The Boston Bruins’ rookie camp is underway and training camp is set to begin in less than a week. The 2024-25 season is so close, and excitement is picking up. The team is coming off a season that saw them reach the second round of the playoffs after being eliminated in the first round the two previous seasons.
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The offseason certainly brought changes to the Bruins. Goaltender Linus Ullmark was traded to the Ottawa Senators. Jake DeBrusk and Matt Grzelcyk, who had been on the roster for seven seasons, signed elsewhere in free agency while newcomers Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm were brought in.
The start of a new season always brings with it a number of surprises. It wasn’t that long ago that the Bruins took everyone by surprise by establishing themself as the top team in the league in the opening months despite many assuming that would be the season they fell off and didn’t make the playoffs. Going into 2024-25, expectations are pretty high in Boston and they should once again be a playoff team, barring any major injuries.
But at the end of the day, nobody quite knows what is going to happen once the puck drops in October and the regular season officially begins. Still, it’s always fun to try and make some predictions of what should and could happen in the first half of the season before Jan. 1 when the calendar flips to 2025.
Brandon Carlo Will Be on Pace for Career Year in Points
Brandon Carlo was the most impressive defenseman for the Bruins through two rounds of the 2024 Playoffs. He is not someone that always gets a ton of attention. He’s a stay-at-home defenseman, and has never been the biggest point-getter. Much of his great play over the course of his career has gone under the radar in a lot of cases.
But in the playoffs, Carlo really shined last season. He had three goals and an assist in 13 games. He had the most goals out of all defensemen on the team, and tied with Trent Frederic and Brad Marchand. It felt like a breakthrough performance for the 27-year-old as he maintained his excellence in his own zone while managing to contribute more offensively.
Hopefully, that breakthrough from the playoffs can carry into the 2024-25 season. In terms of points, Carlo’s best season came in 2019-20 when he had 19 in 67 games. His best season for goals was in 2021-22 when he had six in 79 games. I think these are both career highs that are very surmountable for him. It would be a great and very reasonable accomplishment for him to surpass the 20-point mark for the first time in his career.
By the time Jan. 1 rolls around, Carlo should be on pace to set career highs in terms of points and goals. He has been one of the most reliable blueliners for the Bruins, and hopefully, this will help bring him even more recognition around Boston and the league.
Charlie Coyle Top Three in Points
Charlie Coyle had one of the best seasons of his career in 2023-24. He hit 60 points for the first time and finished as the third-highest point-getter for the Bruins, trailing only David Pastrnak and Marchand. He really stepped up in light of the retirements of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, proving his capability to be a top center for Boston.
Through the first half of the season, I would expect Coyle to once again be in the top three for points amongst the entire Bruins roster. Pastrnak will obviously still be number one and Marchand should be number two, though there is a chance Coyle could catch up to him. He was only seven points behind at the end of last season. Most likely though, on Jan. 1, he will be in that third-place spot again.
Obviously there are contenders for the spot in Pavel Zacha and newcomer, Lindholm, but I think Coyle will still be number three. Lindholm may get to it by the end of the season, but presuming there’s some sort of adjustment period for him, Coyle should be number three through the first half of the season.
A Rookie Will Appear in Majority of Games
Contrary to the narrative that has surrounded the Bruins for the past several seasons, they are one of the youngest teams in the NHL, with an average age of around 27. While they have consistently been considered to have one of the weakest prospect pools in the league, they have still managed to build a really solid core of young players. Pastrnak just turned 28 a few months ago, Carlo is 27 while McAvoy is 26, and their goaltender, Jeremy Swayman, is only 25. Throw in Matthew Poitras, who is only 20, and healthy again, and this is actually a solid core to be competitive for the next few seasons.
Last season saw Poitras, Johnny Beecher, and Mason Lohrei all play in a decent-sized sample of NHL games. All three are projected to be on the roster again this season, and I predict that the Bruins will once again see a rookie appear in 20-plus games this season. The biggest names out of their prospects going into this season are Georgii Merkulov and Fabian Lysell. The team elected for the two of them not to participate in rookie camp and just focus on training camp, showing that there is some confidence from the front office that they could both see a real push to make the roster out of training camp.
Lysell has yet to play in an NHL game after being drafted in the first round of the 2021 NHL Entry Draft. He was limited last season due to an injury, but still managed 15 goals and 50 points in 56 games for the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL). Merkulov was an undrafted free agent the Bruins signed out of Ohio State in 2022. He made his NHL debut last season, appearing in four games and averaging 10:35 of ice time a night. In the AHL, he had 30 goals and 65 points in 67 games last season.
Expect both of them to grab attention at training camp. Even if they don’t make the opening night roster, there is still a good chance to see them get some NHL games under their belt in the first half of the season, similar to Lohrei last season. He was one of the final cuts from training camp, but was called up at the first injury, getting a good stretch of games in November. Merkulov and Lysell will certainly be names to remember in 2024-25.
2024-25 Season Fast Approaching
The offseason is officially in the rearview mirror and the 2024-25 season is fast approaching. The Bruins have some big questions to work out over the next few weeks. The number one of course is Swayman’s contract, which will continue to cast a shadow until it’s worked out. But there are lineup questions as well. Where does Poitras fit in? How will Lindholm and Zadorov adapt to the new team? Will a rookie make the roster out of training camp?
Related: Bruins’ Special Teams Consistency Key to 2024-25 Success
Make sure to stay tuned to The Hockey Writers over the next few weeks as these questions get answered and the regular season gets ready to start.
