After almost a week of deliberation following Ohio State University’s tourney-ending loss to Quinnipiac, Bruins prospect Mason Lohrei has decided to forego the remainder of his college career and jump to the pro ranks.

Lohrei’s move to the Bruins organization comes after a sophomore campaign in Columbus that saw him finish first among OSU defensemen in scoring, with four goals and 32 points in 40 games. Lohrei led Ohio State’s defense in scoring as a freshman, too, with four goals and 29 points in 31 games in 2021-22.

• The 6-foot-4 defenseman’s move to the Bruins comes in the way that the Bruins always preferred, too, as he will report to Providence and skate with the P-Bruins on an amateur tryout agreement.

  By joining Providence on an ATO, the 22-year-old Lohrei is free to skate in the final eight games of the P-Bruins’ regular-season slate, and is eligible for the 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs.

  Ryan Mougenel’s Providence squad is currently atop the Atlantic Division with 90 points, and have the third-most points in the AHL entering Friday’s slate, trailing only Coachella Valley and Calgary.

• 

  Oct 7, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes defenseman Mason Lohrei (6) takes a shot during the NCAA men’s hockey game against the Wisconsin Badgers at the Schottenstein Center. (Adam Cairns/The Columbus Dispatch)

• If this sounds familiar, it’s because it’s exactly what the Bruins did with 2019 first-round pick Johnny Beecher when he decided to go pro following Michigan’s run to the Frozen Four semifinals last year.

  Following the Wolverines’ loss to Denver, the 6-foot-3, 215-pound Beecher joined the P-Bruins on an ATO for the remainder of the season, and appeared in 11 games (nine regular season games and two postseason tilts), and then signed his entry-level deal with the club in May.

  The Bruins did the same with Charlie McAvoy in 2017, though injuries on the backend quickly forced the Bruins to adjust their plans and sign McAvoy to an entry-level deal just before the start of the postseason.

  It’s also worth mentioning that Lohrei would’ve been ineligible to help the P-Bruins down the stretch had he signed an entry-level contract instead of an ATO.

• 

  Feb 18, 2023; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Buckeyes defenseman Mason Lohrei (6) moves around Wolverines forward Mark Estapa (94) during The Faceoff on the Lake at FirstEnergy Stadium. (Adam Cairns/The Columbus Dispatch)

• Lohrei joining the organization on an ATO almost guarantees that he will not factor into team’s NHL plans for the remainder of the regular season and into the playoffs.

  Given his age, Lohrei’s entry-level deal will be a two-year deal, and signing him to an entry-level deal now would burn its first year even if he didn’t appear in a game. He’d also need to sign that contract to be eligible to appear in an NHL game.

  In other words, if he’s appearing in an NHL game this season, something has gone very wrong in regards to the depth on the NHL roster.

• Lohrei, who was taken with the No. 58 overall pick as Boston’s top choice in the 2020 NHL Draft, put up eight goals and 61 points in 71 games over two seasons with Ohio State University. Prior to his time in Columbus, Lohrei tallied 27 goals and 96 points in 105 games for the USHL’s Green Bay Gamblers.

  He is also the second member of the Black and Gold’s 2020 class to turn pro, joining 2020 third-round pick Trevor Kuntar, who decided to leave Boston College for the B’s earlier this week.

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