Tag Archives: Mason Lohrei

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Mason Lohrei: Legit

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Another game, another multi-point effort (his seventh in 15 contests) for Boston’s top choice in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.

Defenseman Mason Lohrei tallied his second goal of the game with just seconds to spare against the Muskegon Lumberjacks Friday night, sending it to overtime, though the Green Bay Gamblers could not secure the extra point.

In just 15 games, Lohrei has eclipsed his single-season goal totals with 9 in 33 fewer games from a year ago (his goals and 22 points lead all USHL defensemen), and has a chance at the league scoring record by a D, set by Tri-City Storm’s Ronnie Attard (Flyers) two seasons back (30 goals, 64 points). And for the record, what Attard did in 2018-19 was tremendous…he accomplished all of that and parlayed it into a 3rd-round selection in Vancouver…all at the same age as Lohrei is this season, but in his third full USHL campaign vs second for Lohrei. The point of this? Production is production. The USHL is a top league and it doesn’t have the same age demographic as the various major junior circuits do. What Lohrei is accomplishing should be lauded, not diminished.

A converted forward while at Culver, Lohrei is driving the offense and plays a solid defensive game. While not what you would consider a “shutdown” defensive player, he uses his size, mobility and reach effectively and has the experience to make quick decisions and transition from defense to offense rapidly. However, it’s his vision, puck skills and shot that are allowing him to thrive in his second full season in the USHL.

At some point, you have to call a spade a spade and at least acknowledge that the Boston staff were onto something.

Lohrei is legit. Along with Jack Studnicka, he is one B’s prospect we feel confident in saying projects as a “driver” and expect that he will be well set up to enter Ohio State next season and have the opportunity for big minutes right away and potentially signing on with the Bruins within 1-2 years after that. Now, Lohrei will have to show that he can play top minutes in the B1G Ten with the Buckeyes next season and beyond, but based on his superb two-way play and pro-caliber tools, he’s up near Studnicka on the organization’s prospect depth chart.

For more on Lohrei, check out the work of TSP amigo Anthony Kwetkowski on Twitter: @BruinsNetwork- he has a lot of current videos and analysis on the B’s prospect and what makes him successful.

NESN Broadcast Crew Breaks Down Bruins’ Second-Round Pick Mason Lohrei – YouTube

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On Zdeno Chara signing with the Capitals

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Zdeno Chara returns for his tenth season as the captain of the Boston Bruins (photo courtesy of Alison M. Foley)

As 2020 came to a merciful end, (many) Boston Bruins fans were greeted with one more bit of unwelcome news this week as captain Zdeno Chara’s 14-season run with the team came to an end with news he accepted a one-year offer from the Washington Capitals at age 43.

It seems both unimaginable and inevitable that the greatest free agent signing in team history would end in a whimper the way it did with a sudden announcement that after months of little to no movement on the renewal of a contract that most supporters felt was sure to happen. Like former Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield at the end of his major league career, it appeared as if the team and player had an unofficial deal to stay in Boston until both agreed that Chara’s playing days were over.

Clearly, that was not the case, as initial news brought anger and disbelief, especially when the base salary of $795,000 for the new season to exchange the black and gold for red, white and blue, came out. Chara’s deal calls for performance bonuses that would bring his total compensation to a $1.5 million AAV (per CapFriendly.com), but it was understandable that most fans would think it ridiculous that the Bruins weren’t willing to find the money to re-sign their captain, a player who had inked four separate contracts in Boston since he first came to town at age 29 in 2006.

However, as things are often the case with Hall of Fame-caliber players, and let’s be clear- four years after Chara calls it a career, whether in 2021 or later, he will be enshrined in Toronto- the truth of the matter is rarely black and white.

As the news has settled and more has come out on the negotiations that took place between Boston and Chara, both have said complimentary things and it appears that the following are both true:

  1. The Bruins wanted Chara back for a 15th season as captain, but with caveats.
  2. Chara was not willing to return to the team he cemented his legendary status with in a reduced role.

The purpose of this post is not to defend the organization for what did or didn’t happen to facilitate an icon’s departure, but to add context and provide food for thought to those fair-minded observers who are interested in what might have happened and why the team and player took positions they did. We weren’t there, so while we have been given some information based on sources familiar with the negotiations, this is merely one view on what might have happened.

It is fair to be disappointed that Chara and the team his greatest collective and individual accomplishments happened with couldn’t find a way to keep him until age 44 or when he finally calls it a stellar career. It is also fair to be okay with the realization that Chara is no longer the player he was and that his lack of mobility and inability to play in all situations like he once did means that the organization had to make a tough choice about answering the player’s questions about how he would be employed should he sign a fifth contract and third one-year extension since 2018.

