer, Boston sure isn’t hoping for a similar outcome with their current captain and top-line center.

Speaking on Friday afternoon, Sweeney noted that the Bruins have already begun contract talks with Patrice Bergeron and his representatives about the pivot’s future in Boston, with the B’s looking to ensure that the only sweater that Bergeron dons in his pro career features the Spoked-B. 

Bergeron is entering the final year of the eight-year, $52 million contract ($6.875 million) that he signed back on July 12, 2013. The upcoming 2021-22 season will mark his 18th season with Boston. 

"Patrice and Kent Hughes, his representative, and I have had discussions about where Patrice is at," Sweeney said. "We'll keep those private as we do all the others and let him decide what path he wants to take. Obviously, it's a completely open door for how long Patrice wants to play the game for us, and we'll leave it at that."

The inevitable grip of Father Time will eventually sap Bergeron of his top-line status, but even at his age (36), the four-time Selke winner sure doesn’t seem to be slowing down at this juncture — posting 23 goals and 48 points over 54 games last season while finishing second in Selke voting once again. 

It remains to be seen what the exact parameters of a contract extension would look like for Bergeron at this stage of his career, but keeping the future Hall of Famer in the fold is paramount to Boston’s hopes of keeping a contention window open. 

If Bergeron isn’t in the picture next year, Boston’s once stout pipeline of pivot talent would be headlined by Charlie Coyle, Erik Haula, Jack Studnicka and Trent Frederic. Just a bit of a far cry from the good ol’ days of 1A/1B with Bergeron and Krejci for over a decade. 

NHL salary cap reportedly set to rise in 2022-23

After a few years of a stagnant, flat-cap market that has constrained plenty of NHL franchises, it looks like the upper limit of the NHL’s salary cap is finally set to tend upwards once more in 2022-23. 

According to The Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, the NHL is projecting a $1 million bump in the salary cap to $82.5 million next offseason — a slight lift from the previously idle $81.5 million threshold, but an encouraging sign nonetheless as far as league revenue is concerned. 

Seravalli reported that the NHL is estimating around $4.8 billion in hockey-related revenue for the upcoming 2021-22 season — spurred not only by the return of a normal 82-game season, but also the growth of a new market in Seattle and the influx of cash via two new broadcast rights deals the Walt Disney Company (ESPN) and Warner Media (Turner Sports).

It might be some time before the NHL’s cap ceiling truly soars, but even a $1 million bump next summer should make a world of a difference to a number of clubs — especially a team in Boston that’s going to have to back up the Brinks truck for Charlie McAvoy.