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Bruins training camp stock watch: Whoās rising and falling on Bostonās depth chart?
The Bruins likely want to see more from younger players like Matt Poitras and Fabian Lysell.
It’s been over a week since Marco Sturm and the Bruins took to the ice for the start of training camp — with Boston’s new bench boss handed the daunting task of filling out a depth chart rife with question marks.
Beyond a top forward trio of David Pastrnak, Elias Lindhom, and Morgan Geekie anchoring the forward corps and Jeremy Swayman holding court as the top option in net, there hasn’t been a whole lot of clarity as to where the puzzle pieces fit on this roster.
With multiple practices and two preseason contests now in the books, here’s a look at our first stock watch for the Bruins as we map out who has impressed — and struggled — so far this fall.
STOCK UP
Mikey Eyssimont
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The Bruins aren’t necessarily expecting the 29-year-old Eyssimont to be an offensive dynamo — as was the case when he posted three points (two goals, one assists) in the third period of Tuesday’s comeback win over the Rangers.
But the pugnacious forward did showcase the high motor, shot-first mindset, and aggressive approach on Tuesday that should make him a bottom-six regular this season.
A checking line featuring Eyssimont, Sean Kuraly, and Mark Kastelic could give opponents fits this fall — and plenty of bruises.
“It’s nice to see him get rewarded. He works extremely hard,” Sturm said of Eyssimont. “What I like about him, he doesn’t complain. He accepts his role, whatever it is, and tries the best he can. Guys like him, you always root for because he cares. And because he has not just grit, but skill. That’s something you welcome.”
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Casey Mittelstadt
If the Bruins have any shot of being a competitive club in 2025-26, they’re going to have to unearth some dependable scoring conduits in their middle-six grouping.
Mittelstadt showcased some of that potential on Tuesday, setting up Matej Blumel’s first-period tally with a slick cross-crease feed before later recording a secondary assist on Marat Khusnutdinov’s game-tying goal.
The Bruins acquired Mittelstadt amid their roster teardown in March in order to inject more playmaking talent. The results were underwhelming after arriving in Boston (four goals, two assists over 18 games), although he spent most of his time on a line alongside Cole Koepke and Vinni Lettieri.
Given the dearth of proven scoring talent on the wing with this Bruins roster, there’s no guarantee that Mittelstadt will have a stout supporting cast around him this season.
But the 26-year-old center — who has two 50-point seasons on his resume — could be an X-factor if he manages to elevate Boston’s second line.
Matej Blumel
The Bruins seem to be giving Blumel every opportunity to earn a spot on the NHL roster out of camp — giving him reps in back-to-back preseason contests and slotting him with established NHLers over the past week like Mittelstadt and Pavel Zacha.
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Blumel — who scored an AHL-leading 39 goals this past season with the Texas Stars — showcased some of his scoring touch on Tuesday, driving to the crease and knocking home Mittelstadt’s feed.
As Sturm and the Bruins try to find some potential scoring threats across the roster, Blumel has been as advertised as a shot-first winger with a varied offensive skillset.
Through two preseason games, Blumel has attempted 13 shots and generated three high-danger scoring chances.
Even though he hasn’t showcased much so far in the NHL ranks (two goals in 13 career games), the 25-year-old winger has a fan in fellow Czech forward David Pastrnak.
“You forgot that he’s a pretty good skater too,” Pastrnak said of Blumel earlier this week. “That’s unbelievable. He’s very smart. He works hard. He’s got a little bit of everything. It’s amazing to watch him.
“Hopefully, he can settle himself in. It’s never easy coming to a new city. That’s why it’s good for me and (Pavel Zacha) to try to be here for him and make sure we give him the best opportunity, the best confidence to succeed.”
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It hasn’t been a seamless preseason so far for Blumel, as he was knocked for a turnover that eventually led to a shorthanded Rangers goal on Tuesday. Still, a Bruins team that needs to unlock some secondary scoring has to be intrigued with what Blumel has showcased so far.
Jordan Harris
The 25-year-old Haverhill native put his best foot forward on Tuesday as he tries to beat out Victor Soderstrom and Mike Callahan for Boston’s seventh defenseman spot.
The former Northeastern University captain was poised and crisp with moving the puck on Tuesday against the Rangers, eventually setting up Eyssimont’s second goal of the night in the third period.
The blueliner showcased some of his offensive instincts on that sequence by activating off the blue line and gathering a puck along the half wall before feeding Eyssimont in Grade-A ice.
The left-shot Harris has some similarities to a player like Matt Grzelcyk — a poised puck-mover who may not be an offensive dynamo, but can help out a team with a crisp transition game and a strong hockey IQ.
STOCK STEADY
Fraser Minten
Minten has yet to land on the scoresheet so far through two preseason games. But the 21-year-old center has done just about everything else as a Swiss Army Knife in Marco Sturm’s forward corps.
