Donnelly: Which Bruins prospects actually have the best chance at making the team?

We're just a few weeks out from the start of training camp (Sept. 20) for the Bruins, and the onset of rookie camp (Sept. 13) and captain's practices are creeping up even quicker.

Boston has had no shortage of turnover this offseason, and it's been well-documented. From the Taylor Hall-Nick Foligno trade to Tyler Bertuzzi and Dmitry Orlov departing in free agency (among others) as well as Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci's retirements most recently, the Black and Gold has taken its fair share of roster gut punches in a cap-crunched summer. 

The B's aren't alone, as what's likely the last offseason of this hellish flat-cap landscape that has squeezed a number of teams and players around the league, forcing short-term deals across free agency and creating logjams on the trade market, which was nearly silent all summer until the Erik Karlsson blockbuster earlier this month. 

With all the turnover the Bruins have had, there are roster spots up for grabs entering camp, especially in the bottom-six forward group. Unlike cap space, internal competition won't be hard to come by at all around Warrior Ice Arena as summer fades into fall. 

In the salary cap era, it's imperative that teams have young players who can institute themselves into the depths of the lineup to cheaply and effectively plug holes.

Recent Stanley Cup Champions have benefitted from having younger, team-controlled players on either entry-level or minimal money, making strong impacts throughout the lineup. As a few examples, the Avalanche had Cale Makar and Bowen Byram in 2022 (although, few teams boast players of their caliber) and the Lightning had Anthony Cirelli in 2020 before Erik Cernak in 2021. There were the Blues with Vince Dunn and Robert Thomas in 2019, the Capitals with Jakob Vrana in 2018, the Penguins with Jake Guentzel in 2017 and Bryan Rust in 2016.

That's not to say Boston has the next Makar in the system. No team really does. Few franchises even have a Guentzel or Byram waiting in the wings and knocking on the door for NHL work. 

The Spoked-B certainly has its work cut out for itself in identifying that type of talent going forward, too, after its pipeline ranked No. 32 out of 32 in Corey Pronman's latest rankings for The Athletic. 

It might not be a complete apples-to-apples comparison in terms of the types of prospects the B's have in the system as well as the needs of the varsity club, but the point stands. Whether it's this season or going forward, it's imperative for some of the Bruins' youngsters to earn places in the lineup to provide valuable, cost-effective depth. 

When camp rolls around, Boston will have a plethora of forwards gunning for a precious few spots, a contest that grew only more crowded with the addition of Alex Chiasson on a PTO last week. Meanwhile, Jakob Lauko is expected to be a possible graduate to a full-time role. Meanwhile, a handful of blue-liners are looking to create some upheaval in a packed defense core. 

It's still (very) early, but who doesn't love a little more speculation in the dog days of the offseason?

Here's who has the best chance at making the varsity club, right now: 

Marc McLaughlin

It's easy to forget the uproar from last season's training camp when McLaughlin didn't make the NHL roster. The Boston College product was probably Boston's most consistent forward throughout camp and the preseason action he got into, but the business of the big league roster (McLaughlin didn't require waivers) forced him to be a casualty. 

Fast forward a year, and the 24-year-old again has his hand raised for bottom-six duties, whether it's as a center or a winger, after a solid first year as a professional, which saw him put up 13 goals and 17 assists in 66 games with Providence. He finished tied for eighth on the Baby B's in goals, despite a limited role at even-strength. Like some others in the running, McLaughlin's game might not offer the highest upside, but with a hard shot and a solid all-around game, he has a higher floor as someone who can carve out a spot as a trusted role player. 

Georgii Merkulov

His stock surged last season after signing out of Ohio State as an undrafted free agent following his freshman year. In 67 games with the P-Bruins in 2022-23, he had 24 goals and 31 assists, doing quite a bit of damage on the power play. 

Merkulov will be quite the case study entering camp. The talent, especially his shot, stands out among a relatively weak prospect pool. Unlike McLaughlin, his toolkit is not suited for fourth-line work, so it'll be incumbent upon him to beat out someone like Lauko, Jesper Boqvist or others for work on the third line or elsewhere in the top-nine. While he's proven to be able to score at an AHL level with his NHL-ready shot, he'll have to prove he can take that next step and get it done at even-strength, considering the lack of power play spots up for grabs with the big club. 

Johnny Beecher

We're still waiting to see if the offense will ever come for Beecher (his shot was much-improved last season), but he falls into a similar category to McLaughlin and Lauko as someone who may not have a tremendously high ceiling, but his floor is encouraging. 

He has blazing speed, a large frame (6-3, 210) and a solid two-way acumen that make him a potentially viable candidate to pick up some of the slack in the bottom-six, likely the fourth line if he makes it. He can play in all situations and his speed, size and puck-shielding ability should make him an effective forechecker. 

Oskar Steen

Another one that falls into that low-ceiling, somewhat decent floor category is Steen, who I hardly think can be considered a prospect at this point. 

Although undersized and perhaps overlooked, Steen has been consistently in the mix for call-ups among the depth chart. The 25-year-old is feisty and energetic with the most NHL experience of any the younger players on the bubble. An impressive 20-game run in the bottom-six in 2021-22 (similar to that of Lauko this past season) provided a glimpse into what he could offer as a stocky role player who can protect the puck and win battles. 

On the outside looking in, for now

Mason Lohrei

You can include Ian Mitchell, Alec Regula and Reilly Walsh in this grouping, too. 

Lohrei's NHL time will come. I'm sure of that. There are hardly ever "slam-dunks" with the Bruins and their prospects, and I don't want to jinx anything, but Lohrei sure seems like the closest Boston will get to that for the time being. Between his length, skating for his size, offensive upside and growing defensive acumen, the B's feel he's just scratching the surface. 

At the same time, there might not even be a spot up for grabs on the NHL blue line, barring injury or trade. The left side is packed with Matt Grzelcyk, Hampus Lindholm and Derek Forbort, plus potentially Jakub Zboril as the seventh d-man. Not to mention the right side is locked down, and Kevin Shattenkirk is the likely filler for Connor Clifton. Even then, it would be unwise to throw Lohrei into the fire on his off-side. 

He hardly has any AHL experience under his belt, so some more time to acclimate to a heavier pro game and a professional system will serve him well, especially after OSU let him practically have free reign when he was out there.

Fabian Lysell

Lysell is in a similar spot as Merkulov where if he's making the team, it surely won't be as a fourth-liner or a reserve, which is why I'm not sure I see him cracking the Opening Night roster. Although if he pops during camp, I'll happily be wrong.

The 20-year-old started well last season with 19 points in his first 20 AHL games, but stalled in the second half. Between the ups and downs, plus his concussion at the end of the season, I'm inclined to give him more time to develop in Providence. 

The skill is unquestionably there, but I think he's still going through the learning curve, especially with figuring out what it takes to be impactful on a night-in, night-out basis. I have Merkulov ahead of him for now because of the overall consistency he showed last season. 

John Farinacci

I think Farinacci might have a similar floor as McLaughlin, Beecher, etc., while his ceiling could be slightly higher, although that remains to be seen. 

With him just entering the system and the professional ranks, I'd tend to lean toward him beginning the year in the AHL and perhaps being in line for call-up work during the year (the same goes for any player mentioned if they don't make the NHL roster). Either way, after a run at Harvard that showed a confident, well-rounded player who might have more offense than he showed, I'm interested to see what kind of impression he can make in camp.