New Bruins prospect Minten scores hat trick with Windfall

Fraser Minten recorded 4 factors in Windfall’s win over Springfield this weekend.

Fraser Minten scored a hat trick with the Windfall Bruins on Sunday. (Photograph by Claus Andersen/Getty Photos)

The 2024-25 Bruins season is inching nearer and nearer to a disappointing finish.

However whereas Boston’s hopes of internet hosting playoff hockey on Causeway Road proceed to dwindle, the subsequent wave of Bruins’ younger expertise has began to face out down in Windfall.

Boston’s roster overhaul on the commerce deadline earlier this month set the Bruins up for an in depth retool this summer time, touchdown a number of new faces like Casey Mittelstadt, Henri Jokiharju, and Marat Khusnutdinov, together with a major haul of draft picks.

However Boston additionally landed an intriguing prospect from the Toronto Maple Leafs in Fraser Minten. He was one of many key items within the return for a deal centered on Brandon Carlo (together with a 2026 first-round decide).

The 6-foot-2 heart has already made a direct influence together with his new group in Windfall. He scored a hat trick and added an help in a 4-1 win over the Springfield Thunderbirds on Sunday.

The 2022 second-round decide showcased his knack for the online all through the win, opening the scoring for Windfall after knocking dwelling a puck off a slick feed from fellow prospect Georgii Merkulov with 4:40 to go within the first.

He doubled the P-Bruins’ lead at 2:29 within the second interval after tapping dwelling a cross from defenseman Billy Sweezey earlier than finishing the hat trick at 9:55 within the body after gathering his personal rebound and tucking the providing previous the aim line with a candy backhand end.

Minten — a 2022 second-round decide — closed out his four-point night time within the second interval by recording the first help on Riley Duran’s tally at 18:14 within the body.

Because the Bruins look to rebuild their ahead corps for 2025-26 and past, a prospect like Minten ought to maintain loads of enchantment as a middle-six common in due time. The 20-year-old ahead has already performed 19 video games within the NHL with the Maple Leafs, scoring two objectives and including a pair of assists.

Whereas a participant like Minten will not be the answer in Boston’s seek for a top-six heart, his excessive motor, defensive sport and hockey IQ makes him a high-floor expertise who may begin carving out common minutes quickly.

“Fraser Minten was arguably the Leafs’ second-best prospect,” Harman Dayal of The Athletic wrote of Minten’s sport shortly after the deal between Boston and Toronto was struck. “The 20-year-old might not have the very best offensive ceiling however his IQ, work fee and projectable dimension give him the prospect to turn into an clever, defensive-minded third-line heart.

Whereas it stays to be seen if Minten will get a cup of espresso on the NHL ranks over Boston’s remaining 13 video games, the ahead seems to be a welcome addition to a Bruins pipeline quick on NHL expertise over the previous few years.