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Bruins prospect Chris Pelosi might be Boston’s top under-the-radar talent in system
"Coaches aren't the only resources you have to learn from. You have everyone else around you."
Dean Letourneau was far from the only Bruins prospect seemingly stuck in neutral during his first year of collegiate competition.
For Chris Pelosi, the jump from USHL competition to the rigors of the collegiate game at Quinnipiac presented plenty of hurdles in the fall.
Over his first 15 games as a freshman with the Bobcats, the two-way center recorded just five points, including two goals.
The New Jersey native’s willingness to engage down low stood as one of the primary reasons why Boston scooped him up with the 92nd pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
But those efforts were far more arduous against players three to five years older than him in the college ranks.
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“Physicality was my biggest thing,” Pelosi said Wednesday at Bruins Development Camp. “I was always the skinnier kid.”
Days spent in the gym at Quinnipiac helped Pelosi add some more muscle to his 6-foot-2 frame.
But for Pelosi, it was an invitation to USA Hockey’s camp ahead of 2025 World Juniors that presented the springboard needed to end his year on a high note.
Pelosi was one of the final cuts from camp, missing out on the chance to help Team USA win back-to-back gold medals. But spending camp with fellow blue-chip prospects like Ryan Leonard, Cole Hutson, and fellow Bruins prospect James Hagens made a significant impact on Pelosi.
“I think my confidence just skyrocketed when I got invited to World Junior camp in December. Playing with all those guys, all those first-rounders and all those great players — you can learn a lot from them.
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“Coaches aren’t the only resources you have to learn from. You have everyone else around you. And I think the atmosphere there really helped me a ton. Also all the older guys at Quinnipiac helped me get over that hump.”
The results spoke for themselves.
Over Quinnipiac’s final 23 games of the season, Pelosi recorded 19 points (11 goals, eight assists) and served as a key cog up front on head coach Rand Pecknold’s roster.
Boston’s prospect pipeline might be headlined by Hagens and Will Zellers.
But, Pelosi is starting to put himself on Boston’s radar as a two-way, physical forward who could carve out a middle-six role in the coming years.
“He put on a solid 10 pounds last year,” Bruins amateur and college scout Parker MacKay said of Pelosi. “Quinnipiac did a great job last year. I think he respects both ends of the ice, and you can see that out there. He’s taking pucks to hard areas, and he also values his defending, and that’s certainly the pieces of his game that we value.”
Beyond the production he generated down the stretch, Pelosi felt as though his defensive game shored itself up under Pecknold’s tutelage.
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It remains to be seen if Pelosi’s offensive capabilities will carry over to the pro ranks, but his 200-foot capabilities and physicality make him a player whose profile could make him a valuable asset once his collegiate years come to a close.
“First half of the season, I was struggling in the D zone, staying with my guy, my stick wasn’t the best,” Pelosi said. “Those are the little things that Rand preaches and the coaches preach at Quinnipiac. If you play hard in the D zone, you do your job in the D zone, you’re going to be in the O-zone for the rest of the game.”
BC-to-Bruins pipeline remains strong
Andre Gasseau could relate to Bruins fans who watched the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft play out with excitement.
After all, the Bruins’ 2021 seventh-round pick and Boston College forward witnessed firsthand what a player like Hagens can do on the ice this past winter.
“When I saw Philly went with [Porter] Martone [at No. 6 overall], I knew they were, the B’s were taking Hagens [at No. 7]. So it was exciting,” Gasseau said. “And then they took [Will] Moore in the second round.
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“It’s incredible to be drafted by this franchise and represent the Boston Bruins. Hopefully all of us make the next step and play on the Bruins together.”
Don Sweeney, Adam McQuaid, and the rest of Boston’s front office and development staff won’t have to make many long treks in 2025-26 to gauge a significant portion of their prospect pool.
Barring any shifts in commitments, the BC Eagles are expected to roll out a roster that will feature a whopping six Bruins draft picks this upcoming season: Hagens, Moore, Gasseau, Letourneau, Oskar Jellvik, and big-bodied defenseman Kristian Kostadinski.
“I wouldn’t say it’s design,” McQuaid said of Boston’s pipeline of prospects at Chestnut Hill. “It’s kind of just the way it’s unfolded. But they have a great program there. The coaching staff does a great job, and they’ve done a good job of getting guys NHL-ready.
“So it’s not that we necessarily need guys to be in our backyard, but it doesn’t hurt being able to have them close by and being able to just see them easily. Cuts down on travel a little bit.”
Even if most of the focus on the Eagles this season will revolve around first and second-round selections in Hagens, Moore, and Letourneau, Gasseau has offered plenty of promise for a seventh-round selection.
A 6-foot-4 power forward with strong skating ability, Gasseau has recorded 88 points over his first three seasons with the Eagles (112 games) and is expected to be one of the leaders of an Eagles squad set to be elevated by a motivated sophomore in Hagens.
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“It’s gonna be great. Everyone’s gonna be pulling the rope,” Gasseau said of the 2025-26 Eagles.
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