Hockey is finally back. This week, the Bruins opened up their training camp in anticipation of their first preseason game against the Washington Capitals on Sept. 21. One of the stories coming into this season is the state of the team’s prospect pool and whether or not there will be any young players who can step up and make an impact in 2025-26.
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While there have only been a few days of training camp so far, rookie camp and the annual prospects challenge took place last week, giving a chance to start evaluating the rookie talent coming into training camp. Less than two weeks in, here are some early standouts amongst the rookies, and ones to watch as preseason games kick off.
Fraser Minten
Fraser Minten is arguably the most highly anticipated young player of the bunch. The 21-year-old already made his NHL debut in the 2023-24 season, playing four games for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Last season, he appeared in 21 NHL games, 15 for the Leafs and six for the Bruins after joining the team as part of the Brandon Carlo deal at the trade deadline.
With 25 NHL games under his belt, Minten has shown great flashes of potential, drumming up excitement for his increasingly inevitable NHL ascension. The experience clearly translated in rookie camp and at the prospects challenge. He played a big role in leading the offense, wearing the ‘A,’ and contributed a goal and an assist during their victory over the New Jersey Devils.
So far, he has carried the momentum from rookie camp and the prospect challenge into training camp. He’s spent time playing on the third line with Johnny Beecher and Fabian Lysell, which, if those three could get some chemistry going, would be a fascinating group to see play together. Given the team’s depth issues at center, Minten has a very good shot at making the opening night roster if he can keep the momentum.
Simon Zajicek
A 24-year-old Czech goaltender, Simon Zajicek is an intriguing recent addition to the Bruins prospect pool. He signed a one-year, two-way contract last May after an impressive season in the Czech Extraliga where he went 15-13-0 with a 2.12 goals-against average (GAA) and .930 save percentage.
His first start in a game in North America came against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Prospects Challenge. While the Bruins lost that game, he kept the game a lot closer than it could have been without him in net and was one of the more impressive players of the match. He had several impressive saves and looks like he could grow into a solid NHL goaltender. Throughout camp and the Prospects Challenge, he received high praise from coaches and management.
Zajicek’s addition couldn’t come at a better time for the Bruins. They haven’t picked a goalie in the draft since 2022, and they’ve already lost the rights to their pick from that year, Reid Dyck. With goalies tending to take longer to develop, there were some worries about the team’s depth at the position, especially after losing Brandon Bussi in free agency this past summer.
Zajicek has shown forward momentum and growth throughout his professional career so far, and now is making the jump to North America, where he will hopefully continue his growth and move forward. He’ll more than likely be playing in the American Hockey League (AHL) this season for the Providence Bruins, and from what he has shown so far, he will be an interesting player to watch in 2025-26.
Brett Harrison
Brett Harrison is an interesting prospect. The 22-year-old was a third-round pick by the Bruins in the 2021 NHL Draft. He is a guy who always seems to make noise around this time of year, gaining attention for impressive performances in training camp and preseason. He played on a line with Minten at the prospects challenge, and had some good looks as well as put up a couple of assists (from ‘Haggerty: Rookies off on the right foot after camp,’ Boston Sports Journal, Sept. 16, 2025).
Harrison is participating in training camp and preseason, and has some momentum from rookie camp and the prospects challenge. He will be a rookie to keep an eye on over the next week to see how he does in preseason and how long he sticks around. There is little chance that he makes the opening night roster, but at 22 years old, time is starting to tick for him. While he has a history of making some noise during the preseason, he inevitably ends up fading into the background and disappearing for Providence.
Last season, Harrison had six goals and 17 points in 46 games in the AHL. The season before that, he had five goals and 14 points in 47 games. He’s someone you’d like to see getting at least double that. He’ll be one to keep an eye on to see if he’s able to finally translate strong training camp and preseason performances into a good season, and maybe an NHL call-up this season.
Dans Locmelis
Everything has been looking up for Dans Locmelis in the last few months. He transitioned from a strong NCAA career with UMass Amherst to make his North American professional debut in the AHL at the end of last season. He appeared in six games, putting up three goals and 12 points. He then followed that up with an impressive performance for Latvia at the 2025 World Championship, where he had four goals and six points in seven games.
All of his success last season generated buzz over the summer around Locmelis being a dark horse candidate for a roster spot. Like Minten, he set himself up as a leader amongst the rookies with strong performances in rookie camp and the Prospects Challenge. He continues to impress coaches and management, and will certainly make the decision to send him down a tough one.
Locmelis is someone many will be paying attention to during the preseason matchups. There is a good chance he goes a similar route to Mason Lohrei during 2023-24. The defenseman put together a strong training camp and preseason and was one of the final cuts. He was then one of the first call-ups and put together a strong performance in Boston, earning himself 41 games and then a full-time role in 2024-25. I think we could see a similar situation with Locmelis this season.
Opening Night Roster
The Bruins’ opening night roster is in more flux at this point than it has been for several seasons now. There are some very interesting moving pieces and several guys who could be real dark horse candidates for spots on the opening night roster.
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Rookie camp, the Prospects Challenge, training camp, preseason games, these are all chances for guys to make a name for themselves and earn themselves a roster spot for opening night on Oct. 8 against the Capitals. With a few weeks to go, it will be fascinating to see who emerges as the real contenders for those final spots up for grabs.