The biggest challenge the Bruins face right now is with expectations for 2021. The team is coming off of a President’s Trophy as top regular season club in 2019-20 until COVID-19 forced the campaign’s pause in March. Prior to that, they took the St. Louis Blues to a seventh game of what would have been a second Stanley Cup championship team under Chara’s captaincy out of three trips to the final series. Given Torey Krug’s departure to those very Blues via free agency, fans have a right to be concerned about how the B’s power play and penalty kill special teams units will fare without two key anchors from a season ago.

From this view in the saddle, the issue so much isn’t Chara’s departure due to a fundamental disagreement between player and team over usage going forward and how to better manage the development other players in the organization, but more of a realization that without Chara and Krug, the Boston defense as a unit is almost certain to take steps backwards in 2021. In a few short months, we’ve gone from a team many thought might win a championship after the COVID pause resumed, to one that is on the outside looking in right now and in the immediate future.

Even if one or more of Matt Grzelcyk, Jakub Zboril, Urho Vaakanainen, Jeremy Lauzon and even Jack Ahcan were all primed to step in and fill those roles vacated by Chara and Krug with much more certainty than what we’re currently dealing with, there would still be questions about their basic experience and ability to replicate the x-factor that such battle-tested veterans provided Boston over the last 5-7 years. That, in our view, is what is really at the heart of the negativity surrounding Chara’s departure. More than anything else, it’s a harbinger of darker times and a window that has essentially closed after the team watched other teams around the league get better while Boston’s biggest name addition in the offseason was complementary forward Craig Smith.

Boston lost the opportunity for a second championship in three years when they dropped a six-game series to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2013, the dawn of Krug’s era as a PP staple in Boston, while Chara was still at the height of his two-way productivity as an all-situations stalwart. The B’s followed up that disappointment with a President’s Trophy in 2014, then lost in the second round of the playoffs to their hated rival Montreal Canadiens and subsequently missed the playoffs for two years before a renaissance largely sparked by Patrice Bergeron’s continued excellence, plus the emergence of Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak as offensive forces from 2017-20 brought the team back into contention. Charlie McAvoy is the heir apparent on defense as potentially the next top/franchise cornerstone defenseman in Boston.

And it is right for those who see the parallels between the B’s teams from 2013-14 and 2019-20 to point out that by allowing Chara to leave like this, things are setting up for another precipitous fall like the one we witnessed in 2015 and 2016.

Five years hence, the 2015 draft was a major missed opportunity. Though all three first-round picks are still in the fold and Jake DeBrusk has become a solid complementary scorer with the B’s, the chance to draft three driver-types didn’t happen, and has exacerbated the concerns surrounding the club’s current fortunes. We’ll not open that can of worms in the Chara piece at present, as the 2015 draft’s failings deserves its own treatment at some point soon, but the reality is- as the 2021 season dawns, the B’s have far more question marks on the left side of their defense corps than answers at present, and that is at the heart of the angst surrounding Chara’s exit.

Also at issue is the captain’s legacy and how things should have ended in Boston. One can certainly argue that he deserved better- a final curtain call in Boston and the ability to close out a two-plus decade career in the NHL that saw him endure as the league’s tallest player who evolved into a curious project into a dominant, Norris Trophy-winning, franchise icon who helped the Bruins organization to its first championship in nearly four decades, the first such accomplishment since Bobby Orr manned the Boston blue line. On several levels, it doesn’t make sense that the Bruins as a whole- whether you’re talking Cam Neely, Don Sweeney, Bruce Cassidy or even ownership as a collective brain trust, wouldn’t see the black clouds gathering on the horizon and know that they would take a major PR hit by not closing the deal to keep Chara in the fold.

At the same time, we have to admire the team’s courage for looking at the situation and deciding that simply offering him a new contract to maintain a status quo in Boston and turn 44 in the midst of the new season without addressing what has been a declining return on investment, was a bridge too far. Right or wrong, what is always lost on fans and media members, no matter how well sourced they may be, are the team dynamics of what goes on behind the scenes. They are not sitting in the meetings that take place when leaders lay out the depth chart and talk through the myriad scenarios of player usage combined with future financial constraints and contract negotiations. No one is privy to the discussions that talk about who the team is likely to lose when the NHL’s newest expansion club, the Seattle Kraken gets to leverage the changed rules to build a far more competitive roster than all of the other NHL’s expansion clubs in history. We all watched the Las Vegas Golden Knights create a blue print for in 2017, and the Bruins are trying to manage the challenge of not losing a driver-type of player to Seattle because they didn’t know what they had in order to make the right decision when it comes to whom they protect and those who get exposed in the impending expansion draft.

