If there is one thing to be said about the Boston Bruins, depth on the back end has been a focal point for their roster construction. Dating back to the 2011 Stanley Cup Championship team, the constructed blueline was one of the deepest in the league. Head coach Claude Julien could roll out any pair and they could be relied on to get the job done. Fast forward to the 2024-25 season and the Bruins are in familiar territory.
General manager Don Sweeney has assembled a blue line that is one of the deepest across the league. It boasts top talent in Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm, while also having shutdown defenseman Brandon Carlo in the fold. Sweeney reinforced the blueline with Andrew Peeke at the trade deadline and added a big physical specimen in Nikita Zadorov. It is a stout blueline and one that should be among the best in the league. This is also not considering Mason Lohrei, who will look to take the next steps in his young career.
Lohrei Aims to Take Next Steps
Lohrei will have every opportunity to take the next steps in his career. With the Bruins parting ways with defensemen such as Matt Grzelcyk and Derek Forbort, there is a spot in the lineup for him. He may not play on the top pair, but he should be a lock for top four minutes. If head coach Jim Montgomery feels he needs to take pressure off of him, he could slot into the third pair. Lohrei is a sensational talent and a good young building block to have on the back end.
Lohrei showed a lot of promise with the Bruins during the 2023-24 season. While he only skated in 41 games, he went on to score four goals and 13 points. Lohrei bounced back and forth from the American Hockey League (AHL) Providence Bruins to the big club roster on a few occasions, but he did earn himself a full-time spot during the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He finished with one goal and four points in 11 games and was one of the best defensemen for the Bruins during that run.
With Grzelcyk out of the picture, Lohrei could see ample opportunity on the power play. That’s where Sweeney envisions him at least.
“We have Mason Lohrei now in a position where it allows him to … probably take him into the second unit of the power play and grow his offensive game in the right way,” Sweeney noted. “Not necessarily be over his skis at times playing 20 minutes a night in the top pair situation. He can, and he’s done a good job, but it just balances things out.”
Lohrei brings a special blend of offense and can skate well for a bigger body. Also, he brings the skill and is a good puck-moving defenseman, so having a boost offensively on the power play would be a huge addition. The Bruins finished 14th in the NHL with the man advantage last season with a 22.2 percent success rate. Lohrei could take the next steps individually, but the biggest boost would be him playing big minutes.
Lohrei Being Able to Log Bigger Minutes
Lohrei averaged 16:57 minutes of time on ice in 2023-24, which is good for a rookie. However, given the turnover on the back end, a larger role could be carved out for Lohrei. When he was slotted into the Bruins defense, Lohrei spent time up and down the lineup. He played with McAvoy, Kevin Shattenkirk, and Carlo. His finest work came alongside Carlo. A nice thing to have is when you make a rookie mistake, the veteran leader is there to clean up the mess.
When it comes to generating offense and suppressing the opposition, playing with Shattenkirk was beneficial. As for results, Carlo and Lohrei finished with a goal differential of 10-5. That success carried over to the playoffs.
In a small sample size of 30 minutes of ice time together, the duo did a good job of generating offense and suppressing the opposition. The duo finished with 1.8 expected goals for and 0.7 expected goals against. They finished with a goal differential of 1-0. For what it’s worth, that’s something to look forward to. Lohrei would be a great offensive-minded player to pair with Carlo and the two would jive well on the ice. There is no shortage of options for defensive pairs, but the expectations are for Lohrei to take the next steps and be more of a factor.
Lohrei Belongs in Boston
Of all the young players in the Bruins pipeline, Lohrei belongs in Boston. For a team that is aiming to get younger, this is the way to do it. With a veteran-led blueline, a young Lohrei serves as a building block. McAvoy had plenty of kind words to say about Lohrei, showing encouragement for the young player.
“The sky’s the limit for him,” McAvoy said of Lohrei in May. “And he’s got an extremely high ceiling. His potential is off the charts. … He’s worked really hard. And he deserves to be here.”
Lohrei will have every opportunity in front of him to grow his game. Now it is up to him to take it.
