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.<\/p>\n
The B\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
The Ontario native played Canadian prep school hockey for St. Andrew\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019 roster when Will Smith, taken fourth overall by San Jose, decided to leave BC to sign with the Sharks.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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\u2019re a first rounder, but to do it in the city of the team that drafted you made it exponentially so.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe handled it really well. I have to give him so much credit,\u201d said Adam McQuaid, the B\u2019s director of player development on the first day of Bruins Development Camp on Monday. \u201cI 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, \u2018I\u2019m working on those things, but I still believe I can do these other things.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Among \u201cthese other things\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
Letourneau went from being a so-called bust to the B\u2019s top amateur prospect. Given his size, he might have the highest ceiling of any prospect in the entire pipeline.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe took a step pretty much in all facets of his game. He just got more accustomed to the pace in college hockey,\u201d McQuaid said. \u201cI 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe came in with high expectations for himself and had a great year. One of the big things is he\u2019s using his size a little bit more, he\u2019s embracing that. He\u2019s processing the game faster. On top of that he\u2019s taking steps physically, getting stronger, quicker, all the natural things for a kid his age.\u201d<\/p>\n
Getting the first goal helped, but the second one against RPI sent him on his way, at least mentally.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I knew it wasn\u2019t just a fluke,\u201d said Letourneau with a chuckle. \u201cI had the confidence back and I was seeing the offense pick up and from there on out I knew that I\u2019m back and I could keep doing this for the whole season.\u201d<\/p>\n
Letourneau is filling out. He was 210 pounds when he was drafted and is now up to 235. He\u2019d 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\u2019 season starts in early October.<\/p>\n
He showed last season that he\u2019s got some mid-range snipe abilities, but he\u2019s focusing on being near the crease.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s 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,\u201d Letourneau said. \u201cOur coaches at BC harped on that and being at the net front, providing screens for shots from the points. I\u2019m a big body, too. I can take up a lot of space. So that\u2019s an area where I feel comfortable and can score a lot of goals from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
The struggles his freshman season weren\u2019t fun. He briefly thought of transferring \u2013 sadly, a logical step in today\u2019s NCAA landscape \u2013 but he stuck with it. And he\u2019s the better for it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt 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,\u201d Letourneau said. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Playing for the Bruins might have seemed a little bit abstract when he was scuffling as a freshman but it\u2019s starting to feel more real for him. If he can build on his sophomore season, it\u2019s well within the realm of possibility that he\u2019s in Black and Gold by April.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt definitely feels a little closer. I definitely feel more ready for the next step,\u201d Letourneau said. \u201cThe goal is to go back to BC, have a more dominant year and we\u2019ll see what happens from there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Contract decisions<\/p>\n
The B\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
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