Sound like excuse making? Perhaps. But, ask yourselves this: If Chara returned and continued to log key minutes in the rotation and on the PK and another player further down the depth chart departed either to Seattle or other club only to blossom as a top performer there, many of those same people unhappy about Chara’s departure would also savage the Bruins organization for allowing an aging veteran to hang on for so long and hindering the development of others in the system or at least- camouflaging their potential and preventing the B’s from making an informed decision on who to protect.

Building a winning team is a never-ending master-level jigsaw puzzle. It isn’t just about acquiring talent and skill but supplementing those stars with the right kinds of players who can come together and embrace a team’s structure and organizational values. Some fans might scoff at this quaint notion of the herculean task managers face at all meaningful levels, but the reality is- that’s why they’re fans. They might build a successful Twitter following, but they’ll never be part of a high-level team, nor will they understand the constant challenges of juggling the many dynamics needed to build a winning, championship team. For them, it is more about pointing fingers and playing to a crowd of like-minded toadies and sycophants in a social media echo chamber than thoughtful analysis and a fair-minded approach to what is going on. Like barking, clapping seals, they speak in absolutes they know nothing about. And that’s fine- it’s the world we live in, but it is also completely fair to point this out and call out some of the mind-numbing nitwits who have the loudest voices on matters they haven’t earned a shred of credibility to comment on.

What does seem to be playing out is this: the Bruins have put themselves at a disadvantage by selling off draft capital to remain competitive for playoff runs in recent years, but the time has come for them to start accruing picks and looking at building a better system. Prospects like Jack Studnicka and Mason Lohrei show significant promise as two of Boston’s most likely candidates to be drivers one day, but unlike many other teams around the league, Boston lacks the volume/depth of star power and pure skill/dynamic upside players in other systems who are on their way to the NHL in the next 3-5 years. The B’s have long done pretty well with savvy undrafted free agent signings to help bolster their draft misses and disappointments, but this puts tremendous pressure on the organization to find the rare players everyone else has not identified, and causes the GM to expend assets and capital on talent acquisition via trades and the bloated unrestricted free agent market.

Losing Chara to Washington stings, because he had so many amazing moments as a Bruin and was in many cases, the face of a franchise that had fallen on hard times when he was signed, and played a major role in a resurrection that ended with the Stanley Cup five years later and a near 10+ year run of sustained success. Just about everyone who rooted heart and soul for the Boston Bruins should be sad to see him go and appreciate what he did when he was here. But nothing, especially those lives spent in professional sports, lasts forever. Et tu, Tom Brady?

Those who are upset that Chara and the current core didn’t bring more championships to Boston have a point. Those who feel that Chara should have been treated a little differently so that he wouldn’t have felt the need to take his game elsewhere in the twilight of a tremendous career are also right. But so are those who understand that the business side of hockey sometimes means that you lose these battles and teams have to make highly unpalatable decisions because they truly feel that those are in the best interest of the club. No one has a crystal ball…sometimes, those tough decisions pay off and sometimes they don’t. But the Bruins felt that keeping the status quo for another year without addressing it with the captain was the wrong thing to do. Even if they had agreed to give him the role he was used to, would fans have demanded a change if he was unable to keep up, unable to make the plays needed for success at age 44? It’s easy to say that the team *should* have done what it took to keep him, but remember- Chara himself had a choice to stay and perform in the role that the team had for him. He chose a different path. It’s not just on the Bruins for that.

In the end, it may be precisely true that the Bruins take steps backwards in 2021. It seems a certainty in fact, that they will. But even if that happens, it does not stand as proof that the leadership lacks a plan or vision. Sweeney and his staff dug the club out of the malaise of 2015 and 2016 and built a squad that was three periods away from a championship just 1.5 years ago. History is never kind to those who are unable to close it out and attain ultimate victory, and those with an agenda to do so will almost certainly continue to overlook that or harp on the failures of the 2015 draft (without ever citing the multiple successes of 2014), but just because you feel strongly about something does not make it true.

We wish Zdeno Chara the best as he embarks on what could be one last hurrah with a new team. It’s a shame that he couldn’t finish his storied run in Boston, but like Ray Bourque before him, the show will go on.

Thanks for everything, Big Z- You were everything we thought you would be when you signed 14+ years ago…and then some.

