Bruins
The Bruins are hoping that players like Casey Mittelstadt, Fraser Minten, and Marat Khusnutdinov can develop into lineup regulars.
Colorado Avalanche center Casey Mittelstadt (37) in the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025, in Denver.
The Bruins are banking on a change of scenery benefiting a player like Casey Mittelstadt. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
The Boston Bruins’ dressing room at Warrior Ice Arena is going to look very different next week.
In the span of just a few days, Don Sweeney and Boston’s top brass dismantled significant portions of their roster, ultimately dealing away:
Brad Marchand
Brandon Carlo
Charlie Coyle
Trent Frederic
Justin Brazeau
Max Jones
Marc McLaughlin
In return, the Bruins secured several draft picks and a few new additions to the lineup:
Casey Mittelstadt
Fraser Minten
Marat Khusnutdinov
Henri Jokiharju
Jakub Lauko
Max Wanner
Will Zellers
Daniil Misyul
2025 second-round pick (Blues)
2025 second-round pick (Colorado)
2025 fourth-round pick (Philadelphia)
2026 first-round pick
2027 conditional second-round pick (Florida)
The Bruins’ new haul of picks stands as the best way for Boston to accelerate its retool — be it through replenishing their prospect pipeline or using some of that capital to acquire proven NHL talent this summer.
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But speaking after the dust had settled on Friday evening, Sweeney acknowledged that Boston’s new players should be able to quickly impact this augmented grouping.
“The players that we’ve identified — Casey coming in right away addresses some of the skillset needs that you look at with our power play that we need to improve upon. And center ice is an area that we’re trying to start to drive play. And he has a skill set for that.
“Fraser Minton, from a draft standpoint, and how much we valued his abilities, has a lot of the Charlie Coyle qualities as a player — and the leadership qualities that we identified at the draft and subsequently afterward. Again, I hope he grows into [Coyle] — because of the high regard that I have for Charlie.”
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With the trio of Mittelstadt, Minten, and Khusnutdinov, the Bruins are banking on the benefits of both a change of scenery and the natural upside still present in a grouping of players with an average age of 22 years old.
Mittelstadt isn’t cut from the same cloth as a big-boded Coyle. But the 26-year-old forward offers up some of the skill and playmaking talents that were sorely lacking on a Bruins roster that is just 5-23-5 when scoring fewer than three goals this season.
The eighth-overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, Mittelstadt has struggled to find his game this season with Colorado — scoring 11 goals and 34 points over 63 games.
But in the previous two years, he posted 59 and 57 points between the Sabres and Avalanche, with the Bruins set to prescribe more O-zone starts and power-play reps for Mittelstadt moving forward.
“It’s what the scouts and stuff do every night, when they’re at games. They’re trying to identify the players, maybe being used in a different role. Can he play a little different role in our environment with more opportunity? And Casey might be, hopefully, the next example of that,” Sweeney said.
“Wasn’t playing on their primary power play, which he was in Buffalo and doing a good job. … We made a trade where it’s Mittelstadt and Coyle. They’re different players. We have an area that we would like to address.”
Casey Mittelstadt, acquired by BOS, is a middle-six playmaking centre. After a promising start with the Avs last year has struggled tremendously, creating essentially no chances for himself while getting caved in. Not a checker. Needs a bounceback. #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/BIOyGZ5Q3V
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) March 7, 2025
Minten might be the youngest of Boston’s next crop of players at just 20 years old. But the Maple Leafs’ top prospect has already logged 19 games at the NHL level — scoring a pair of goals and posting four points.
Minten’s early arrival to the NHL ranks was a byproduct of his high motor, with the forward projecting as a steady middle-six regular in due time.
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“He has matchup capabilities, he’s got physical strength, he skates well, shoots the puck well, leadership roles that he’s had in his previous team,” Sweeney said of Minten. “Been talking to the people that have been around the Marlies and the Leafs now, he’s a confident kid in that regard, comfortable with his own skin to go out and play to the level and into his skillset, albeit wants to continue to improve. So we’re excited about what his upside is.”
Even a player whose numbers haven’t popped in the NHL in Khusnutdinov (11 points in 73 games) will be looking for a fresh start in Boston — with his skating ability and production overseas (75 points in 162 games in the KHL) offering hope that he has more to give with a team like Boston.
The Bruins still have plenty of work to do when it comes to rebuilding their roster and surrounding franchise fixtures like David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy with impactful, high-end talent.
More growing pains are to be expected for Boston — be it for the remainder of this season or in the years ahead. But the Bruins believe that this next wave of talent has a lot to immediately offer a Bruins team in need of more playmaking poise and speed.
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“Stylistically — Mittelstadt, is a departure to some degree,” Sweeney noted. “You know, thinking about trading Charlie Coyle and the identities that he brings to the table and what Mittelstadt might … they’re different players, and we’ve been void a little bit of that.”
Profile image for Conor Ryan
Conor Ryan
Sports Writer
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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