New Bruins prospect Fraser Minten scores hat trick in 3rd game with Providence

Bruins

Fraser Minten recorded four points in Providence’s win over Springfield this weekend.

The 2024-25 Bruins season is inching closer and closer to a disappointing end. 

But while Boston’s hopes of hosting playoff hockey on Causeway Street continue to dwindle, the next wave of Bruins’ young talent has started to stand out down in Providence. 

Boston’s roster overhaul at the trade deadline earlier this month set the Bruins up for an extensive retool this summer, landing several new faces like Casey Mittelstadt, Henri Jokiharju, and Marat Khusnutdinov, along with a significant haul of draft picks.

But Boston also landed an intriguing prospect from the Toronto Maple Leafs in Fraser Minten. He was one of the key pieces in the return for a deal centered on Brandon Carlo (along with a 2026 first-round pick).

The 6-foot-2 center has already made an immediate impact with his new team in Providence. He scored a hat trick and added an assist in a 4-1 win over the Springfield Thunderbirds on Sunday. 

The 2022 second-round pick showcased his knack for the net throughout the win, opening the scoring for Providence after knocking home a puck off a slick feed from fellow prospect Georgii Merkulov with 4:40 to go in the first.

He doubled the P-Bruins’ lead at 2:29 in the second period after tapping home a pass from defenseman Billy Sweezey before completing the hat trick at 9:55 in the frame after collecting his own rebound and tucking the offering past the goal line with a sweet backhand finish. 

Minten — a 2022 second-round pick — closed out his four-point night in the second period by recording the primary assist on Riley Duran’s tally at 18:14 in the frame. 

As the Bruins look to rebuild their forward corps for 2025-26 and beyond, a prospect like Minten should hold plenty of appeal as a middle-six regular in due time. The 20-year-old forward has already played 19 games in the NHL with the Maple Leafs, scoring two goals and adding a pair of assists.

While a player like Minten may not be the solution in Boston’s search for a top-six center, his high motor, defensive game and hockey IQ makes him a high-floor talent who could start carving out regular minutes soon.

“Fraser Minten was arguably the Leafs’ second-best prospect,” Harman Dayal of The Athletic wrote of Minten’s game shortly after the deal between Boston and Toronto was struck. “The 20-year-old may not have the highest offensive ceiling but his IQ, work rate and projectable size give him the chance to develop into an intelligent, defensive-minded third-line center.

While it remains to be seen if Minten will get a cup of coffee at the NHL ranks over Boston’s final 13 games, the forward looks to be a welcome addition to a Bruins pipeline short on NHL talent over the last few years. 

 

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.