Dean Letourneau already had his heart set on playing in Boston.

Not in the pros necessarily. The 6-foot-7 forward was smart enough to realize he had no control over which team might select him in the NHL Draft. But when the Ontario native was being recruited for college, he fell for Boston and its hockey tradition.

Letourneau first committed to Northeastern, and then as his reputation grew, he reopened his recruiting and signed with Boston College, intending to enroll for the 2025-26 school year.

But a series of events over the past two months will bring him to Boston sooner, and he hopes for much longer.

When Boston College freshman Will Smith signed a professional contract in May, Eagles Coach Greg Brown reached out and offered Letourneau a chance to play at Boston College a year earlier than planned.

Then on Friday, the Bruins picked Letourneau with the No. 25 overall pick.

“It’s awesome. It was just an honor to hear my name called, and I got lucky to be at a great spot in Boston,” he said. “I loved the Boston city. That’s where I always knew I wanted to be with my college hockey decision. I was originally committed to Northeastern in Boston. I wanted to play in the Beanpot, and then I made the decision to open my recruitment and then went to BC. I wanted to stay in Boston because I love that so much.”

Letourneau will be making a big step up from Canadian prep school competition to Boston College. Letourneau had 61 goals and 66 assists in 56 games for St. Andrew’s College, his prep team in Ontario.

But with his size to go with good skills and skating ability, Letourneau has a unique tool kit.

“What stood out is obviously the frame of the player and his skill set, to tell you the truth. He moves really well at that size. He’s got very, very good hands. He’s got an elite shot,” Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney said. “Most people talk a little bit about the quality of the competition, the level he’s played at. It’ll be a big jump for him to go to Boston College next year, but the opportunity is right in front of him, with Smith leaving, so we think that’s going to be a great development opportunity for him to continue to grow and fill in the gaps in his game.”

Letourneau has specific goals in mind for his development.

“I just want to get bigger and stronger. Maintain my speed,” he said. “I want to play a bigger boys’ game where I’m using my size more. I’m still learning how to do that, and that’s something I’m trying to work on this offseason.”

That was part of the appeal of Boston College

“Their track record of development of elite NHL talents, it’s pretty huge,” he said. “They got a lot of guys that develop to be great NHL players. So that was kind of the biggest decision for me.”

AS TRADE WINS blew at the NHL draft, the Bruins got in on the act.

Boston moved up 12 spots in the fourth round by trading center Jakub Lauko to the Minnesota Wild for well-traveled center Vinni Lettieri, a former Bruins player. Boston didn’t have picks in the second or third rounds. With the 110th pick, acquired from the Wild, they took Vermont-born and Quinnipiac-bound Elliott Groenewold, a 6-foot-2 left-shot defenseman.

Lauko’s rambunctious style made him something of fan favorite after he surprisingly made the roster for the 2022-23 season. But he struggled to make an impact last season, notching just two goals and eight assists in 60 games after suffering a nasty eye injury last October.

Lettieri was in the Bruins’ organization two year ago and had a very good season in Providence (23 goals, 26 assists in 48 games), but played only one game for Boston. He played 46 games in Minnesota last season, posting 5-4-9 totals.

After drafting Groenewold, the Bruins selected 6-foot-3 center Jonathan Morello from St. Michael’s of the Ontario Junior Hockey League in the fifth round. Morello will be headed to Clarkson in the fall.

With their final pick of the draft (186th overall), the Bruins chose another big defenseman, Loke Johansson of Sweden.

Copy the Story Link

« Previous

Bruins trade goalie Linus Ullmark to Senators