NHL Expert Breaks Down Bruins’ Top Five Young Talents

The Boston Bruins have a lot of exciting young prospects to keep an eye out for.

NHL.com’s Wes Crosby ranked the Bruins’ top five young prospects as part of an in-depth prospect analysis for each of the 32 teams.

At No. 1, it isn’t surprising to see Boston’s 2025 NHL Draft first-round pick, James Hagens. The Boston College player will return to Chestnut Hill for an extra season to further develop before heading to the NHL.

Hagens generated 37 points in his freshman season with 11 goals and 26 assists, which was third on the team behind Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault. Going into his sophomore season, the 5-foot-11, 190-pound forward will likely be a leader on the Eagles’ offense.

Fabian Lysell ranks after Hagens after making his NHL debut with the Bruins on Dec. 28 and coming back up towards the end of the season.

The 2021 first-round pick has spent three seasons in the AHL as he continues to develop his game. With the Bruins, the 22-year-old showed flashes of just how good he can be in an NHL lineup.

A partially new addition comes in at No. 3 with Fraser Minten, who was acquired by Boston from the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Brandon Carlo trade.

The 21-year-old was called up to the Bruins towards the end of the season, playing six games and scoring a goal. He split time between the NHL and AHL during the 2024-25 season, playing an impressive game in Providence.

Minten could be one of the young players who get an opportunity with the NHL club to start the season.

At No. 4 is Dans Locmelis, who played a majority of last season in college with UMass before making the jump to the AHL.

In 40 games with the Minutemen, the Latvian native totaled eight goals and 25 assists for 33 points. After signing with the Bruins, Locmelis quickly made himself at home in Providence, tallying three goals and nine assists for 12 points through six regular-season games.

With Locmelis’ progress, Crosby projects the 21-year-old will make an NHL appearance during the 2025-26 season.

To finish the rankings out, Will Zellers, who was acquired in the Charlie Coyle trade from the Colorado Avalanche, was ranked at No. 5.

It may be at least a year until Bruins fans see Zellers with the 19-year-old heading into his freshman season of college hockey with North Dakota. He spent last season with the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL, grabbing 71 points on 44 goals and 27 assists in 52 games played.