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Dominic Tiano: Mason Lohrei and the Evolution of the NHL Draft

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Dominic Tiano is back with a new piece on Boston Bruins prospect Mason Lohrei and how he represents a trend for NHL clubs who are investing more and more entry draft selections on second- and third-year eligible players. Dom has watched a lot of the criticisms of Boston’s selection of Lohrei center around the misconception that he’s older- and somehow inferior- to the 2002 and late 2001-born players who were eligible for the first time this past October. This is food for thought- if you learn something new in the piece and it changes your perspective, then we’ll consider it mission accomplished. If not, that’s okay too.- KL

Before I begin my deep dive, let me preface things with this: When the Boston Bruins selected Mason Lohrei in the second round with the 58th overall pick in the 2020 National Hockey League Draft, I readily admit, he wasn’t my first choice. However, he is now, a member of the Bruins organization and I wish him nothing but the best. There will be no comparing him to what could have been, no sulking, and no excuses. Just a simple eye test on what he is and might be when he is ready to turn pro after junior and college hockey at Ohio State University.

I’m surprised yet I shouldn’t be, by some of the comments being made on social media, especially now that Lohrei has gotten off to such a good start with the Green Bay Gamblers of the United States Hockey League. At the time of this article, Lohrei, a forward turned defenceman, has 5 goals and 10 assists in just 10 games.

But comments such as: “he’s an ‘overager’ so he’s just going up against younger players” or “he was picked in his second draft year so there must be something wrong”, or “how many players picked in their second drafts make it to the NHL?” and the one that really gets under my skin “comparing him to a CHL player” (I can say that because I cover the OHL exclusively), should be kept to one’s self unless you are prepared to provide some context and willing to accept some criticism.

In reality, and I am trying to be polite here, what it shows is a lack of knowledge of the changing methodology NHL teams employ, differences and nuances in the demographics of the various junior leagues or even a lack of effort to obtain the knowledge to know what that really means. I hope to bring you some context and maybe, just maybe shed some light on things and you can change your opinion (or not).

Let me begin with the term that gets thrown around a lot these days: ‘overager’. Many fans think Lohrei is an older player in the USHL and should be piling up points because he has a significant advantage in terms of physical maturity and experience. The fact is, Lohrei is 19 years of age (turns 20 on January 17, 2021). Considering that 16 and 17-year old players are a minority in the USHL and teams are limited to just 4 twenty-year old players (2000 birth year) on the roster for the current season, Lohrei isn’t much older than the majority of players he faces every single night on the ice. The USHL does require each member club to keep a minimum of three 16- or 17-year-old players on every roster to ensure that there is a developmental path for the youngest players on the junior spectrum, but the majority of the average ages of each USHL club is 18+. Lohrei is on the higher side of that average this season, but it isn’t like he is a 2000 birth year competing against a league full of 2003 and 2004-born players. In fact, the 2001 and 2002 birth years comprise the bulk of USHL rosters this season.

The mistake some casual observers make is in asserting that the demographics between the CHL, which comprises the three major junior leagues in Canada, and the USHL plus other Tier 2 junior leagues like the North American (NAHL) and Canadian British Columbia (BCHL), Alberta (AJHL), Manitoba (MJHL), Ontario (OJHL) and Quebec (QJHL) and other regional T2 subset leagues are the same, when in fact, they are not. Because the NCAA track tends to develop players over a longer timeline, whereas CHL-drafted players must be signed within two years/before June 1 of the season they turn 20 (and one year to receive a bona fide offer), those Tier 2 feeder leagues tend to have older rosters on average than CHL clubs.

I ask you to replace the word overager with experience for some context. Lohrei was playing high school/prep hockey at Culver Military Academy until the age of 18, and is now in his second full season in the USHL. That compares to a 17 or mostly 18-year old players in the CHL, their first year of draft eligibility. Let’s take it a step further. In 2017, the Bruins selected a QMJHL rookie in the name of Cedric Pare (an 18-year-old in his draft year) with not even a full season of Major Junior experience. It wasn’t until Pare’s fourth season that he broke out with 37 goals and 51 assists in 64 contests. The Bruins didn’t sign Pare and he is now playing in the East Coast Hockey League without an NHL contract.

To be fair, Pare was a seventh-round pick, and as I mentioned, didn’t have a season worthy of being drafted until his fourth season. I suggest you ask yourself this question: If Pare had been skipped over in his first draft, would he have been selected in his second draft? And you could ask yourself the same question about any player selected in rounds two through seven. Obviously, the Bruins (and maybe others) saw something in his first year to think he was worthy of selection his second time around.

