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 • 2:39 pm

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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 everywhere he’s played and that includes 34 goals and 74 points in 61 USHL games for Youngstown last season. He’ll be teaming up with fellow B’s prospect Will Zellers at North Dakota this coming season and that should give a good window into his ultimate potential with the Black and Gold. He wasn’t a dominant force at Bruins development camp last week, but he was solid and continued to show why the Bruins are high on him as a potential scoring forward a few years down the road. He's also made strides in some of the areas away from the puck where the B's will continue to want to see that in the college ranks. He’s likely at least a few years away as he enters college hockey, but there will be plenty of Bruins eyes on North Dakota games this coming season.

3. Will Zellers (forward, North Dakota University, 20 years old) – The 6-foot, 180-pounder finished with 18 goals and 34 points in 38 games for NoDak while helping lead then to a Frozen Four appearance and starred for Team USA at the World Juniors with a team-leading eight points in the tournament. Nothing is super flashy with Zellers, but he demonstrates the ability to simply score in a number of ways, including with a dangerous shot and a willingness to get his body in close to the net where offense happens. The variety of ways he scores makes him a really intriguing NHL prospect.

2. Dean Letourneau (forward, Boston College, 20 years old) – The 6-foot-7 center prospect is up to 235 pounds and showed a ton of good things in a breakout sophomore season for the Eagles where he posted 22 goals and 39 points in 36 games. His size and finishing ability around the net made him a standout at development camp last week and he is poised for a dominant year at the Heights. Everything from his skating, to his confidence and his aptitude for using his big frame to shield opponents from the puck has grown so rapidly over the course of the last couple of years. He could wind up being the No. 1 center that the Bruins desperately need if he continues to grow his game as he has over the last few years. The raw potential is there.

1. James Hagens (forward, Boston Bruins, 19 years old) – The seventh overall pick in the 2025 NHL draft had an amazing season last year where he played for five different teams at five different levels of hockey while getting NHL experience and a few games under his belt in the Stanley Cup playoffs. The speed, the elite-level skill, and the playmaking intelligence are all there in a big, big way, and there were even some moments where he showed a level of grit that wasn’t expected from a 5-foot-11, 177-pound skill player who looked like one of the smallest guys on the ice in his NHL action. It all bodes well for the future, but it was also clear that he needed to put in a summer of work to be ready for full-time NHL action next season, as the speed, the physicality, and the high level seemed challenging for him, particularly during the playoffs. The Bruins desperately need Hagens to turn into an electric offensive force for them at the NHL level and they are banking on that starting to happen this coming season.

Honorable Mention: Dans Locmelis, Ryan Walsh, Yuri Ivanov 

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