Just one Bruins prospect remained in action as of the week ending June 1, 2025, but before diving into that, there’s additional prospect news to cover.
On May 27, 2025, USA Hockey honored Will Zellers with the prestigious Dave Tyler National Junior Player of the Year award. This recognition follows his impressive season, where he was also named the USHL Forward of the Year and earned a spot on the All-USHL First Team.
You can read the announcement here.
Loke Johansson remains the only prospect still playing and things aren’t looking so good for his Moncton Wildcats.
Minnesota Wild prospect Ryder Ritchie scored twice to lead the Medicine Hat Tigers (2-0) to a 3-1 victory over the Moncton Wildcats (0-2) at the 2025 Memorial Cup in Rimouski on Monday night. 2026 NHL Draft prospect Gavin McKenna scored into the empty net for the Tigers as Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Harrison Meneghin made 21 saves. Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Dyllan Gill had the Wildcats’ lone goal as Moncton netminder Mathis Rousseau turned aside 39 shots.
Johansson assisted on Moncton’s lone goal. He did not have a shot on net and was without a hit while blocking one shot and finishing a plus-1.
On May 28, Moncton faced a do-or-die showdown against the Rimouski Océanic in a rematch of their QMJHL championship victory. With a spot in the semi-finals on the line, the winner would advance to take on the London Knights.
The game was closer that the 6-2 Moncton victory would indicate.
Utah Hockey Club prospect Gabe Smith led the way with two goals, while Julius Sumpf, St. Louis Blues prospect Juraj Pekarcik, Calgary Flames prospect Étienne Morin, and Alex Mercier also found the back of the net. Goaltender Mathis Rousseau turned aside 32 shots in the victory. Rimouski responded with goals from Maël St-Denis and Vegas Golden Knights prospect Mathieu Cataford, with Mathis Langevin making 27 saves.
Holding a narrow 3-2 lead after two periods, the Wildcats pulled away with a dominant third. Morin delivered the key insurance marker just over four minutes in, ripping a low wrister from the top of the left circle to restore a two-goal cushion before Smith and Mercier sealed the win with a pair of empty-netters.
With the score at 3-2, Johansson made a game-saving play. With his goaltender down and out of position, he battled two opponents on top of him, pulling the puck off the goal line to prevent a certain score before clearing it to safety.
Johansson finished a plus-2 with 1 shot on goal and 3 blocked shots.
It just wasn’t meant to be for the Wildcats as they fell to the London Knights in the semi-final game on Friday 5-2.
London got goals from Landon Sim, Philadelphia Flyers prospect Denver Barkey, Ottawa Senators prospect Blake Montgomery, New York Islanders prospect Jesse Nurmi, and Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Easton Cowan. Knights’ goaltender Austin Elliott made 21 saves in the win.
Moncton responded with goals from 2025 NHL Draft prospect Caleb Desnoyers and Tampa Bay Lightning prospect Dyllan Gill, while Mathis Rousseau stopped 32 shots in the loss.
Tied 2-2 after two periods, the London Knights pulled away in the third, scoring three unanswered goals to punch their ticket to the final.
Johansson was a minus-2 in the game with one shot on goal, no hits and a blocked shot. He finished the Memorial Cup with one assist in four games.
June on the blog kicks off with an in-depth, three-part series on Bruins prospects and their performances this past season. I’ll analyze their development, highlight key moments, and wrap it up with my annual prospect rankings. Stay tuned!
Following that, I’ll dive into a three-part series on the NHL Entry Draft, starting with an in-depth breakdown of the first round, followed by a look at potential picks in the second round, and concluding with rounds three through seven, exploring possible players the Bruins could target.
After the draft wraps up, I’ll provide a comprehensive breakdown and in-depth analysis of each of the eight players the Bruins select—assuming they use all their picks. Stay tuned for detailed insights on their potential impact!
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Dom - Hockey 