Because Lohrei was passed over in 2019 does not mean he should not have been selected in 2020. You might be surprised to find out that in fact, statistics show he should have been selected the second time around, and that second-year players being selected in the NHL draft is becoming more and more prevalent going back a decade.

I looked at the six NHL Drafts from 2010 to 2015 to measure NHL success. I didn’t use 2016 or later as a lot of those players are still at the developmental stage. To measure success, I used 100 NHL games or more as the benchmark and included all players, even goaltenders. I think you’ll be surprised by what you find.

In the chart below, you’ll see I’ve broken down each draft by round. In each round you will see the number of picks used to select first time draft eligible players and those picked in their second or third drafts as well as how many went on to play 100+ games in the NHL. At the bottom, you’ll see the total number of players selected as well as the total number that went on to play 100+ games in the NHL and the success rate by percentage. At the far right, you will notice the total picks by draft year and those that went on to play 100+ games in the NHL and the success rate by percentage.

The numbers are a bit skewed because only one player from 2010 to 2016, who was a draft re-entry, was selected in the first round when the Los Angeles Kings selected Tanner Pearson with the 30th pick in 2012. Still, only 76% of first round picks selected have played in 100 or more contests. Do I need to remind everybody that 3 of those first round picks not to play 100 games all belong to the Bruins? Malcolm Subban in 2012, Jakub Zboril and Zachary Senyshyn in 2015.

Beyond the first round however, statistically speaking, there is a greater chance for success at the NHL level if you are a draft re-entry player, and in some cases a drastically better chance. And there are a greater number of draft re-entry players approaching the 100-game plateau then first-time eligible players. But we had to draw the line somewhere.

That said, in the second round where Lohrei was selected, there have only been seven players selected that have re-entered the draft. Still, they’ve shown to have a 42.9% success rate as opposed to 38.4% of first timers. Although 177 first timers were selected in those 6 years, 61.6% did not have the success. So, I ask you, which gives you the better chance of finding a successful player?

These are just statistics and are no indication of success. Maybe it suggests a trend. More radically, maybe it suggests the NHL change the draft and allow 18-year-old players be selected in only the first round, maybe the second round.

But to me, it suggests that we as fans, are too quick to jump to conclusions. We do after all, have a fast-food mentality when it comes to our beloved Bruins. Everything has to be served up on a black and gold platter- hot, fresh and now. There is for lack of a better term, no patience. No patience to wait and see how a player who isn”t on a public list around where the Bruins were supposed to select him actually plays and develops.

As I said in the opening, Lohrei is a member of the Bruins organization. The only comparisons we should be making is to Mason Lohrei from a season ago and asking ourselves how far has he come in regards to his development? Shouldn’t we be asking what his strengths are and what areas does he need to improve on more than what other player who is one year younger the Bruins could have chosen instead?

There is a very small group out there that wants to see a player fail just so they can say “I told you so.” That’s sad, yet but true. I know because some people have actually come out and say it to me. While its just noise on the internet, it is a reflection of where some are as fans- the new class of self-appointed pundits who think they know far more than they actually do and find it more important to be validated on social media by other low-information people. Rather than educate themselves on the evolving nature of the NHL draft and how the changing CBA has caused teams do things differently than were done in the past when a hard salary cap did not exist, some are stuck relying on inaccurate perceptions about junior league demographics to justify their own disappointment that the player(s) of choice based on public lists that bear no resemblance to those generated by the NHL teams themselves, were not drafted by the B’s.

I can’t speak for everyone, but I will only cheer for a prospect in the organization and hope they find success. No harping on who could have been, as that ship has sailed. Time will tell on Lohrei, but given that his two-way game has taken positive strides in one of the top junior leagues in the world, things are setting up for him to be an impact player in the Big-10 conference and beyond when the time comes for him to turn pro.

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Anthony Kwetkowski: Mason Lohrei Profile

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Anthony Kwetkowski of the superb Bruins Network hockey prospect platform is writing profiles on all of the Boston Bruins’ 2020 draft choices and leads off with second-rounder Mason Lohrei. Anthony is the “4th Amigo” on the Scouting Post podcasts and does excellent work at http://www.bruinsnetwork.com/ He can also be heard on the Bruins Diehards podcasts and his influence is growing on multiple social media channels for his insightful commentary and analysis of B’s prospects and Boston Bruins hockey in general.

