BOSTON — Fraser Minten’s name jumps off the page of the Bruins roster for the Prospects Challenge, the annual mini-tournament before the start of camp.
The 21-year-old center, who the Bruins acquired in the deal that sent Brandon Carlo to the Maple Leafs, has 25 games of NHL experience (six for Boston, 19 for Toronto). The other 19 players, who began rookie camp on Wednesday at Warrior and will play in the challenge this weekend in Buffalo, have combined to play two NHL games (both by Riley Duran).
Minten will go into next week’s varsity camp with a realistic chance to play himself onto the Bruins’ opening night roster, which makes him a bit of an unusual choice to be headed to Buffalo. But when Don Sweeney called him and told him he was going, he saw an opportunity.
“I think it’s nice to get some game reps and the first preseason game won’t be my first game, so that’ll be nice. Good to get a bit of a running start,” Minten said. “They haven’t seen me play a ton, not as much as other young guys. So it just gives them an extra chance to get a look at me in my game.”
Providence Bruins coach Ryan Mougenel, who’ll lead Boston’s team in Western New York, said it could work to his advantage. Every player in the organization will be learning to play in new coach Marco Sturm’s system for the first time.
Rookie camp and the Prospects Challenge will give Minten a sneak peek at what’s to come. Mougenel said it’s like having “Coles Notes” — the Canadian version of CliffsNotes — of the Sturm system ahead of varsity camp.
“He’s a player that thinks the system really well and pays attention,” Mougenel said. “I couldn’t tell you how many guys played in this tournament last year and (then) played in the NHL, but it was substantial.”
Minten’s awareness and willingness on defense are ahead of most players at this stage in his career.
“That’s a big part of my game, I’m probably not scoring 30 goals, 30 assists in my rookie year in the NHL,” he said. “I think that’s why I got as many games as I did last year in Toronto and in the NHL was those details.”
The Bruins are hoping Minten finds some offense in Buffalo and are encouraging him to focus on that.
“The one thing it does, if you watch the puck go in the net, it builds confidence and that just translates to main camp,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity for these guys to get a jump start on things.”
Minten had a plan.
“I think I’m pretty good in transition, getting pucks from the D-zone into the zone and then from there probably being a little more dangerous off the cycle and off chances like that,” he said. “I think just being more than a rush threat, just trying to be more of a guy who can make plays one-on-one and use teammates and get space offensively.”
Mougenel had Minten for 11 regular-season games and eight playoff games in Providence last year. He said Minten’s 200-foot game will help his chances of cracking the roster and has made the 21-year-old popular with coaches and teammates everywhere he’s been.
“I think people really like Mitts. His maturity as a person shows in his game as well,” Mougenel said. “There’s things in this game he’s got to get better at. He’s a guy that takes ownership in it and that’s what he did this summer. He’s put the work in and got himself in a real good spot here. And that’s part of it. Now it’s time to execute.”
When the Bruins acquired him at the trade deadline, Mougenel said people across hockey reached out to him.
“People are always willing to give input and my phone absolutely blew up with people that just said fantastic things about Fraser,” he said. “When you meet him, you can see why. We got him on the deadline and he was part of the team immediately. His teammates really embraced him. He embraced us.”
Minten played in a similar tournament for the Maple Leafs when he was first drafted and looked up to Nick Robertson, who’d already made his NHL debut. He hoped to set a similar example this weekend.
“That’s just part of who I am, I’ll try to lead the way a little bit. Hopefully I can be a good role model for some of the guys who are just coming in, the 18 and 19-year-old kids,” he said. “Every training camp is an opportunity to show what you got and then let it play out and see what happens. So excited to do everything I can and then play really good hockey.”
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