Over those two games, Minten has recorded five shots on goal, five hits, and five blocks while also winning 12 of his 20 faceoffs.
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It remains to be seen if Sturm will opt to keep two veterans down the middle on Boston’s second and third lines in Mittelstadt and Zacha. But if he’s looking to roll with a youngster on the third line, Minten makes plenty of sense as a poised 3C with plenty of room to grow.
“I believe in myself,” Minten said earlier this week. “I think everyone should. I believe I can play at the NHL level. So confidence, inner belief is high.”
Joonas Korpisalo
Korpisalo’s stat line from Tuesday’s win over New York may not leap off the page — especially after allowing four goals over the first two periods of play.
But the veteran netminder helped keep Boston in a game where the Rangers routinely peppered the net in the opening 40 minutes.
As Eyssimont and the Bruins mounted a comeback in the third period, Korpisalo stopped the final 18 shots that came his way to help secure a win.
It wasn’t the sharpest outing, but Korpisalo is still in the driver’s seat on the ongoing roster battle for Boston’s backup goalie.
“The game could have gone to the garbage real quick if he [didn’t] make those big saves,” Nikita Zadorov said of Korpisalo. “We gave up way too many Grade-A’s from the slot today. I thought they were really hungry on the puck. I thought they were shot-ready, shot-first mentality. I thought they were really crashing our net. And Korpy stayed big for us. He gave us a chance to get back in the game.”
STOCK DOWN
Johnny Beecher
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Beecher already entered camp on the roster bubble after a 2024-25 season where he scored just three goals in 78 games.
Much like Eysimmont, the Bruins aren’t necessarily expecting Beecher to be a scoring threat on the fourth line. But they’re also expecting a player who can do damage on the forecheck while being responsible with the puck.
That wasn’t the case on Tuesday, as Beecher turned a puck over while trying to exit Boston’s zone in the second period. The Rangers capitalized just seconds later, with former Boston College forward Gabe Perreault finding twine.
A line of Beecher, Kastelic, and John Farinacci struggled on Tuesday — with the Rangers outshooting Boston, 5-0, and outscoring them, 2-0, in just 7:39 of 5-on-5 ice time.
Matt Poitras
Poitas hasn’t been able to string together another strong preseason this fall — at least through the first two games.
While Poitras’ poise with the puck has been evident for years now, the 21-year-old forward has continued to make himself susceptible to some heavy hits out on the ice.
The Bruins would welcome a scenario where Poitras legitimately makes a push for NHL reps out of the gate as a high-upside playmaker, especially on this Bruins roster short on high-end talent.
But the talented center hasn’t exactly moved the needle so far in camp, nor has he shown improvement as far as getting out of harm’s way.
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Fabian Lysell
Much like Poitras, the Bruins would love to see a fleet-footed winger like Lysell leave camp with a middle-six spot locked up.
As evidenced by the final week of the 2024-25 season, Lysell has the wheels and skills to potentially develop into a third-line scorer. And even though he doesn’t fit the profile of a power forward, Lysell used that straight-line speed to throw his weight around and win foot races to pucks at the start of Sunday’s game against Washington.
But in what has been an ongoing issue for the 2021 first-round pick, Lysell has struggled as far as consistency and stringing together promising shifts over the span of a full game.
There’s still a lot to like about Lysell’s skillset out on the ice, but he’s going to have to showcase a lot more (zero goals, zero points, three shots over two games) down the stretch if he wants to break camp in the NHL ranks.
Victor Soderstrom
There was plenty of intrigue early this summer when the Bruins acquired Soderstrom — a former first-round pick by Arizona — in a trade with Chicago.
Soderstrom spent the 2024-25 campaign in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL) — where he posted nine goals and 28 assists in 49 games for Brynäs. For his efforts, he took home the Börje Salming Trophy as the SHL’s top defenseman.
The 24-year-old defenseman entered camp in the running to win Boston’s 7th D spot, but he hasn’t done himself any favors during preseason action — with the Swedish blueliner knocked for a pair of brutal D-zone turnovers that directly led to tallies against both Washington and New York.
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Michael DiPietro
If DiPietro wants to leapfrog Korpsialo and win Boston’s backup goalie spot, he’s going to have to do far better than his performance on Sunday against the Capitals.
Yes, Boston’s D-zone coverage was dreadful for a majority of that 5-2 setback.
But the Bruins also likely wanted to see the 26-year-old goalie make a critical Grade-A stop or two in his preseason debut.
DiPietro still has plenty of upside, given both his age and his stellar showing last season in Providence (.927 save percentage over 40 games).But DiPietro is going to have to decisively best Korpisalo over these next two weeks if he really wants to open the season with Boston. There’s plenty of work to be done in that regard.
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