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Bruins announce 2023 training camp roster

• FORWARDS

  

  Apr 6, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins center Charlie Coyle (13) reacts after scoring a game tying goal during the third period against the Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)

• Joey Abate: A 6-foot-1 wing, Abate scored three goals and six points in 35 games with Providence a year ago.

  Vincent Arseneau: The 31-year-old Arseneau scored seven goals and 10 points in 35 games with AHL Abbotsford last season, and comes to the B’s organization with 212 games of AHL experience since 2012-13.

  Johnny Beecher: Boston’s first-round pick in 2019, Beecher made the leap to the pro game in 2022, and has totaled 12 goals and 28 points, along with a plus-2 rating, in 70 games with the P-Bruins. The 6-foot-3 forward, who can play center and wing, could be a name to watch in training camp if the Bruins want to put an emphasis on speed when it comes to their bottom-six forward grouping.

  Jesper Boqvist: One of many depth additions this past summer, Boqvist is with the Bruins on a one-year, $775,000 deal. That contract came on the heels of what was a 10-goal, 21-point output over a 70-game run for the Devils in 2022-23. Drafted by the Devils with the No. 36 overall pick in 2017, Boqvist, who can play all three forward positions, reports to the Bruins with 28 goals and 55 points in 189 NHL games with the Devils since 2019-20.

  Justin Brazeau: The 6-foot-5, 245-pound wing put up a career-high 16 goals and 45 points in 67 games with AHL Providence last season. Brazeau is on an AHL contract, meaning he cannot be recalled by the Bruins during the regular season unless he signs a standard NHL contract.

  Patrick Brown: A right-shooting forward who can play both center and wing, Brown is coming off a 2022-23 season split between Philadelphia and Ottawa, and with Brown on the board for four goals and 12 points in 61 games. The ex-Boston College Eagle is a veteran of 138 NHL games since 2014-15, and with 10 goals and 24 points between stops in Carolina, Vegas, Philadelphia, and Ottawa.

  Alex Chiasson (camp invite): In Boston on a pro tryout, Alex Chiasson will look to build off some late-season momentum, with the big-bodied power-play specialist on the board with six goals (five of which came on the power play) and nine points in 20 games with the Red Wings last season.

  Charlie Coyle: From all indications, Charlie Coyle will be given first crack to be Patrice Bergeron’s replacement, with Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery telling the Boston Herald’s Steve Conroy earlier this offseason that he’s likely to slot Coyle between Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk on Boston’s top line. Coyle put up 16 goals and 45 points in 82 games with the Bruins last season.

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  Feb 18, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins center Trent Frederic (11) waits for the puck against the New York Islanders during the third period at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)

• Jake DeBrusk: In action for 64 games last year, DeBrusk matched his career-high in goals (27), and established new career-highs in points (50), power-play points (14), and time on ice (16:47 per night). And entering the final year of a two-year, $8 million deal, the real question is just how aggressive do the B’s get when it comes to re-signing him?

  John Farinacci: One of the top NCAA free agents last month, Farinacci chose to sign with the Bruins after a collegiate career spent just down the road at Harvard. A 6-foot, 185-pound right shot, Farinacci is turning pro after a three-year run at Harvard, with 25 goals and 61 points in 79 games with the Crimson from 2019 through 2023. Farinacci’s 2022-23 campaign included five goals and 19 points in 20 games, as Farinacci dealt with a herniated disc that ultimately required surgery and prevented him from making his season debut until Jan. 13.

  Trent Frederic: Signed to a two-year deal this past summer, Frederic’s new $2.3 million cap hit also makes him the sixth-highest paid B’s forward for the upcoming season, putting him right in between Jake DeBrusk’s $4 million cap hit and free-agent addition Morgan Geekie and his $2 million cap hit. The raise was certainly a deserved one for Frederic, all things considered, as Frederic proved to be a highly valuable bottom-six weapon for the B’s in 2022-23, and established career-highs in in goals (17), assists (14), points (31), plus-minus (plus-28), and game-winning goals (six) in 79 games played for Jim Montgomery’s squad. The Bruins may still tinker with the idea of utilizing Frederic as a center, but it appears that Frederic’s greatest value comes with him being a space-clearing wing.