Mason Lohrei, left-shot, left-side defender

1st selection, 58th overall in 2020 NHL Entry Draft

Current team: Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)

Future team:   Ohio State University (NCAA)

Previous team: Culver Military Academy (USHS-P), Green Bay Gamblers (USHL)

Strengths: Standing at 6’4” and 200lbs, Lohrei’s biggest strength is having the rare combination of size, mobility, speed and skating all in one frame. And speaking of his frame, Lohrei is able to edge defenders out of the play with little to no effort against his current USHL competition— even the high-end prospects and players around the league. The term “fleet-footed” is usually reserved for speedy, small forward prospects around the NHL, however, it definitely applies to Lohrei despite his 6’4” frame. Stopping on a dime, he’s able to quickly and precisely change his direction on the ice when needed, giving him an advantage even against the smaller, more agile players on the opposite faction.

Lohrei is more of a two-way defender than he is a defensive defenseman or puck-mover because of his offensive instincts and ability to seamlessly join the rush or even better— jumpstart it from the backend. He’s shifty when carrying the puck and smart when selecting whether to pass or shoot. Great offensive awareness and IQ, which is to be expected from a forward turned defenseman. Lohrei is the type of defender to jump into the play, with the puck on his stick while saying “watch me.” He can defend at the level of a top-four defensemen, but also play the offensive game with the same authority.

Weaknesses: While Lohrei is undeniably smooth, silky and efficient, his skills sometimes get the better of him. In one-on-one contests, he’ll sometimes make one too many moves and commit an unforced turnover by attempting to be too fancy. Now, before people get all fired up over that assessment— chill. With high-skill players comes high-risk plays that sometimes wont be pulled off. It’s on Lohrei, however, to figure out his limits, timing and execution moving forward so that he’s still reliable on top of rewarding.

Now, it’s been stated before that Lohrei is a forward turned defenseman and that lines up in certain showings. Lohrei, while reading the play and defending very well, occasionally takes a somewhat weird approach on the back check. He’s able to keep up with the play due to his sheer range and mobility, but sometimes instead of pivoting and skating backwards, he’ll turn and skate parallel to the opposing player through center. This isn’t a big deal now, but in the NCAA (he’s committed to Ohio State for next season) and beyond, that could cause him to be exposed if he’s not careful. Pivoting and transitioning to back-skating is crucial for a defenseman’s gap-control and overall efficiency.

Overall analysis: Lohrei was undoubtedly “off the board” when selected at No. 58th OA by Boston, but that could be due to a number of reasons. One being his age as he’s already 19, turning 20 in January of 2021. There were definitely better options for Boston in terms of value at No. 58 OA, however, if there’s one thing clear it’s that Boston just doesn’t care about value, optics or perception. They identify their players and simply call their names in the draft when available.

Lohrei was the second-highest scoring defender in the USHL last season as a rookie in the league, so that’s very encouraging right away. He’s a tough out who provides size, mobility, skill, balance and excellent skating on the backend. Though he’s 6’4” — 200lbs and already a 19-year-old, he’s not winning battles or making plays based off those physical traits. Why does that matter? Simple, because he’s not a good defenseman in the USHL due to his size and age, instead he’s a good defenseman in the USHL because he’s a good defenseman.

He’s going to be dragged down a bit by the relentless critics on Twitter because of wher he’s drafted, but make no mistake— at 6’4” — 200lbs, Mason Lohrei can play and think the game at a high-level. I assume he wasn’t the shining star to many scouts and outlets given his age and their assignments to watch other high-profile draft eligibles, but maybe they should have paid more attention.

Projection: Mason Lohrei looks to fit the build of a modern, smooth, fleet-footed top-four defenseman. He already proved to be that much as a freshman in the USHL and is on track to be in the NCAA next year. I have no issues saying his projection that of a through and trough top-four defender in the NHL if he so makes it there. There simply aren’t many defensemen available outside of the first-round of the draft with this combination of speed, size, skating, skill and overall mobility. I mean, let alone defenders, but how many forwards fit that build at that size? Not too many.

Given the age of Lohrei and his trajectory to be playing in college, I don’t believe he’s going to do a four-year bid in college. Instead, I think after two seasons or so in the NCAA, he will be signing with Boston and climbing the ranks of the professional organization starting in providence. He’s a bit unrefined, but the skills and intangibles are there and that’s quite important for prospects, especially defensemen who usually take a little bit longer.

Lohrei might never be a big-time star in the NHL and I’m not suggesting that. However, I am projecting that after another year in the USHL and time in college, he could definitely blossom into a top-four defensemen capable of eating minutes and playing both sides of the puck. In closing, I really believe Bruins fans and media alike should start paying closer attention to his development instead of dwelling where he was ranked or drafted. The kid can flat-out play and he’s on pace to demonstrate that in the NCAA and beyond.

