Boston Bruins Mid Season Prospect Update: Part Two

In the event that you missed Part One of this series, you can find that here.

Back in the early preseason, I provided something for you that you won’t find on any prospect coverage. A production forecast for each prospect.  Now, some of you may scoff at the idea and that’s okay. It has done well for me over the years in tracking who is on target, and who isn’t. Would you rather that or would you rather someone tell you that they “don’t know what to expect from prospect X” only to tell you three months later “not to be surprised by his production”?

Now that we are unofficially at the halfway point of the season, it’s a good time to see who is on track, who is exceeding it and who is way off the mark. The chart below shows what I predicted for each prospect over the 2023-2024 season for goals, assists and points. It also shows their current stats at the break and what they project too over the remainder of the season. It is followed by a brief analysis.

Casper Nassen – Frolunda HC – J20 Nationell (Sweden)

Even if he didn’t miss the last seven games, Nassen would be hard pressed to match the 23 goals he scored a season ago in the same league, let alone show an improvement, even a modest one I had him pegged for. And he is on pace to just match the 17 assists from a year ago. To say he has been a massive disappointment is an understatement. He’s been playing with some good players which makes it even more puzzling. I haven’t seen a marked improvement in other areas of his game that would make me okay with the lack of production. He’s headed to Miami University (Ohio) for next season so, we’ll see what happens. But at this point, I am not very confident.

Jonathan Myrenberg – Linkoping HC – Swedish Hockey League

Acquired via trade from the Vancouver Canucks, Myrenberg has lived up to expectations and then some. While his offence is pretty much on the target I had set, it’s his defensive game that has impressed me the most. His poise, confidence and IQ, as a 20-year-old playing against men in Sweden’s top league has really stood out. Not only has he shown progress year over year, but throughout the season. For me, he is the Bruins top prospect among right shot defencemen and the only thing preventing me from saying he’s a lock to one day play for the Bruins is the NHL-SHL transfer agreement. He signed a two-year extension to play for Linkoping.

Kristian Kostadinski – Frolunda HC – J20 Nationell (Sweden)

I have actually been more impressed with Kostadinski than I have Nassen – teammates with Frolunda. He has obviously put in a lot of work in the offseason and took what he learned at development camp and really put in the effort. Especially the skating. But there is room for more improvement. I had set some modest expectations for him offensively and he is on track. There has been some improvement in his defensive game as well and he is still an SOB to play against. There is still a lot of work ahead if he’s going to play in the NHL one day. He could be heading to play in the Allsvenskan (Sweden’s equivalent of the AHL) next season, but he also has a year of junior eligibility after this season.

Andre Gasseau – Boston College – NCAA

He’s a little off the pace he was on a season ago where he produced 10 goals and 19 assists but he has shown a marked improvement in his overall game. I’m surprised his assist total is so low considering the pace Oskar Jellvik (see below) is scoring at and the two spend plenty of time on the ice together. He has everything you want in a player except the skating and if he can continue to improve in that area, there’s no telling how high his upside can be.

Oskar Jellvik – Boston College – NCAA

Not surprised by his production whatsoever. Remember, I preached patience with him last season and here we are. However, I am surprised by the goals to assists ratio. Gasseau was supposed to be the scorer and Jellvik the setup man but the roles appear to be reversed. He has more than doubled his goals from a season ago and matched his point total in half the games played. Jellvik has the makings of the steal of the drafts under Don Sweeney. And he is still just a sophomore.

Jake Schmaltz – North Dakota – NCAA

So, 8 goals – 16 assists – 24 points (39 games); 5 goals – 7 assists – 12 points (34 games); 0 goals 6 assists – 6 points (14 games). That’s his production from freshman to present. Still, I projected an uptick this season because injuries and an illness played a role last season. He’s going to have to go on a major scoring spree in the second half to make it. However, he’s been passed by so many others at the center position that at this point, I wonder if he’ll ever sign with the Bruins. Still time to turn it around but…

Cole Spicer – Minnesota-Duluth – NCAA

After scoring 3 goals and 3 assists a season ago, there wasn’t a lot expected from Spicer. That said, he’s already reached his goals for the season but is falling short on the apples. But for a 5’10” and 175-pound player, you want some offensive output from him. At this point, I don’t see enough in other areas of his game that says NHL’er. He might get a cup of coffee but that’s it, in my opinion of course. Anything can happen in the next two seasons before he turns pro. So, we keep our fingers crossed.

