BOSTON -- The Bruins have not yet made a final decision on where top prospect Mason Lohrei will begin the 2023-24 season. His strong performance in training camp and the preseason has forced the B's into a tough choice.
UPDATE (Monday, Oct. 9 at 5:50 p.m. ET): The Bruins have assigned Mason Lohrei to the Providence Bruins, so he'll begin the season in the AHL.
--End of Update--
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"Mason has made our decisions really difficult. He's played well," Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said Monday at a Media Day press conference. "Again, we've put him in similar situations with [Matthew] Poitras and playing them up and down the lineup and in situations that again, on the back end, you're going to get hit and you're going to get exposed,. He's logged a lot of minutes. We continue to work on his habits without the puck.
"I think everybody starts to see the talent and the vision that he has the creativity, the confidence to be able to execute offensively. Whether that's from his own goal line or the offensive blue line. The biggest adjustment to the NHL is really defending against the top players and any players in the NHL because they lean on you, and they press you. Mason's going to have to continue to go through that. There’ll be some growing pains associated with it. We haven’t made a final decision about what our top six will look like. But we have a pretty good idea. So, we have one more roster decision to make before we hit opening night, but Mason has made the decision difficult.”
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Lohrei showed he could log a ton of minutes in the preseason. He contributed to both the power play and penalty kill as well. His offensive abilities are pretty impressive. It's easy to see that he used to play forward. Lohrei was a workhorse at Ohio State last season and improved his defensive game, but as Sweeney noted, playing against tougher and faster competition in the NHL is a new challenge for the 22-year-old defenseman.
"I feel good about the camp I had," Lohrei said after Monday's practice. "I know there's more to give, more to learn. But that's what I'm probably most excited about. I'm fortunate to still be here. It's a blessing to be in this position and be able to practice everyday with these guys. I'm just trying to show up to the rink everyday and have that mentality of I'm going to go out there and keep earning my spot."
Lohrei played with several different partners on the blue line during the preseason, including Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo. McAvoy came away pretty impressed by what he saw.
"It's been really fun to watch," McAvoy said when asked about Lohrei's camp. "His patience with the puck is probably the biggest thing. He has a lot of confidence in himself, and that's certainly one of the biggest things you need to have -- a belief that you belong here. ... He's been doing great, had a great camp. I'm really happy for him to make a push, and he's a great kid. The sky's the limit for him. You can see him becoming an outstanding player, and he's already taking strides there. I can't wait to see what the future holds for him."
Even though Lohrei has played well enough to stick around in Boston, it wouldn't be the worst thing for him to get some more AHL experience, play 25 minutes per game and continue to work on defending. The Bruins also don't have an opening on the left side of the blue line. Matt Grzelcyk, Hampus Lindholm and Derek Forbort are the top three on the left side right now. If one of those three players is traded or gets injured, Lohrei is probably the next man up.
Lohrei could be the extra defenseman if the Bruins carry one, but he should probably begin the season where he'll play regularly, and if that's in Providence, so be it. Either way, it's very encouraging for the Bruins that Lohrei, who was selected in the second round of the 2020 draft, has developed into a player who could play in the NHL for a long time.