Bruins sign Cornell standout to entry-level deal
The Bruins added another prospect to their pro pipeline on Thursday, and went the ‘free agent’ route to do it.
MONTREAL, QC – NOVEMBER 26: A detail of the Boston Bruins logo is seen during the third period against the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre on November 26, 2019 in Montreal, Canada. The Boston Bruins defeated the Montreal Canadiens 8-1. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
Minas Panagiotakis/Getty ImagesA signing spree of a spring for Bruins general manager Don Sweeney continued on Thursday.
But the latest move for the Bruins came from outside of their drafted pipeline, with Cornell standout and NCAA free agent Dalton Bancroft inked to a one-year, entry-level deal by the Bruins.
Bancroft's deal, which will begin next season, comes with a $950,000 cap hit at the NHL level.
A three-year player for Cornell, the 6-foot-3, 207-pound Bancroft is jumping to the pro game after posting 15 goals (a college career-high for him) and 27 points in 36 games for the Big Red, and 36 goals and 79 points in 103 total games for the program from 2022 through 2025.
Prior to this time at Cornell, Bancroft skated in the OJHL, and actually captured OJHL MVP honors in 2021-22 behind a campaign that featured 37 goals and 92 points in 54 games for the Trenton Golden Hawks. (The OJHL is a step below the Ontario Hockey League in the Canadian junior program 'tiers'.)
And though he was not someone the Bruins drafted — as was the case for their previous signings this spring with Ty Gallagher, Jake Schmaltz, and then Dans Locmelis — Bancroft does have some familiarity with the Bruins organization after taking part in the club's development camp last summer.
Bancroft also has hockey bloodlines, with his father Steve having been a first-round pick of the Maple Leafs back in 1989 and having a pro career that ran for 16 years, including a season as a member of the P-Bruins squad that ultimately won the Calder Cup in 1999.
As for the newest Bancroft in the fold for the Black and Gold, this is a player who has shown that he can play a solid offensive game and has a work ethic that can make him a threat in the attacking zone. But given his age (24) and where he's played to this path, the development path is going to be interesting, and it's more likely that he'll have to be a details-oriented player who uses his size if he's going to fast-track his way to the NHL, and most likely in a bottom-six role where scoring is perhaps a bonus.