  Morgan Geekie: The Bruins themselves were not expecting to see Morgan Geekie hit the free-agent market. But once he did, they made him a top priority and they’re hoping that Seattle’s loss will ultimately be their gain. Signed to a two-year, $4 million contract, Geekie comes to Boston after a 2022-23 year that saw him shine in a bottom-six role with the Kraken. In fact, Geekie’s 28 points was tops among all NHL forwards who averaged under 11 minutes per game (Geekie checked in at 10:27 per night for Dave Hakstol’s Kraken squad). The Bruins are hoping that an uptick in minutes will come with an uptick in points, but they’re also aware that it’s not that simple, and have already noted that Geekie is likely to take on a more defensive role in Boston than Seattle.

  A.J. Greer: 2022 training camp surprise A.J. Greer fought and clawed his way into an NHL roster spot with the Bruins in 2022-23, and the odds say that he’ll have to do that again this time around. Not only have the Bruins loaded their camp up with PTOs and young guns vying for jobs, but Greer may be roadblocked to a natural spot by Milan Lucic, making his fight even harder in 2023-24. While prone to the occasional bad penalty, Greer was everything the Bruins could’ve wanted last season, with five goals and 12 points, along with 101 hits, in 61 games played.

  Curtis Hall: Selected with a fourth-round pick (No. 119 overall) in 2018, Hall is still looking to find his footing in the pro game, and reports to camp with just four goals and 10 points in 102 AHL games over the last three seasons. Hall did score five goals in eight games with ECHL Maine a year ago.

  Brett Harrison: A third-round pick in 2021, Brett Harrison is turning pro after an OHL career that featured 82 goals and 167 points in 180 games between Oshawa and Windsor. And though Harrison is a natural center and likely projects there for the Bruins, the current plan is for the B’s to put Harrison on the wing for the start of his pro career with Providence.

  Danton Heinen (camp invite): Utilized in a fourth-line role for the majority of last season, Heinen comes to Boston in search of work following a 2022-23 campaign that featured just eight goals and 22 points in 65 appearances with the Penguins. The Vancouver native will be looking to regain some of his 2021-22 form, which saw him pot a career-high 18 goals for the Penguins, while his 33 points were the most he had in any single season since his 2018-19 campaign with the Bruins.

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  Dec 27, 2022; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) looks up the ice during a break in the second period against the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre. (Marc DesRosiers/USA TODAY Sports)

• Trevor Kuntar: The jump into the pro game is officially here for 2020 third-round pick Trevor Kuntar, who decided to leave Boston College for the Bruins earlier this year. The 22-year-old Kuntar’s jump to the pro game also comes on the heels of a year that featured a career-high 13 goals, 16 assists, and 29 points in 34 games for Boston College. Overall, Kuntar compiled 28 goals and 59 points in 93 games with the Eagles over three years.

  Jakub Lauko: A surprise out of last year’s training camp, Lauko certainly looks ready to take the step from part-time role player to full-time NHL talent. In action for 23 games last season, Lauko put up four goals and seven points for the B’s, and chipped in with six blocks and 44 hits in a fourth-line role. He was also a penalty-drawing menace.

  Milan Lucic: After an eight-year excursion with stops in Los Angeles, Edmonton, and Calgary, Milan Lucic is back to where it all began for him back in 2007. But Lucic knows he’s not coming back as the top-line threat he was for the majority of his first B’s run, and has instead embraced the idea of being a fourth-line, tone-setting type of veteran presence for the Bruins.

  Fabian Lysell: 2021 first-round pick Fabian Lysell learned some hard lessons in his first year on North American pro ice last season. But healthier and with an improved offseason program, Lysell is ready to put that behind him and challenge for a spot on the Black and Gold’s NHL roster in 2023-24.

  Brad Marchand: The most likely candidate to take over as the next captain of the Bruins, Marchand is fully healthy and ready to go after double-hip surgery delayed his 2022-23 season (in more ways than one), and looking to build off what was a strong finish. Marchand is also just 53 games away from NHL game No. 1,000.

  Marc McLaughlin: An impressive development camp and a solid preseason made him seem like a borderline lock for the roster last season, but without the threat of waivers hanging over his status, McLaughlin was instead sent to Providence, where he spent the majority of the 2022-23 campaign, with 13 goals and 30 points in 66 games for Providence. The Billerica, Mass. native did appear in two NHL games for the Bruins this past season, and finished with three shots and wins in six of his 11 faceoffs. He’s in the mix for a fourth-line role this fall.

