NHL Preview: Bruins are embracing the youth movement

The Boston Bruins have learned their lessons, sometimes the hard way, about player development and building an effective youth pipeline to the NHL.

It was eye-opening for Don Sweeney a couple of years ago to learn about the frank, outside opinions of the Bruins organization – and their perceived shortcomings -- when they conducted the global coaching search that ended up with the hiring of Marco Sturm a year ago.

Sometimes the hot B’s takes may have been off the mark, but clearly some also zeroed in on a series of fallow draft classes and top B’s prospects like Fabian Lysell and Georgii Mekulov that stalled out in the American Hockey League. This summer the Bruins effectively turned the page on players like Lysell and Mekulov who didn’t work out in Boston and have repositioned themselves to start partially building around talented young guys like James Hagens, Frederic Brunet, Matt Poitras and Mikey DiPietro that’s adding to a Boston core group that put together a 100-point playoff-worthy season last year.

Notably, a handful of young players cracked the NHL roster to start this season after suiting up for either Providence or Boston College at this time last season, and the Bruins intend to use them moving forward. Instead, veteran players like Henri Jokiharju, Alex Steeves and Jordan Harris were shipped off to Providence to make room for them, and Mikey Eyssimont might be headed there as well once Poitras (lower body) is removed from the injured list.

It all signifies a new era in Boston where they’ve put a renewed emphasis on drafting and developing players, and guys like Hagens, Dean Letourneau, Will Zellers and Elliotte Groenewold represent an expected influx of young talent over the next few years that’s going to arrive in waves. The first wave is here this season, and it will be up to them to make enough of an impact that optimism will keep growing for the future NHL players to follow in Boston’s system.

“We acknowledge that some of the younger players, as we hoped, would push our older players and established players and now, we will set our roster this [Monday] afternoon and be excited about the direction of our hockey club,” said Don Sweeney, during the Boston management press conference ahead of Tuesday night’s regular season opener against the New York Rangers. “As Cam [Neely] referenced, we want to maintain the competitiveness that we built and reestablished last year with our group overall. 

“But we certainly have to have an eye towards improving the overall skill and speed and the attack mentality that is required to play in different environments throughout the 84-game schedule.” 

While both Brunet and DiPietro are expected to sit out opening night against the Rangers, Hagens will be the first big impact from the youth movement this season. The 19-year-old is expected to start on the wing on a “kid line” with 24-year-old Marat Khusnutdinov and 22-year-old Fraser Minten, and those three players represent a major youthful infusion to established B’s veterans like newly minted captain David Pastrnak, hardnosed D-man Charlie McAvoy and other established leaders like Morgan Geekie, Nikita Zadorov and Vezina Trophy finalist Jeremy Swayman.

Both Sweeney and Neely talked a lot about adding speed and skill to the B's lineup this season, and adding JJ Peterka is certainly a step in both directions. But the No. 7 overall pick in the draft from a couple of years ago, Hagens, is the real X-Factor that could bring something entirely extra to the Black and Gold fold this season. It won't be easy as the Bruins look to keep pace with a number of Atlantic Division rivals that have clearly improved heading into this season, but Hagens is expected to play a significant role in helping them do that.  

“Whether it's James [Hagens] or Freddie [Frederic Brunet], and I talk about Matty Poitras, Fraser’s [Minten] still young, [Marat] Khusnutdinov’s still young. So, we're excited about that band of players, mixing with our even more established guys to the internal growth that they're going to be capable of and pushing,” said Sweeney. “If they can rise up the lineup, that's only going to deepen our hockey club. James [Hagens] obviously carried over productivity and confidence that he had in the two prospect games. 

“It wasn't productive in the same light [in preseason], obviously, but he had chances, looking to shoot, playing with puck possession and intent is going to be important now. The regular season will present challenges. It goes harder as you get along, so he'll have to continue to adapt to that.”

Certainly, Hagens is ready for the challenge, but to Sweeney’s point, it should be noted that future star players like Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron finished in the 15 goals and 35 points range in their first NHL seasons as teenagers. Hagens’ overall numbers may fall in that modest range as he finds his footing in his first full NHL season.

“It’s a dream come true for me,” said Hagens of starting this season at the NHL level. “It’s really cool, but we play [on Tuesday against the Rangers]. So it’s just being where your feet are. It’s being ready and being prepared.”

When the 23-year-old Brunet gets into the lineup, it’s expected that he’s going to provide offense and puck-moving to a defensemen group that struggled mightily on breakouts last season. The young D-man had nothing left to prove at the AHL level after posting 12 goals and 36 points in 65 games last season in Providence, and pretty clearly knows his new role in Boston amongst an established veteran group.

“I think not forcing anything,” said Brunet, when asked about his mindset entering his rookie season. “I think just playing my game. I think I can provide on both sides. I think I worked a lot in Providence, working on my defensive side.

“If my offense doesn’t work out that night, I’m sure I can bring something else to the table. But obviously, I want to help that team score some goals.”

Then there’s the impressive young player who impressed in training camp, Dans Locmelis, coming off shoulder surgery that cut his AHL season short last year. Locmelis probably deserved to win a job in Boston based on his strong performance in camp, but the best developmental step for him is to begin in Providence and be “the guy” on that AHL team for the first few months of the season.