Here’s his post-draft interview with Boston sports media:

https://www.nhl.com/bruins/video/press-room-mason-lohrei/t-277437088/c-6794459

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Bruins draft Four long-term prospects

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The 2020 NHL Entry Draft is in the books, and without a first-round pick, many observers expected that the Boston Bruins’ effort in an unprecedented October event due to COVID would be relatively quiet.

Picking at 58th overall, the B’s once again did things their way by not selecting one of the top remaining first-year draft eligible players, but by taking a late-blooming defenseman out of the USHL. With only five total draft choices (no 1st- Ondrej Kase, no 4th- Marcus Johansson) due to trades, the team dealt its final seventh-round pick (213th overall) to the Toronto Maple Leafs for that club’s seventh in 2021.

Here’s a quick look at Boston’s four selections, with more to follow as there will be prospect profiles developed for all.

Mason Lohrei

Rd. 2/58 Mason Lohrei, LD 6-5/210 Green Bay (USHL)- Ohio State (2021-22)

Pronounced: LOHR-eye. January 2001 birth date left-shot D was passed over in 2019 after spending his second season at Culver Military Academy, but obviously impressed the Boston scouting staff as a USHL rookie in 2019-20 with Green Bay.

A big, long, rangy defender who can get up the ice with a smooth, powerful stride, Lohrei is a very good passer/puck-mover who led the league in assists by a blue liner with 29. He has the physical tools to be a top-4 defenseman in the NHL, but does not have the junior hockey experience of a lot of his peers. Good defensive awareness and plays with some jam.

Upside: You can’t teach this kid’s pure size and reach- he’ a good skater who plays the prototypical modern defensive NHL style with the ability to handle pucks under pressure. Has improved significantly in the past several years, and puts in the work/plays with bite. He’s definitely a Boston Bruins-type player and while he wasn’t on our radar largely because he was a second-year eligible who wasn’t a serious draft prospect in 2019, he should have been this time around- he demonstrated a fine 2-way game in his first USHL season, and will be even better in his second campaign before heading to the Big Ten and OSU.

Downside: Did the B’s have to make the selection at 58? How many other teams were seriously on Lohrei there, and with some highly-regarded first-year draft players still on the board like Will Cuylle, Daemon Hunt, Ty Smilanic, Jean-Luc Foudy, Jeremie Poirier and even local prep star D Ian Moore, the decision to spend the first pick on Lohrei was a curious one. All of those players were drafted within 17 spots after the B’s took Lohrei.

Did you know: The B’s had another former Culver Military Academy (Indiana) standout in defenseman Barry Richter, who played parts of several seasons in Boston in the mid-90’s.

Rd. 3/89 Trevor Kuntar, C-LW 6-1/203 Boston College (Youngstown- USHL)

Solid pick, and one we previewed this week before the draft.

Like Lohrei, Kuntar is a 2001 who was passed up a year ago. Unlike Lohrei, Kuntar played three full years of junior hockey before moving on to BC this season and is a lot more refined and experienced.

A USHL tender player out of the Buffalo Jr. Sabres organization in 2017, Kuntar had to pay his dues and did not immediately meet expectations in the league for his first two seasons before blossoming last year and finishing in the top-10 scorers. Kuntar is the second Youngstown Phantom to be drafted by Boston in the last 3 drafts (Curtis Hall– 2018)

With a thick build and natural strength, Kuntar can bull his way to the net, but also possesses the speed and puck skills to create offense in space. He competes hard and was clearly stung by not being drafted a year ago, as he played the 2019-20 campaign with a burr under his saddle and established himself as one of the league’s top players.

Upside: With about 150 games of junior experience, he should be able to make an impact right away with the Eagles. He has a tremendous shot- a pinpoint, lightning release with a heaviness that he can blow by goalies from the outside. He also has soft enough/nifty mitts to score goals in tight. He was a lethal weapon on the PP, and has some nastiness to his game that the B’s love, with the versatility to play both center and wing, though he’s probably more likely to be a winger in the pros.

Downside: Kuntar may not be much more than a solid 3rd-line NHL player at his best, with the potential to be a Sean Kuraly-like 4th-liner. High floor, which is good, but don’t expect him to evolve into a major scorer- he’s more of a three-zone forward with jam.

Did you know: His dad, Les, was a pro goalie and Montreal Canadiens draft pick in 1987 who played at St. Lawrence Academy and had a cup of coffee in the NHL in the early 90’s.

