Oskar Jellvik – Graduated from Boston College.
It comes as little surprise, but a report from the Swedish outlet Expressen indicates Jellvik has reached a verbal agreement with Rögle BK for the 2026–27 SHL season. After missing the bulk of the past two years due to injuries, the writing was on the wall. I felt an AHL contract would’ve been a reasonable path to see whether he could rebound, but it’s clear the Bruins view his injury history as too significant a concern.
Victor Soderstrom – Providence Bruins
Expressen also reported earlier that Soderstrom is expected to head back to Europe next season — not to Brynäs of the SHL, where he captured Defenseman of the Year honors just a season ago, but to Biel‑Bienne in the Swiss League. Say what you will about Soderstrom, but he’s been a strong piece for Providence, and it’s easy to forget the Bruins still need to ice a competitive AHL roster. You can never have too much depth.
James Hagens
Mark Divver via X (formerly Twitter): James Hagens to play for United States at IIHF World Championship in Switzerland later this month, per source. Hagens has since confirmed he will be attending.
Kirill Yemelyanov – Loko Yaroslav – MHL
Loko took a 3-0 lead in the best of 7 conference finals after a 3–2 overtime win over Chaika on Wednesday. And it was Yemelyanov who delivered the dagger, scoring the overtime winner — his seventh goal in nine games. With 3:54 gone in the extra frame, Loko forced a turnover I front of the blue paint, producing a shot that was partially stopped but leaked through, hit the post, and stalled on the goal line. As a Chaika defender swept it away, Yemelyanov came flying down the slot, pounced on the puck, and ripped it home to send Loko through.
Yemelyanov finished the game a plus-2, had three shots on goal and was 8 for 13 on the draw with 18:57 time on ice. He leads the league in playoff goals (7). Plus/minus with a plus-11, game winning goals (3), short handed goals (1) and even strength goals (6).
Loko could not close it out on Thursday as it was Chaika’s turn to win in overtime by a score of 2-1. Yemelyanov did not register a point in the loss and was just 6 for 14 on the draw – not good for him while logging 20:56 time on ice and no shots on goal.
Chaika stayed alive on Sunday with a 4–2 win, trimming Loko’s series lead to 3–2. Yemelyanov set up Loko’s first goal on a power play while trailing 2–0 — his first assist of the postseason to go with seven goals in 11 games. He finished with two shots on goal, went 9‑for‑16 on draws, and logged 18:27 of ice time.
Game 6 goes on Tuesday and should Loko advance, they will meet the winner of the JHC Spartak – Avto series in the finals.
On a separate note, I was asked on X (formerly Twitter) to compare the MHL to North American leagues in terms of overall skill level. Shoutout to Ace for the question.
The MHL is essentially Russia’s counterpart to the CHL in Canada or the USHL in the United States in terms of competitive level. In terms of pure skill, I’d slot it somewhere between Canadian Junior A and Major Junior. The biggest distinction, though, is structural: most MHL teams are directly affiliated with VHL clubs (Russia’s AHL equivalent) and KHL organizations, meaning players can be called up at any time. In North America, junior players don’t have that kind of immediate upward mobility.
Fun fact: When the MHL launched in 2009 following a major restructuring of Russia’s junior system, former Bruins prospect Alexander Khokhlachev was billed as their “next big thing.” The league needed a marketable young star to help drive interest, and Khokhlachev became the face of the campaign — his image was plastered across promotional materials throughout the country. Khokhlachev left for the OHL the following season.
Providence Bruins
Providence 2 – Springfield 3 – Springfield leads the best-of-five series 1-0
To call it a lackluster effort would be an understatement. The Bruins best players were not their best players and in a short series, it is not acceptable.
Providence wasted no time setting the tone, jumping ahead just 3:12 into the opening period when newcomer Drew Callin struck for his first. Callin curled into the right circle and snapped a wrist shot that somehow squeezed under the goaltender’s pad, giving the home side an early 1–0 lead.
Springfield pulled even with 4:44 left in the first, when Akil Thomas hammered home a one‑timer from the left circle. Just 3:40 into the second, the visitors seized control for good — Thomas Bordeleau burying a one‑timer in front to put Springfield ahead 2–1, a lead they would not relinquish.
Springfield pushed the margin to 3–1 just 3:11 into the third, when Dylan Peterson stepped into a shot from the right circle and beat Michael DiPietro clean on the blocker side.
Matej Blumel pulled Providence back within one, making it 3–2 with a power‑play strike in the final 37 seconds of regulation. Blumel pounced on a rebound off a Christian Wolanin blast, chipping it home from the crease. Matthew Poitras picked up the secondary assist on the late push.
DiPietro stopped 23 of 26 shots he faced while Providence had 26 shots of their own.
Providence 2 – Springfield 1 – Best-of-five series tied 1-1
A better all-around effort on Sunday by Providence evened the best-of-five series following a 2-1 win over Springfield.
With 8:34 gone in the opening period, Blumel jumped on a juicy rebound and snapped a wrist shot into a wide‑open net to give the Bruins a 1–0 lead. Frederic Brunet and Ty Gallagher picked up the assists on the play.
Dillon Dube would tie it with 8:30 remaining in the period when he redirected a pass for a powerplay goal that beat DiPietro at the far post.
Just 2:32 later, Brunet found Georgii Merkulov with a cross-crease pass to put Providence up 2-1. Poitras earned the secondary assist.
That would be all the scoring in this game. DiPietro stopped 27 of 28 shots he faced while Providence sent 31 the other way. Providence was 0-for-five on the powerplay and 6-for-7 on the penalty kill.
Game 3 goes Tuesday in Springfield.
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