The promising camp for the Latvian forward is another piece of evidence that the future is getting brighter for a Bruins team pointed in the right direction after last season. Now it’s a matter of Boston’s youth taking a step forward this year and all of that starts with Tuesday night’s opener against the Rangers in an 84-game season that will test Boston’s depth, their new leadership structure and the new pieces put in place by the Bruins.

2026-27 NHL season predictions

Atlantic Division

1. Florida Panthers – the Sunshine State bullies after back after adding Brady Tkachuk and getting off the postseason treadmill for a year.
2. Montreal Canadiens – Another very strong team that added a useful, experienced piece at the net front in Chris Kreider.
3. Tampa Bay Lightning – The Bolts are getting longer in the tooth, but still a playoff team and still able to beat anybody on any given night with Kucherov in his prime.
4. Boston Bruins – Coming off a 100-point season with a better, faster and more skilled team, the Bruins are going to surprise those that expect them to take a half-step back.
5. Toronto Maple Leafs – They were already going to be better after signing Sergei Bobrovsky, but going out and getting Kirill Marchenko could really allow them to get back into the playoff picture.
6. Buffalo Sabres – The Sabres took a big step forward last season and it feels like they might be ripe for a tiny step back as the pieces they lost from last year’s group is an underrated storyline.
7. Ottawa Senators – The Sens will take a little step back after being pushed into dealing Brady Tkachuk, but they still have a very talented young crew of players.
8. Detroit Red Wings – It feels like the Wings are going to be a mess until the Dylan Larkin situation is permanently resolved.

Metro Division

1. Carolina Hurricanes – The reigning champs get the respect going into a season where they’ll defend their title. Will be interesting to see if they lose focus a little after finally getting to the mountaintop.
2. Washington Capitals – This might be the last hurrah with Ovie and the Capitals will make it a good one with playoffs.
3. New Jersey Devils – The Devils started to gather steam last season with Jack Hughes riding the momentum after the Olympics and it’s easy to see them building on it this year.
4. Philadelphia Flyers – They certainly love Trevor Zegras in Philly and there are plenty of good pieces in place for a playoff run. But it feels like they’re not quite at the Cup level yet.
5. Pittsburgh Penguins – Sid is still Sid, but the team around them just isn’t good enough anymore. It feels like people may finally be seeing that Kyle Dubas isn’t the wonder boy GM some thought he was.
6. New York Islanders – It feels like the Islanders are constantly in between and have been for years.
7. Columbus Blue Jackets – Matthew Knies is going to help and signing Adam Fantilli was a big move, but the Blue Jackets continue to have a really hard time keeping up with everybody else. It’s tough when a lot of guys don’t want to play there.
8. New York Rangers -- Good luck to Mike Sullivan with this crew. At least NYC has the Knicks. 

Central Division

1. Colorado Avalanche – Another expected stellar regular season and then they’ll need to hope that Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon can stay 100 percent healthy for the playoffs. That’s a “must” for the Avs.
2. Dallas Stars – They’ve got another season together this year, but the Jason Robertson stuff could put this team on notice that the urgency will need to be there starting this year.
3. Minnesota Wild – Another team that will be on the clock with the pressure on them until the Quinn Hughes situation resolved itself. But probably the most top-heavy division in the league with Minny as the third-best team in this division.
4. Chicago Blackhawks – It feels like the Blackhawks are ready to take a step as Connor Bedard continues to ascend into the player everybody thought he was going to be right off the bat.
5. Utah Mammoth – They have the talent to be as high as third in this division and there is a ton of forward talent. But we’ll see how the goaltending shakes out with this team after it was a drag last year.
6. Nashville Predators – The Preds are a “good enough” team, but are they a playoff team? They’re still trying to get back to the level they were at for so long during the Shea Weber years.
7. Winnipeg Jets – The talent is there to be higher in the division, but again the Connor Hellebuyck situation is going to be a distraction to this team until it’s resolved.
8. St. Louis Blues – Jim Montgomery will have a team that can score some goals and win some games, but they don’t have enough to sniff the playoffs in a tough division.

Pacific Division

1. San Jose Sharks – This could be the year that San Jose ascends to the top of the division if their investments on defense work out. Either way, Mack Celebrini is going to be fun to watch. This team is going to be fun to watch.
2. Vegas Golden Knights – Still a loaded roster, but how are they going to respond to the change in coaching over the course of a long season? Could they be starting to get a little too old?
3. Edmonton Oilers – Mike Babcock makes a difference here. You heard it here first. The right A-hole coach for the right team at the right time.
4. Anaheim Ducks – A playoff level team, but the Leo Carlsson contract really threw this roster off kilter. Some of the depth is gone and we’ll see if the contract stuff changes the chemistry of the group.
5. LA Kings – Nothing super sexy about this team but they will grind and threaten for the playoffs under Drew Doughty’s leadership.  
6. Seattle Kraken – Very skilled in spots and they’ve got some fun local players from a Boston perspective, but they do not have enough to compete with the big dogs in this division.
7. Calgary Flames – They have some decent players, but it feels like they are stuck in the mushy middle in Cowtown.
8. Vancouver Canucks – A mess. A complete mess. Not going anywhere as long as some of the malcontents are still there.

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