Dean Letourneau knew he had more in him that what he showed at Boston College as a freshman. But with what he showed in that first collegiate season, plenty of Bruins fans had their doubts.

The B’s chose Letourneau 25th overall in the first round of the 2024 draft and there was a feeling then that the gangly 6-foot-7 forward was going to be a little bit of a project.

The Ontario native played Canadian prep school hockey for St. Andrew’s in his draft year, not unheard of but not the usual route for a top prospect. He was already committed to go to Boston College when the B’s drafted him but the plan was for him to play a year of USHL hockey before going to the Heights. But a slot opened up on the Eagles’ roster when Will Smith, taken fourth overall by San Jose, decided to leave BC to sign with the Sharks.

Letourneau jumped at the opportunity. While challenges were to be expected, they were far greater than he imagined. After suffering a broken hand in the first game of the season, Letourneau struggled mightily. His final stat line? Zero goals and three assists in 36 games.

Letourneau was still a teenager, but there were already howls of bust. It would have been tough going through that kind of season anywhere when you’re a first rounder, but to do it in the city of the team that drafted you made it exponentially so.

“He handled it really well. I have to give him so much credit,” said Adam McQuaid, the B’s director of player development on the first day of Bruins Development Camp on Monday. “I know he was disappointed and frustrated at times. He got a little more opportunity this year and it went a long way. He took advantage of it. He was always receptive to feedback and ways that he could grow his game in different ways (his freshman) year. But it always came back to, ‘I’m working on those things, but I still believe I can do these other things.’”

Among “these other things” was scoring goals. He popped in 22 and added 17 assists his second year at the Heights. It was hard to miss his big frame his freshman season, but as a sophomore he became a play driver and began to throw his weight around.

Letourneau went from being a so-called bust to the B’s top amateur prospect. Given his size, he might have the highest ceiling of any prospect in the entire pipeline.

“He took a step pretty much in all facets of his game. He just got more accustomed to the pace in college hockey,” McQuaid said. “I give him a ton of credit because he stayed confident and believed in himself, stuck with the process. He learned a lot from (his freshman season) that he carried into this year.

“He came in with high expectations for himself and had a great year. One of the big things is he’s using his size a little bit more, he’s embracing that. He’s processing the game faster. On top of that he’s taking steps physically, getting stronger, quicker, all the natural things for a kid his age.”

Getting the first goal helped, but the second one against RPI sent him on his way, at least mentally.

“When I knew it wasn’t just a fluke,” said Letourneau with a chuckle. “I had the confidence back and I was seeing the offense pick up and from there on out I knew that I’m back and I could keep doing this for the whole season.”

Letourneau is filling out. He was 210 pounds when he was drafted and is now up to 235. He’d been as heavy as 240 but a week skating at Warrior Ice Arena leading up to Dev Camp brought the weight down a little bit. He expects to be at 235 when the Eagles’ season starts in early October.

He showed last season that he’s got some mid-range snipe abilities, but he’s focusing on being near the crease.

“It’s the area where goals are scored, so the more I can be around the net and picking up rebounds and tips, the more goals I can score,” Letourneau said. “Our coaches at BC harped on that and being at the net front, providing screens for shots from the points. I’m a big body, too. I can take up a lot of space. So that’s an area where I feel comfortable and can score a lot of goals from there.”

The struggles his freshman season weren’t fun. He briefly thought of transferring – sadly, a logical step in today’s NCAA landscape – but he stuck with it. And he’s the better for it.

“It allowed me to focus on areas in my game that needed work, in the defensive side. Using that last year, I was able to help my offensive side,” Letourneau said. “I just trusted my abilities, my coach (Greg Brown) trusted me that I was going to be on the defensive end of the puck and play responsibly, so it allowed me to play a little more offensively.”

Playing for the Bruins might have seemed a little bit abstract when he was scuffling as a freshman but it’s starting to feel more real for him. If he can build on his sophomore season, it’s well within the realm of possibility that he’s in Black and Gold by April.

“It definitely feels a little closer. I definitely feel more ready for the next step,” Letourneau said. “The goal is to go back to BC, have a more dominant year and we’ll see what happens from there.”

Contract decisions

The B’s extended qualifying offers to forwards Riley Duran, Ivan Ivan, Matt Poitras and goalie Luke Cavallin. Not given qualifying offers were defensemen Jordan Harris and Max Wanner and forward Alexis Gendron, which will make them unrestricted free agents on Wednesday.