Over the past couple of Entry Drafts, the Boston Bruins have been drafting prospects to add to their pool for the future. With the calendar closing in on the middle of December, it’s time for another Bruins Prospects Report at The Hockey Writers. There have been some Black and Gold prospects that are playing well for their respective teams through the first three months of the season.
Lysell Continues to Shine in Vancouver
With each game that he plays, Fabian Lysell continues to show why is one of the Bruins’ top-ranked prospects. In 23 games with the Vancouver Giants in the Western Hockey League (WHL), the 21st pick in July’s draft has 11 goals and 17 assists. In a 4-3 loss to the Victoria Royals on Dec. 10, Lysell scored two goals. His 11 goals are a team-high.
In his goal above, Lysell shows his quick hands and a good quick shot that the right wing has. It’s part of his skill set that has impressed the Bruins. On a side note, yes that is teddy bears being thrown on the ice by the fans in Vancouver after the game-opening goal. Lysell was recently named to the Swedish National Team for the 2022 World Junior Championships later this month.
Gasseau & Langenbrunner Teammates With Force
Two members of the Bruins’ last two draft classes are playing together with the Fargo Force in the USHL. Andre Gasseau was selected 213th overall in July’s draft and the left-shot forward is fourth on the team in scoring with seven goals and 12 points in 20 games. He recorded a hat trick in a 4-3 win over the Sioux City Musketeers earlier this season.
At 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, Gasseau is a flashy forward with a quick release on his shot and has 43 shots on the net, good for third on the team. He is playing top-six minutes and will attend Boston College in 2022-23.
Related: Bruins’ Top 10 Prospects Heading Into the 2021-22 Season
Defensemen Mason Langenbrunner, who will attend Harvard University in 2022-23, has four assists in 22 games this season and is a good puck-moving defenseman. At 6-foot-3, 179 pounds, he is a physical blueliner and is the son of Bruins Player Development Coach & Player Personnel Advisor and former NHL player Jamie Langenbrunner. Depending on his development, Mason could be a Brandon Carlo-type player down the line with his long reach and physical play.
Kuntar Chipping in at Boston College
Trevor Kuntar was selected in the third round, 89th overall, in 2020, and the sophomore is having a good season at Boston College. The left-shot forward leads the Eagles with 55 shots on the net in 16 games with four goals and 10 points.
In his most recent game against Boston University on Dec. 10, the game went to a shootout and Kuntar sealed the Eagles’ eighth victory of the season when he scored in the fifth round of the shootout for a 4-3 win. After being a third-line left wing in 2020-21 for coach Jerry York, Kuntar has found himself a home on BC’s second line this season, even getting some shifts on the first line.
There is a lot to like about Kuntar’s game. At 6-foot-0 and 196 pounds, he is physical and not afraid to shoot the puck with his heavy shot, as evident of his team-leading in shots on the net. Prior to BC, he put up impressive numbers with the Youngstown Phantoms in the USHL, which included 28 goals and 25 assists in 44 games in 2019-20.
Gallagher Having Strong Freshman Season
One of the more quiet selections in the 2021 draft, Boston selected defensemen, Ty Gallagher, in the seventh round and the Michigan native is having a good start to his college career at Boston University. In 18 games, he has two goals and seven assists, which puts him sixth on the Terriers with nine points. In BU’s shootout loss to Kuntar and BC on Dec. 10, Gallagher set up all three goals in regulation for the Terriers, including a nice stretch pass for the second goal of the game.
Gallagher spent the 2020-21 season with the United States National Team Development Program and has found a home in the top-four at BU for coach Albie O’Connell. Like Langenbrunner in the USHL, Gallagher has shown off his impressive skill set on defense early in his collegiate career and is a good puck-moving defenseman.
Some of the Bruins’ top prospects in college, Mason Lohrei at Ohio State and Jake Schmaltz at the University of North Dakota are grabbing headlines, but Boston has other prospects in college having good seasons. On top of that, Lysell proves almost every time he steps on the ice that he has the potential to be a special player.