  Jayson Megna: Megna spent the majority of the 2022-23 season with Anaheim, and with two goals and eight points in 41 games for the Ducks. Megna actually began last season with the Avalanche, and had 20 hits and a 50.7 faceoff percentage in 14 games with Colorado, but was claimed off waivers by the Ducks in December. Megna also added three goals and six points in nine games with AHL Colorado in 2022-23. Your classic ‘tweener’ type, Megna has made NHL appearances for five different teams since 2013 (the Penguins, Rangers, Canucks, Avalanche, and Ducks), and has 12 goals and 33 points over that 203-game NHL run.

  Georgii Merkulov: Signed by the Bruins after just one season at Ohio State, Merkulov was certainly impressive in his first full AHL season, with 24 goals and 55 points in 67 games played. His 24goals were the second-most among all AHL rookies, while his 55 points ranked second among that group. The 5-foot-10 Russian forward’s biggest knock is his defensive game, but it’s believed that he’s made some strides on that front since the last time we saw him.

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  Apr 21, 2023; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Boston Bruins center Pavel Zacha (18) talks to right wing David Pastrnak (88) during the second period against the Florida Panthers in game three of the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at FLA Live Arena. (Sam Navarro/USA TODAY Sports)

• David Pastrnak: In what was his best NHL season to date, the 26-year-old Pastrnak put up a career-high 61 goals in 2022-23, and finished just three behind McDavid for the league lead for what would’ve been Pastrnak’s second Rocket Richard Trophy win. With 61 goals, Pastrnak also became just the second player in the century-long history of the Bruins to score at least 60 goals in a season, joining a list that up until this past season featured just Phil Esposito. Pastrnak also finished the year with 113 points, which was the third-most in the National Hockey League behind the Oilers’ one-two punch of McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Pastrnak’s 113 points were also the most by any Bruin since Adam Oates put up 112 points during the 1993-94 season.

  Owen Pederson: Signed to an AHL deal earlier this offseason, Pederson will make the jump to the pro game after scoring a career-high 32 goals and 74 points in 65 games with the WHL’s Winnipeg Ice this past season. Pederson’s 32 goals, which tied him for the 26th-most in the WHL this past season, was a solid 15-goal bump up from his 2021-22 total, and a four-goal boost from his previous career-high set in 2019-20.

  Matthew Poitras: There’s certainly a lot of hype when it comes to 2022 second-round pick Matt Poitras. Considered the next hope for a top-six center solution, Poitras is coming off a 2022-23 season that featured 95 points (fifth-most in the OHL) and 79 assists (second-most in the OHL). Given his age, it’s either he sticks with Boston out of training camp or he goes back to the OHL for the 2023-24 season.

  Anthony Richard: Inked to a one-year, two-way deal that’ll pay him $775,000 at the NHL level, the 26-year-old’s move to the Bruins organization comes after a 2022-23 campaign spent with his home province Canadiens. In the AHL, the 5-foot-11 Richard was an undeniable standout, with 30 goals and 67 points in 60 games for AHL Laval. Richard led the Rocket in goals (30), assists (37), and points (67), and his 30 goals were tied for the seventh-most among all AHL skaters. Richard made the most of his limited NHL opportunity, too, with three goals and five points, along with 13 shots on goal and 25 hits, over the course of a 13-game run with Montreal in 2022-23.

  Oskar Steen: The 25-year-old Steen scored 14 goals and 31 points in 64 games with the P-Bruins last season, and added one goal in three NHL showings. Overall, the 5-foot-10 Swedish wing has scored three goals and seven points in 26 career NHL games.

  Luke Toporowski: With Providence on an AHL-only deal this past year, the feisty 24-year-old wing tallied 15 goals and 29 points, along with a plus-8 rating, in 47 games for the P-Bruins. He parlayed that into a standard, NHL contract with the club earlier this summer.

  James van Riemsdyk: In town on a one-year, $1 million deal, the Bruins are hoping ‘JVR’ can bounce back from what was a bad-luck kind of year in Philly, with just 12 goals and 29 points in 61 games played. The analytics indicate that van Riemsdyk could be in line for a bounce-back year on the power play should a few bounces go his way. The Bruins are expected to start JVR out as their second-line left wing with Zacha and Pastrnak.

  Pavel Zacha: One near certainty for the 2023-24 season is that Zacha will move from left wing to center. The Bruins got a taste of this experience late in the regular season and into the playoffs — and Zacha performed admirably in that spot — so this is far from a worst-case scenario sort of fallout for the Bruins. Especially with Hart Trophy finalist and all-world sniper David Pastrnak expected to ride to Zacha’s right as his go-to winger. Zacha, acquired from New Jersey last year in a one-for-one deal with Erik Haula, is also coming off what was a breakout year, with career-highs in goals (21), assists (36), points (57), and plus-minus (plus-26) in 82 games with the Bruins last season.

