Brett Harrison, like his peers, looking to get stronger for successful transition to pros

The Bruins know Brett Harrison can score. 

The 20-year-old is coming off the most productive season of his junior career, putting up 34 goals and 69 points in 57 games between the Oshawa Generals and the Windsor Spitfires. 

It continued an upward trend of development for the three-time 20-goal scorer in the OHL after he had 61 points (27 goals) in 65 games of Oshawa in 2021-22, following a 37-point (21-goal), 58-game rookie season cut short by COVID in 2019-20. 

Whether it was a mid-season trade from Oshawa to Windsor in 2022-23 or COVID shuttering the OHL and forcing Harrison to play overseas in Finland, where he had four goals and nine points in seven games with KOOVEE U20, Boston has been encouraged by the center's ability to produce despite the ups and downs. 

"Obviously getting traded in the season disrupts the most grizzled veteran, let alone a 19 or 20-year-old kid," assistant general manager-player personal Jamie Langenbrunner said last week. "But offensively, there's lots to like."

To this point in his career, making his way as a prolific scorer in the OHL, Harrison has been able to use his long frame (6-foot-3, 184 pounds) and reach to win battles and retrieve pucks. It allowed him to find similar success as one of the more experienced members of the group at development camp, his third with Boston since being selected in the 2021 third round (85th overall). 

It was a stark contrast from his first foray into camp as a wide-eyed recent draftee to now being expected to set the tone and excel as a quasi-veteran in the prospect pool.  

"I think just the first one coming in, I was definitely new to the experience and didn't know very many people coming into it. So kind of like took a step back tried to learn from everyone," Harrison told BostonSportsJournal.com on at Warrior Ice Arena after the conclusion of development camp. "Now I'm a little bit of a mid-to-older guy, so I'm trying to be a leader with all the new draft picks and really strive to take steps in my game to be one of the top players on the ice."

Still, both Harrison and the Bruins know relying on his length alone is not going to fly for him in Providence, where he's "looking to take up a big role," as he makes his way as a first-year pro in this upcoming season. 

"I'm going to be playing with men now, not in junior anymore," Harrison said. "So, just need to get definitely stronger, so I can be in those battles and not get pushed around. That's something I'm definitely gonna work on for the rest of the offseason."

A central theme among the youngsters and coaches was adding strength and good weight, whether it was Harrison, Fabian Lysell, Matthew Poitras, Chris Pelosi, Beckett Hendrickson or others. The B's feel having Harrison fully in the program and at their disposal in Providence will help him fill out into his frame.

"[Harrison] is one that's going to need to continue to work on some off-ice stuff to improve his strength and really dial it in," Langenbrunner said. "Spend a lot more time with him daily to push those things. Sometimes in junior, guys will get away from it a little bit if they don't have to. So we're going to have to really dial that in."

The Dorchester native (Ontario, not Massachusetts) still needs bulk up in addition to fine-tuning his overall game and his skating, particularly his first few strides accelerating out of the gates. But as Langenbrunner said, there is plenty to appreciate about Harrison's offensive skills, especially in an organization in need of help down the middle.

The left-hander's elite-level ability to shoot the puck was noticeable among his peers at Warrior throughout the week. He has a quick, heavy release and the ability to wire it to practically any part of the net at will both in stride and standing still. He had averaged a goal every other game the last two seasons in the OHL with 61 tallies (130 points) in 122 contests. He ended his junior career just shy of that pace with 82 tucks (167 points) across 180 games in total.

"His shot is a weapon," Langebrunner said. "He can score from a lot of places. Similar to Matty [Poitras], he’s got a little knack for finding space. He has the ability to get himself open and has some slipperiness to him. His skating ... and he has lot of strengths that are going to need to get better to play at the NHL level, but there's a lot of things to like."

His scoring ability between the dots makes him an especially attractive prospect to keep track of as he progresses, and it could make him an effective weapon on the power play with the P-Bruins, one area in which he thrived with the Generals and Spitfires.

 "I like to find myself in the slot, and just trying to get away from the defender with little push-offs to create myself an extra second to get my shot off," Harrison said. "I'm always trying to be ready for it in a shooting position because you never know when a teammate is gonna find you and pass it to you."

Add in a growing playmaking ability, evidenced by his highest assists total (35) of his OHL run set last season and some mesmerizing saucer passes during Friday's scrimmage, including a setup for Cole Spicer to open the scoring, and it's easy to see why Harrison's offensive promise jumps off the page. Now, it comes down to putting it all together in conjunction with the improvements Langenbrunner and Boston have pinpointed, in order for him to keep progressing through the system. 

The Bruins are hoping they can jumpstart Harrison's attacking prowess by starting him on the wing in Providence, which may allow him to play an elevated role sooner, while still providing opportunity for reps at center.

“We find it’s good to at least introduce a lot of these guys on the wing in Providence this year, just with the way the lineups going to sort out,” Langenbrunner said. “He will definitely get some touches in there [at center]. It's good to introduce a lot of these guys to maybe a little less responsibility. He's going to gain some energy from some production. If you put him on the wing, you can usually have maybe a little better players with him instead of playing down the lineup in the middle, which is normal. 

"I think you see a lot of teams going that way. Especially in the American League, you’re cycling lineups nearly every night because of guys moving around, so he'll get touches in both spots.”

As any young player would tell you, Harrison just wants to do whatever he can wherever he is needed.

"I feel very comfortable in both positions," he said. "So, I think that having that flexibility is really good. I can play both sides to stay in the lineup, plus I really enjoy playing both positions. Whatever is best for the team."