Quinn Olson – Minnesota-Duluth – NCAA

He never displayed the offence in college that peaked through playing Junior A in Canada. And while he is precisely on pace to hit the targets that I had set for him, it’s not much of an improvement over last season. And this is his fifth season of college hockey so he should be dominating, right? I don’t think he will get a pro contract from the Bruins at this point but another team may be willing to take a flyer on him.

Beckett Hendrickson – Sioux Falls – USHL

When I pegged him with 28 goals and 34 assists on the season, fans said I was nuts. That’s 4 and 3 times his production from last season. Had he not missed 3 games to join Team USA at the World Junior A Challenge, he’s probably be right on target. The fact that he’s getting it done at both ends of the ice is a bonus and something the Bruins place great value in. Headed to the NCAA for next season, I can not see any scenario where he finishes all four seasons at the University of Minnesota.

Christopher Pelosi – Sioux Falls -USHL

You can pretty much copy and paste what I said about Hendrickson here except change the goals to 33, assists to 29 and replace University of Minnesota with Quinnipiac University. Oh, and I was called worse than nuts with my projections here.

Roman Bychkov – Melot – VHL

One word for you: BUST. Can’t crack a KHL lineup regularly.

Dans Locmelis – University of Massechusetts – NCAA

As I stated with Jellvik as a freshman, I’m not concerned about offence this season, but I did have to give you the readers something so, I did. While he is scoring at a better clip than I forecasted, he’s just not setting up the goals I expected him too. Part of that is due to the fact he’s not playing with the linemates I assumed he would be teamed up with. But it doesn’t matter. It’s a transition year to North America for him. Next season is when I will really be concerned about numbers.

Ryan Walsh – Cornell University – NCAA

Don’t be surprised by the offence here. While the goals to assists ratio is off a little, he’s on target to achieve the points. Not bad for a freshman and a sixth-round pick. There is some work to be done on his all-around game and hopefully that doesn’t impact his offensive game. Over the next couple of seasons, Walsh is going to be someone to keep close tabs on.

Mason Langenbrunner – Harvard University – NCAA

There are things to like here: Size, skating, defensive ability and IQ to name a few. But offence hasn’t been one of them after showing some promise in Minnesota High School hockey where the Bruins drafted him from and then the Fargo Force of the USHL in his draft-plus-2 season. He is still rather green and there is plenty of time ahead of him. The sooner he starts showing some offence, the more comfortable I will feel he can add that.  

Riley Duran – Providence College – NCAA

I still say he will be a fan a fan favorite among Bruins fans with his energy and all-around game. That doesn’t mean top-line player. Offence will just be a bonus for him. Still, he is scoring at the expected clip. But his playmaking is way off the mark especially when he has spent most of the season on Providence College’s top line – more recently on the second line. He’s been playing with some goal scorers so he’s going to have to have a big second half to get that part up to snuff.

Ty Gallagher – Boston University – NCAA

Easily the most disappointing player for me to date. There was a lot of promise coming out of the U.S. National Development Team. There was even more promise after his freshman year with Boston University. His production slipped as a sophomore and has hit a brick wall this season. Granted, he’s not getting the prime offensive opportunities he had earlier with BU. He’s a transitional and offensive defenceman and he needs to find that again.

Jackson Edward – London Knights – OHL

It’s been a strange season for the left shot defenceman playing a lot on the right side. His goal projection is ahead of pace, and not surprising considering the amount of work he put into improving his shot. The helpers however are a disappointing on a team that transitions defence into offence and can score on the rush with the best of them. He’s had trouble handling the puck on his weak side, and maybe that is part of the issue, but he is steadily improving in that area. 

Upcoming Games

In part three we will take a look at the prospects with the Providence Bruins as well as any possible future prospects with the Maine Mariners. Be sure to check back or better yet, follow this blog and have it sent right to your inbox!

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