• DEFENSE

  

  Mar 4, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo (25) shoots the puck during the first period against the New York Rangers at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)

• Frederic Brunet: The 20-year-old, left-shooting D put up 16 goals and 73 points in 68 QMJHL games last season, and added two assists in his lone AHL appearance of the season. The 6-foot-3 defender is slated to play the 2023-24 season with Victoriaville Tigres, but is certainly showing signs of being a find for the B’s.

  Michael Callahan: The Franklin, Mass. native put up one goal and eight points in 55 games with AHL Providence a season ago, and has two goals and 10 points in 70 AHL appearances over the last two seasons.

  Brandon Carlo: Boston’s defensive-zone rock, Carlo is coming off a 2022-23 season that featured three goals and 16 points in 75 games played, along with career-highs in plus-minus (plus-44) and blocks (116).

  Jackson Edward: Boston’s seventh-round selection in 2022, the 6-foot-3 Edward scored five goals and 22 points in 65 games for OHL London last season, and had six points in 19 playoff games. The Bruins are pleased with his progression to date, and are hopeful that the 19-year-old can take yet another leap in what’s always been a slow-and-steady kind of program with the Knights.

  Derek Forbort: Entering the third and final year of a three-year, $9 million contract signed in 2021, Forbort will remain Boston’s go-to penalty-killing defenseman with the comfort in knowing that he’ll try to block anything and everything thrown on goal. Forbort’s $3 million cap hit, however, could make him a potential late-camp waiver wire candidate should the Bruins look to maximize their cap space (think what happened with Nick Foligno last year).

  Matt Grzelcyk: Summertime trade rumors came and went, and Matt Grzelcyk is still with the Bruins. It’s expected that Grzelcyk will return to his top-pairing role opposite Charlie McAvoy, too, as the Bruins seek a well-balanced defensive pairing approach with Dmitry Orlov no longer in the picture for Montgomery’s squad.

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  Mar 26, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy (73) (right) talks with his new defensive partner defenseman Hampus Lindholm (27) before a face-off against the New York Islanders during the second period at TD Garden. (Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports)

• Hampus Lindholm: Playing on a broken foot in the 2023 playoffs, the Bruins have to hope that Hampus Lindholm is back to regular season Hampus Lindholm, who was a downright sensational defenseman for the club, with 10 goals, 53 points, and a plus-49 rating en route to a fourth-place finish in the Norris Trophy voting.

  Mason Lohrei: The second-best pro prospect behind Lysell, Lohrei led all Ohio State defensemen in points with 32 in 40 games as a sophomore in the 2022-23 season, and also led the team to a quarterfinal appearance in the NCAA tournament. Lohrei then signed an ATO with the P-Bruins in March, and recorded one assist and five shots on goal in five games before appearing in three Calder Cup playoff games for the club.

  Ryan Mast: The 6-foot-4, 212-pound Mast has graduated from the OHL after a 2022-23 season that featured eight goals and 30 points in 51 games for OHL Sarnia, and will play the 2023-24 season with the P-Bruins.

  Charlie McAvoy: With Patrice Bergeron officially out of the picture, you could make the case that this is Charlie McAvoy’s team. Now comes McAvoy embracing that opportunity and running with it as the face of the franchise.

  Ian Mitchell: Acquired from the Blackhawks in the Taylor Hall trade, and reports to Boston following a 2022-23 campaign that included a career-high seven assists and eight points, along with a career-high 15:50 of time on ice, in 35 games for Chicago. A 2017 second-round pick, the 5-foot-11 Mitchell has skated in 82 games for the Blackhawks since 2021, with four goals and 16 points, along with a minus-21 rating and 83 blocks, and 15:04 per night.

  Alec Regula: Another piece in the Taylor Hall trade return, the 6-foot-4 Regula is coming to the B’s after a 2022-23 campaign that included five goals and 21 points, along with 69 minutes in penalties, in 51 games for AHL Rockford. The 22-year-old also drew into four games for Chicago this past season, and racked up four hits and eight blocks while averaging 16:36 per game for the Blackhawks.

