{"id":630363,"date":"2026-07-24T22:54:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-24T22:54:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/630363\/"},"modified":"2026-07-24T22:54:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-24T22:54:12","slug":"breaking-down-the-bruins-goaltending-pipeline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/630363\/","title":{"rendered":"Breaking Down the Bruins Goaltending Pipeline"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aside from a wide range of skaters in the prospect pool<\/a>, the Boston Bruins<\/a> have also built organizational depth between the pipes.<\/p>\n

The Bruins signed one out of college in March, then picked two at the 2026 draft. They also signed two to entry-level contracts last summer, and both were re-upped a year later. Oh, and they also brought in one more minor league goaltender for good measure during the free agent frenzy at the beginning of July.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Bruins freed up space on the depth chart by trading Joonas Korpisalo<\/a> on July 1, leaving Michael DiPietro<\/a> with a clear path to claim the backup spot. Behind DiPietro and Jeremy Swayman<\/a> are six more goaltenders on the organization\u2019s depth chart. Two are still developing in college and Europe, while the other four are all under contract with Boston.<\/p>\n

They also have Kyle Chauvette<\/a> joining the organization as the team\u2019s emergency backup goalie (EBUG), and he will travel with the NHL club this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On July 1, Don Sweeney said that the organization feels \u201ccomfortable with our depth of our goaltending,\u201d and for good reason. The Bruins, led by goalie coaches Bob Essensa and Mike Dunham, historically have a strong track record of developing goaltenders into NHL talent\u2026 even if some of those goaltenders are not wearing the Spoked-B.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s see who Essensa and Dunham will be working with this season:\u00a0<\/p>\n

PRO DEPTH<\/p>\n

Simon Zajicek, 25<\/p>\n

The Bruins signed Simon Zajicek<\/a> out of the Czech league last summer, and he was coming off a 15-13-0 regular season with five shoutouts, a league-leading .930 SV%, and a 2.12 GAA. He had a few seasons (90 games) of Czech Extraliga experience under his belt before signing, playing in senior league games starting in the 2019-20 season.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He landed in New England, showed off his bright yellow pads<\/a> during the preseason, and spent the season in Providence behind Michael DiPietro. In 21 games, he pitched a 14-6-1 record with a 2.44 GAA and a .915 SV%. He started the season on fire, winning 10 of his first 12 starts (10-1-1), then battled two separate lower-body injuries after the turn of the New Year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Bruins signed Zajicek to another one-year deal in June. By freeing up Joonas Korpisalo, the Bruins opened a spot on the depth chart, which should create more opportunity for Zajicek in his second season with the organization.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Luke Cavallin, 25<\/p>\n

Last summer, the Bruins also brought in the reigning Kelly Cup (ECHL) MVP on an entry-level contract. Luke Cavallin<\/a> backstopped the Trois-Rivi\u00e8res Lions with a 15-5-0 playoff record, a .948 SV%, and a 1.53 GAA; that came after a 19-10-2 regular season with a .929 SV% and 2.13 GAA.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cavallin primarily played in Maine during the 2025-26 season, playing in 34 games with an 18-10-3 record. He finished with a .917 SV% and 2.35 GAA, then won the crease during the Mariners\u2019 run to the Eastern Conference Final. He also stepped up for Providence while Zajicek was out, and he went 6-2-0 in eight starts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Bruins issued a qualifying offer to Cavallin before free agency opened, then inked him to a one-year deal on July 1.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Max Lundgren, 24<\/p>\n

After Merrimack\u2019s season ended, the Bruins scooped up goaltender Max Lundgren<\/a> on a one-year entry-level contract for the 2026-27 season. Lundgren played every minute for the Warriors and helped lead them to the school\u2019s first Hockey East title, and after the win, he was named tournament MVP.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lundgren went 21-16-2 with Merrimack, posting a 2.55 GAA and a .920 SV%. He led the NCAA in saves (1,134), and he led the Hockey East in wins. After signing, he joined both Providence and Maine on an amateur tryout agreement, but did not play for either team. Lundgren was also at Bruins development camp this summer, and while it is tough for goalies to stand out during four days of drills aimed at skaters, Lundgren looked extremely comfortable throughout camp.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Jiri Patera, 27<\/p>\n

With all of the youth in the room, the Bruins added a veteran AHL goaltender on July 1. Jiri Patera<\/a> is only 27, just two years older than both Zajicek and Cavallin, but he has the most pro experience out of any Bruins\u2019 minor-league goaltender. He has played in seven AHL seasons, pitching a 51-56-12 record in 122 games, alongside a 2.84 GAA and .907 SV%. Last year, he started in 30 games for the Abbotsford Canucks and went 12-14-4.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After signing Patera, Don Sweeney noted his NHL experience. He is the only one in the Bruins\u2019 minor league system with NHL experience, but it is only nine games. However, that is nine more games than anyone else in the minor leagues.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Bruins claimed Patera off waivers on October 2, 2024, amid a contract negotiation with Jeremy Swayman. He lasted four days before being placed on waivers again, and the Canucks re-claimed their goaltender on October 7.\u00a0<\/p>\n

PROSPECT PIPELINE<\/p>\n

Yuri Ivanov, 17<\/p>\n

The Bruins used their first pick of the 2026 draft to select a Russian goaltender, and he made a lasting impression days later at his first development camp. Yuri Ivanov<\/a> is only 17, but he looked far more mature between the pipes. He won the starting job for Spartak Moscow\u2019s junior team halfway through the season and helped lead them to the Kharlamov Cup final. He posted a 13-3-1 record during the regular season and a 6-5-1 record in the postseason.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ivanov is a long-term project, and right after the draft, Sweeney said that he will continue to develop in Russia. A lack of a transfer agreement between the NHL and KHL allows the Bruins to take their time with the goaltender.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Roberto \u201cLeo\u201d Henriquez, 19<\/p>\n

Leo Henriquez<\/a> is an intriguing prospect, and the Bruins will have a close eye on him as he gets started at Boston College in the fall. He was eligible for the 2025 draft, but did not get selected after a 4-10-2 record, 4.01 GAA, and .877 SV%. However, he bounced back during the 2026 season, his second in Green Bay, and finished with a 21-9-4 record, 2.22 GAA, and .921 SV%, and the Bruins took him in the sixth round at this year\u2019s draft. He was also named to Slovakia\u2019s roster for the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championships, but did not dress.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ryan Nadeau, the director of amateur scouting, said that Dunham and Essensa like the goaltender and are excited to work with him. Boston College has a crowded goalie room, and rising sophomore Louka Cloutier<\/a> (EDM) won the starting job last year, but Henriquez\u2019s development will be worth a follow and easy to watch.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

FOLLOW @JACKSTUDLEY13 ON \ud835\udd4f<\/a>\u00a0 | FOLLOW @BOSHockeyNow ON \ud835\udd4f<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aside from a wide range of skaters in the prospect pool, the Boston Bruins have also built organizational…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":630364,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5099],"tags":[154,95,5132,530,5,6877,67686,19589,61031,4,1753,9050,67460],"class_list":["post-630363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boston-bruins","tag-boston","tag-boston-bruins","tag-bostonbruins","tag-bruins","tag-hockey","tag-jiri-patera","tag-leo-henriquez","tag-luke-cavallin","tag-max-lundgren","tag-nhl","tag-providence-bruins","tag-simon-zajicek","tag-yuri-ivanov"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116977419119627553","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=630363"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630363\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/630364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=630363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=630363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=630363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}