Dans Locmelis had always been known as a high hockey IQ type of player throughout his amateur and international career. But in his first year as a pro last season in Providence, the former UMass star was forced to lean on those smarts a little more than he probably would have wanted.
Locmelis, who will be taking part in the B’s rookie tournament this weekend in Buffalo, suffered a shoulder injury last October just as his first full pro season was getting underway. He played almost the whole season before he finally had to have surgery in March.
But considering what he was playing through, Locmelis was remarkably productive, posting 15-13-28 and was plus-16 in 43 games for the P-Bruins.
The 22-year-old Latvian, who also played in the Olympics for his native country, said it was a constant physical and mental battle.
“I just had to be two steps ahead of everyone, I felt like,” said Locmelis after the rookies’ practice at Warrior Ice Arena before they headed to Buffalo. “Going into battles, you want to win the battle but you want to come out of it healthy so I had to be two steps a head of it. I feel like it’s going to help me in the future.”
New Providence head coach Trent Whitfield, who was a long time assistant there before getting the top job, came away impressed with what Locmelis – not exactly physically imposing at 6-foot, 179 pounds – was able to do in his limited capacity.
“Dans is a 200-foot player,” said Whitfield. “He plays hard at both ends. He’s inside. He’s not afraid of physicality. Even at 60-70 percent, he was one of our better players down there for most of the time he was with us. He went to the Olympics and was excellent at times in that tournament. You can tell he’s got a good hockey IQ, works really hard. He’s got that ability in small areas that he plays in.”
Locmelis, who was taken by the B’s in the fourth round (119th overall) in the 2022 draft, said he’s felt like he’s been back to 100 percent for about two months. Considering how many players the B’s have in camp and the truncated nature of the camp – 13 days separate physicals from opening night – Locmelis is a long shot to make the Boston roster. He’s expected to be a player that Whitfield leans on after the Providence roster was turned over after last season.
Regardless, Locmelis plans to control what he can and hope for the best.
“I’m just going to try to give 100 percent every day, every practice,” said said Locmelis. “The shorter training camp definitely doesn’t help the young guys but hopefully you can show yourself good and get a chance up there.”