BRIGHTON – If there was one player expected to be the star of last week’s Bruins development camp and who lived up to that hype, it was 20-year-old Dean Letourneau.
The Boston College center and former first-round pick will be entering his junior season at the Heights and is expected to be a dominant force for the Eagles this year, along with big Finnish forward Oscar Hemming. The 6-foot-7 forward posted 22 goals and 39 points in 36 games for the Eagles in a breakout sophomore campaign and confirmed at dev camp that he’s up to 235 pounds while continuing to add needed muscle to an oversized forward frame.
That’s music to the Bruins’ ears as he moves well for a big man and has the kind of solid frame where the extra muscle will be well-utilized for both puck protection and as a net-front presence. Those are the kinds of traits that would make him stand out amongst the current crop of Bruins forwards at the NHL level and give him some really intriguing strengths as a possible No. 1 center in the making for Boston while developing at the collegiate level.
Beyond that, Letourneau revealed a lot about his own makeup by sticking with Boston College after going without a goal in 36 games as a freshman, when his self-belief, confidence, and willingness to persevere through adversity were sorely tested.
"Coming off the first year [at Boston College], I think confidence was probably the biggest issue,” said Letourneau, who said he felt loyalty to stick with Boston College amidst the struggles because they had stuck with him through them. “So just going into last year with full confidence in my abilities. And I knew what I could do and the summer [that I had] put in, that it was going to pay off. I'm glad that I was able to [step up in my sophomore season]."
Unquestionably, the big center was dominant all week at Bruins development camp, creating plays down low, showing off his heavy, dangerous shot, and overwhelming many of his peers with his impressive combo of size and strength.
Dean Letourneau.
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Letourneau is headed back for his third season at BC and could be in a very similar situation to James Hagens at the end of the Eagles' season if he dominates the way his fellow first-rounder did at Chestnut Hill last season. It could mean NHL games for Letourneau at the end of this upcoming season and perhaps the makings of a role on a Boston team with high hopes for the playoffs and beyond.
“A lot faster…A lot more challenging,” said Letourneau, when asked how Hagens described his NHL action to him at the end of last season. “[He said] it was a big step up from college.”
Many people will point at the Boston Bruins and feel like they currently don’t have a