Fraser Minten is finding his way in his first full season in the NHL as a member of the Boston Bruins.
Minten was acquired, along with two draft picks, from the Toronto Maple Leafs at last year’s trade deadline in exchange for defenceman Brandon Carlo.
The 6-foot-2 centre appeared in six games with the Bruins to close out the 2024-25 campaign and made the roster this season after proving he can play anywhere in the lineup.
“He was a steal for us,” head coach Marco Strum told reporters on Friday ahead of the Bruins’ Stadium Series clash with the Tampa Bay Lightning. “He has that quality where he can be up and down in the lineup right away at this early age. It’s not very often you see young players play this high in the lineup, but early rounders or early picks, they just have that.”
Minten was named the NHL’s rookie of the month for January after recording eight goals and 14 points in 14 games. He now has 14 goals and 29 points in 56 games to go along with a plus-19 rating in his rookie season.
The 21-year-old has stepped up over the last week to take a top-six role in the Bruins lineup with forwards Elias Lindholm and Pavel Zacha banged up.
For his part, Minten doesn’t care where he is in the lineup, as long as he gets to play.
“I just want to play in the NHL. Play me wherever, I don’t care,” Minten told reporters after the Bruins’ 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday. “[I try to be] responsible and trustworthy. It’s a hard league to produce in and it takes time to figure out little things. I’m just trying to help in every area.”
Minten was excellent as a junior before turning professional during the 2024-25 campaign.
The Vancouver native played four seasons in the Western Hockey League, recording 77 goals and 188 points in 187 career games split between the Kamloops Blazers and Saskatoon Blades.
He was named captain of Team Canada’s World Junior squad in 2024 in Sweden where he registered a goal and three points in five games in a fifth-place finish.
Minten’s 200-foot game is what led him to be drafted 36th overall by the Maple Leafs in 2022 and is something that has been recognized by the Bruins coaching staff.
However, they want to work with him to develop more of his offensive game.
“He just has that alertness of when to go and when not to go and then find the next guy,” said Sturm in Friday’s availability. “That’s good, so now we have to just work with him on finishes. We’re going to stay on top of it and not let him slip. We just want to make sure we’re doing the right thing and keep developing him to become a more complete player.”
Sturm did not directly compare Minten to Bruins legend Patrice Bergeron, but he did say Bergeron had to go through a lot of the growing pains that Minten is now experiencing.
He believes that Minten may have to make some adjustments in order to become a greater threat offensively, especially on the power play.
“If you look at guys in the bumper, they have to learn [how to finish],” said Sturm. “Bergeron had to learn that too. I heard he had to change his curve and flex because he was a bumper and needed a different release. That shows you how important that position actually is.”