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  ANAHEIM, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 21: Kevin Shattenkirk #22 of the Anaheim Ducks in the third period at Honda Center on March 21, 2023 in Anaheim, California. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

• Dan Renouf: An AHL depth piece, Dan Renouf reports to Boston for his second training camp with the club, and after scoring one goal and 11 points, along with a plus-10 rating, in 54 games for Providence last season.

  Ethan Ritchie: Ritchie put up 13 goals and 44 points in 65 games for OHL Sarnia last year, and is with the P-Bruins on a one-year, AHL contract for the 2023-24 season.

  Kevin Shattenkirk: Signed to a one-year, $1.05 million contract, Shattenkirk is coming to Boston after a 2022-23 campaign that included four goals and 27 points in 75 games for Anaheim. Shattenkirk also finished the season on a high note, really, with four goals and 16 points over the final 32 games of the season after beginning the year with zero goals and just 11 points in his first 43 games of the season.

  Reilly Walsh: Walsh comes to the Bruins after a 2022-23 season spent entirely with AHL Utica, and with nine goals and 41 points in 71 games for the Comets. His 41 points ranked second among all Utica skaters (tops among defensemen), and made him the 17th-highest scoring defenseman in the AHL. It was actually his second straight season of at least nine goals and 41 points for Walsh, too, as the 24-year-old Massachusetts native put up nine goals and 43 points in his true breakthrough year for the Comets in 2021-22.

  Parker Wotherspoon: A 6-foot-1 defenseman, Wotherspoon was given the first NHL run of his professional career this past season, with a 12-game sample with the Islanders. Over the course of his 12-game run, the 25-year-old posted one assist and a plus-5 rating, and added seven blocks and eight hits, while averaging 13:20 per night. A fourth-round pick of the Isles in 2015, Wotherspoon comes to the B’s organization with a boatload of AHL experience, with 22 goals and 108 points in 293 games over eight seasons with Bridgeport.

  Jakub Zboril: The current leader in the clubhouse for the No. 7 defenseman role, Zboril is looking to rebound from a 2022-23 season that saw him appear in just 22 games, and just two games from Thanksgiving to Mar. 18.

• GOALTENDING

  

  Oct 12, 2022; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Boston Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) celebrates with Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) at Capital One Arena. (Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports)

• Brandon Bussi: Currently considered the No. 3 goaltender on the depth chart, Bussi is coming off a 2022-23 campaign featuring 25 wins and a .924 save percentage in 32 games for AHL Providence. Overall, the 6-foot-5 netminder has compiled a 25-7-4 record with a .923 save percentage in 37 AHL games over the last two seasons.

  Michael DiPietro: Acquired from Vancouver in the Jack Studnicka trade last season, DiPietro spent the majority of the 2022-23 season with ECHL Maine, where he won 19 games and posted a .918 save percentage in 29 appearances. DiPietro, who has appeared in three NHL games (0-2-0 with a .771 save percentage) over this pro career, also stopped 33-of-35 in his lone AHL appearance of the year.

  Kyle Keyser: Coming off a career-high 13 wins in 24 games with AHL Providence last season, Keyser has posted a 28-25-11 record with a .904 save percentage in 68 games with the P-Bruins since the start of the 2019-20 season.

  Shane Starrett: With the organization on a one-year AHL deal, the Massachusetts-born Starrett comes to the organization after stopping 19-of-20 for Coachella Valley in his lone AHL appearance of the 2022-23 campaign, and 24 wins and a .913 save percentage in 54 games for ECHL Kansas City.

  Jeremy Swayman: Led by a strong second-half surge, Swayman finished the 2022-23 season with a 24-6-4 record and .920 save percentage. His 24 wins were the 15th-most in hockey, while his .920 ranked fourth among qualifying goaltenders. Swayman’s 11.63 goals saved above average at five-on-five also ranked 13th in the NHL (per NaturalStatTrick), while his .870 high-danger save percentage was tied for the fifth-best figure among the group of 40 goalies with at least 1,500 five-on-five minutes played. The Alaskan-born Swayman is playing this season on a one-year, $3.475 million contract awarded to him in an arbitration hearing.

  Linus Ullmark: Much to the shock and dismay of dummies around the world, the Bruins opted not to give Linus Ullmark away for pennies on the dollar and will instead begin the 2023-24 season with the reigning Vezina winner still on their roster. Ullmark is coming off the first ‘Triple Crown’ goalie season since Carey Price in 2014-15, as he led the NHL in wins (40), goals against average (1.89), and save percentage (.938) last season.