Rd 5/151 Mason Langenbrunner, RD Eden Prairie HS (MN)- Harvard (2021-22)

The son of B’s player development director and 2-time Stanley Cup winner Jamie Langenbrunner, the 2017 Boston draft runner gets his own team jersey after a solid Minnesota high school season. He left Cloquet HS for the Twin Cities powerhouse Eden Prairie team and is slated to be back for his senior year of HS, unless COVID wipes out the season in Minnesota. His USHL rights are held by Sioux City.

Just making the 2020 draft cutoff age with a Sep 14 2002 birth date, Langenbrunner can really skate and has a good head for the game with solid details typical for the sons of former pro players.

Upside: With good size, mobility and puck game, he’s a right-shot D to complement Lohrei and is a long-term project type of player, but there is some promise here as a 2-way guy with a pro-style game.

Downside: The B’s do have a history of picking players related to members of the organization, which tends to raise eyebrows. In 2012, they selected Matt Benning (nephew of then assistant GM Jim Benning) and a year later, grabbed forward Mitch Dempsey (then assistant GM Don Sweeney’s nephew) in the final round. Benning worked out, though with another team as he exercised his free agent rights to sign with Edmonton (was not qualified this week), while Dempsey did not. Time will tell here, but Langenbrunner looks the part of a NHL prospect.

Did you know: Langenbrunner played two seasons in the Upper Midwest Elite League, the top amateur proving ground in Minnesota for top high school players in that state, plus Wisconsin and the Dakotas. It’s the tune-up circuit that begins in August and runs up through October before all the players return to their high schools for the scholastic hockey season, and an indicator that he is one of the top talents at that level.

Rd. 6/182 Riley Duran, C Youngstown Phantoms- USHL (Lawrence Academy)- Providence College (2021-22)

Boston closed out its draft with another Youngstown player and local prep standout from Woburn, Mass.

Lawrence Academy’s top scorer (22 goals, 44 points in 27 games) has a nice 6-2 frame and can really skate and score. He oozes pro potential, and will get the opportunity to demonstrate his potential in the USHL this season before he joins a top Hockey East program next fall.

Upside: Duran has the talent to develop into an eventual pro player and could be more than the sum of some impressive parts. He’s got superb wheels and acceleration, and can handle pucks at speed with a pro-caliber release.

Downside: He’s raw and coming out of prep, so he’ll have a steep learning curve ahead. If Duran makes it in Boston, it will be a years-long process.

Overall analysis:

The Bruins do things their way.

You can understand the criticisms when they go off the board like they did with Lohrei, but in fairness- he’s an accomplished player at a high level. They may have been bidding against themselves to take him as early as they did, but you take the player you want where you want him, and they weren’t willing to roll the dice and wait. He’s committed to a top hockey program and all signs point to him at least being a solid/serviceable pro one day.

The issue the B’s are facing is that they aren’t drafting much in the way of higher-end talent because of where they are picking each year. 2015 was an obvious missed opportunity for the team now five years later, but when you look at first glance what teams like Minnesota, Ottawa, Los Angeles etc. did over the past couple of days, the Bruins are facing an uphill slog down the road as their veteran core continues to age, and there isn’t a whole lot of true play-making top talents in their system.

Sure, the Jack Studnickas, John Beechers, Jeremy Swaymans, Jack Ahcans, and Jakub Laukos of the world look promising, but the lack of picks and pick position is going to put a tremendous strain on Boston’s ability to keep up with the teams who are able to underwrite any draft misses with multitudes of other quality players and prospects. It is not unfair or being negative to point out that neither of Jakub Zboril or Urho Vaakanainen look like top-4 NHL players, and that since 2018, the Bruins have drafted just one player in the top-30- Beecher.

At some point, Sweeney and Company probably need to avoid the temptation to deal away picks and start figuring out how to get assets back/start being more aggressive at the draft so that they can land some more premium prospects. Thinking that they can draft someone like Patrice Bergeron or David Krejci in the second round or later every year is easy in theory, but much harder to pull off.

In the end, the B’s have their process and they put in the work. All four of the players they drafted have the size, skating and skills to be pro players, even if they might not have a readily apparent high-end projection. That could change going forward, or they could fall short. Solid is about the best way to describe each of the four players, but is “solid” going to allow the Bruins to continue to be among the league’s top teams in the next five years?

When it comes to pedigree and boom factor, it looks like Boston’s Class of 2020 is a lot more of the same of what they’ve been doing for about four years now, and that means we won’t know for quite some time.