Haggerty: Ranking the B's Prospects post-development camp taken at BSJ Headquarters (Bruins)

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James Hagens heads a list of Bruins hopefuls for the next few years that's grown in talent and expectations after a few solid draft classes in a row for the Black and Gold.

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Haggerty: Ranking the B's Prospects post-development camp

By Joe Haggerty

Jul 9, 2026 • 2 hours ago

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BRIGHTON – The Boston Bruins closed out their second straight strong, week-long development camp last week, where the talent on the ice was both unmistakable and indisputable.

The returning top players were dominant and showed the skill that’s moved them to the top of the list, and the new players arriving from the 2026 NHL Draft class more than held their own against older, more experienced prospects. There were standouts up front, on the back end and in the net in an all-around performance that had Boston’s brass appropriately bullish about their group of young players as they break away for the two-month summer offseason ahead of training camp in the fall.

“Overall, I just really happy with the camp in general,” said Player Development Director Adam McQuaid. “The gap seems to be closing with the first-year players. Usually, the first-year guys would come in, and it was really noticeable who they are. That’s a credit to the scouting staff that works tirelessly and I know they always continue to work to refine their process.

“Impressed with [Matvei] Kotkov…I thought he looked really good. Both of the young goalies [were good]. Honestly all the new guys came in and showed why they were drafted, they showed well. To nobody’s surprise, [Dean] Letourneau continues to take steps, and [Will] Zellers had really good moments. In general guys came in here this year and showed a progression [in their development]. When we talk to them we stress that it’s not a sprint, and it’s about coming in and showing improvement in different areas before getting back to work and continuing to grow.”

It’s an encouraging sign for the Bruins and the performance of so many new players has shaken things up with hierarchy of B’s prospects, so here’s an updated top 10 list of current Bruins prospects (players under 25 years old with less than 10 games of NHL experience, or five for goalies) along with some comments on each of the young players: 

10. Chris Pelosi (forward, Quinnipiac University, 21 years old) – The 2023 third-round pick had a strong sophomore season at Quinnipiac, where he led the team in power-play goals and finished with 18 goals and 34 points in 35 games for a team that qualified for the NCAA tournament. While he doesn’t give off “star” vibes at the NHL level, Pelosi has good size, good speed, and a good set of skills while being a productive player everywhere that he’s been and feels like he’s got the chance to be an excellent pro. These are exactly the kind of players that Boston is hoping for when they make those third-round picks. 

9. Vashek Blanar (defenseman, UMass, 19 years old) -- The 6-foot-4 defenseman project has tons of tools as a big, skilled, good-skating D-man who was on the silver medal-winning Team Czechia at the World Juniors last season. He had a solid season in the Swedish junior leagues this past year and will really be able to show what he can do when he settles in at Amherst this fall. He hasn’t reached it yet, but there could be a very high ceiling for a player that’s still a ton of growth left in his game. 

8. Nils Bartholdsson (forward, Rogle BK, 18 years old) -- The 5-foot-11, 179-pound Swedish forward showed off an enticing skating and skills package in his first development camp after the B’s took him with the 88th overall pick in the draft. The creativity and offensive confidence are most definitely there. One would expect to see him in the mix for Team Sweden at the World Juniors this winter, and it will be interesting to see whether he becomes another European player to make the move to NCAA hockey.  

7. Frederic Brunet (defenseman, Providence Bruins, 22 years old) -- The young D-man has already graduated from development camp even though there are players older than him on the dev camp roster and is on the cusp of making an NHL breakthrough after posting 12 goals and 36 points in 65 games for the P-Bruins last season. His skating and puck-moving are high level, and he brings the kind of skill on the back end that Boston could use more of, provided he can handle things on the defensive end. The left shot D-man should be getting a shot in camp in the fall despite a very crowded back-end picture right now.

6. Elliott Groenewold (defenseman, Quinnipiac University, 20 years old) -- The 20-year-old D-man and 2024 fourth-round pick led the entire ECAC with a plus-39 last season and shows the kind of size/skill/two-way game that should make him an NHL defender once he leaves college. He’s known for his solid defense and strong two-way game right now, but watching him play, you can see there is also offensive potential beyond the 7 goals and 20 points he posted in 40 games last season. The Vermont native has a very promising future in the B’s organization.

5. Matvei Kotkov (forward, Loko Yaroslavl, 17 years old) – The B’s fourth-round pick last month was standing out as a 17-year-old skating with and against skaters four and five years older than him at development camp. Great playmaking instincts, a quick pace to his game, and a ton of skill to go along with a skating game that had him consistently making plays at development camp. To do that at such a young age at a development camp should tell everybody that this is a prospect to watch moving forward. This looks like the kind of fourth-round pick that the Bruins haven’t made enough of over the years.

4. Cooper Simpson (forward, North Dakota University, 19 years old) – The 6-foot, 184-pound Simpson has scored

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