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Have the Bruins found another diamond in the rough in Dans Locmelis?
"He's hungry. He checks a lot of the boxes for us as a Bruin."
There’s plenty of growing pains that await young hockey players first navigating the pro game in the AHL.
So far, no ice bags have been needed for 21-year-old Dans Locmelis.
When the Bruins’ 2022 fourth-round pick opted to sign an entry-level contract with Boston in March, the Latvian-born forward was projected as a steady middle-six center whose value at the next level would be rooted in a steady, two-way approach on the frozen sheet.
It’s the type of profile that the Bruins have long valued in their prospect pipeline, which has been hindered following years spent trading draft capital and targeting high-floor, low-ceiling talents.
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But Locmelis — who tallied 15 goals and posted 47 points over 70 career games with the UMass Minutemen — has seemingly reached a new gear since playing against elevated competition in the AHL ranks.
After turning pro, Locmelis went right from Western Massachusetts to Providence, joining the P-Bruins just ahead of the team’s Calder Cup run.
In six regular-season games with his new team, Locmelis scored three goals and a whopping nine assists, forming instant chemistry on a line alongside Matt Poitras.
“I’ve been having a lot of fun,” Locmelis said Thursday following practice at Amica Mutual Pavillion. “Everything came [together] so quick. I didn’t have time to think about anything, so I was just coming here, playing my hockey and just enjoying everything.”
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Providence head coach Ryan Mougenel believed the team already had a good idea of what to expect from Locmelis at the next level, especially after chatting with his collegiate coach at Amherst in Greg Carvel.
But Locmelis’ offensive instincts and poise with the puck have yielded immediate (and largely unexpected) returns in Providence so far, with the P-Bruins’ coaching staff reaping the rewards of shifting the forward over to wing to ease his transition into the team’s demanding structure.
“He’s just a hockey player,” Mougenel said of Locmelis, who recorded a helper in Providence’s first-round clinching game against Springfield on April 27. “The one thing we did here is we put him on the wing, and he found instant chemistry with Potsy and I think that alleviated some of the burden of playing down low.
“We put a premium on our centers in our organization, and they’ve got a lot of responsibility. So it kind of alleviated that a little bit. But he’s a hockey player. Another kid — our scouting staff did an amazing job identifying a great kid, great pro.”
Despite his uptick in scoring, the 6-foot-0, 177-pound Locmelis believes that his two-year tenure at UMass prepared him well for the rigors of pro hockey.
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Beyond the elevated skill and skating already present in the collegiate game, Locmelis also credited Carvel and the rest of the Minutemen’s staff for instilling in him the off-ice standards — especially in regards to both nutrition and sleep — needed to maximize his efforts on game days.
That mentorship has already carried on to Providence. While Locmelis has already found a dependable playmaking conduit in Poitras, his other linemate, veteran Vinni Lettieri, has helped him find his footing amid a whirlwind move to Rhode Island.
“They’re just such an extension of our coaching staff,” Mougenel said of Providence’s veteran leaders in Lettieri, Patrick Brown, and others. “They’re just phenomenal people, and they’re giving these guys life lessons that they’re going to use for the rest of their career.”
Locmelis’ hockey season may not come to a close in Providence during the ongoing Calder Cup Playoffs.
According to a report from Ulvis Brože of Sportacentrs.com in Latvia, the Bruins have reached an agreement with the Latvian National Team where Locmelis will join the team next week ahead of the 2025 IIHF World Championship — which will be held in Sweden and Denmark from May 9-25.
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Locmelis did not confirm the trek back to Europe on Thursday.
“We’ll see,” the forward said of playing again for Latvia, who he has represented in three World Junior Championships, two World Championships, and the Olympic Games Qualifying Tournament in 2024.
Regardless of where Locmelis wraps up his year, the former UMass product has seemingly elevated his stock within Boston’s prospect pool in record time.
“He’s hungry,” Mougenel said of Locmelis. “He checks a lot of the boxes for us as a Bruin. And he just thinks the game at a higher level.”
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