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Mason Lohrei

Bruins Activate Matt Grzelcyk From LTIR, Assign Two To AHL

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The Bruins are set to welcome back one of their blueliners as the team announced that Matt Grzelcyk has been activated from LTIR.  To create the cap space necessary to do so, they’ve returned defenseman Mason Lohrei and forward Patrick Brown to AHL Providence.

Grzelcyk has missed the last three-and-a-half weeks with an upper-body injury sustained late last month against Florida.  In order for a player to go on LTIR, they must miss at least 10 games and 24 days.  Both of those were reached yesterday, paving the way for his activation for tonight’s game against the Rangers.

While the 29-year-old has been a capable secondary contributor from the back end, Grzelcyk has been a bit quiet on that front this season, collecting just a single point (a goal) over his first nine appearances.  He’s coming off his fourth-straight 20-point campaign, one that saw him record a career-high 26 points in 2022-23 so it’s fair to say that Boston will be counting on a bit more from him moving forward.

Grzelcyk’s return isn’t the most welcome news for Lohrei who had been acquitting himself nicely with Boston in his first taste of NHL action.  The 22-year-old has played in ten games with the big club so far this season, picking up a goal and three assists along with 18 blocked shots while logging 17:35 per contest.  He also has four assists in seven games with Providence, making for a decent start to his first full professional campaign.

As for Brown, his return to the minors comes as no surprise after he cleared waivers last week for the second time this season.  The 31-year-old is in his first season with the Bruins after inking a two-year deal with an AAV of $800K on the opening day of free agency this summer.  However, he has been limited to eight appearances so far where he has an assist while averaging only 9:03 per night.  When he suits up for Providence, it will be his first taste of AHL action since the 2020-21 campaign when he played in nine games for Vegas’ affiliate.

Boston Bruins Place Matt Grzelcyk On Long-Term Injured Reserve, Recall Three

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The Boston Bruins have placed defenseman Matt Grzelcyk on long-term injured reserve, according to a team announcement. As a result, Grzelcyk will not be eligible to play until late November.

In addition to placing Grzelcyk on LTIR, the team has also placed forward Jakub Lauko on traditional injured reserve, and recalled defensemen Mason Lohrei, Ian Mitchell, and Parker Wotherspoon from their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins.

Grzelcyk, 29, lands on LTIR after leaving the Bruins’ October 30th contest with an upper-body injury. Grzelcyk has established himself as a top-four defenseman in Boston, having scored at least 20 points in four consecutive seasons and averaged over 18 minutes of ice time per game in his NHL career.

He’s gotten off to a slow start this season, but thanks to his $3.687MM cap hit his LTIR placement provides the Bruins with the financial headroom to make this trio of recalls.

The most noable name in the list of players called up is Lohrei, who ranks among the top prospects in a thin Bruins prospect system. Set to turn 23 in January, the 2020 second-round pick is a rangy, mobile blueliner who scored well across his two-year collegiate career with the Ohio State Buckeyes.

So far, Lohrei has just 15 professional games on his resume. But with this recall, he is now positioned to potentially make his NHL debut on a Bruins’ roster that, before these recalls, boasted just four defensemen eligible to play.

As for Mitchell and Wotherspoon, neither holds the kind of upside or top prospect intrigue that Lohrei has. What they do have that Lohrei doesn’t, though, is significant experience playing pro hockey and some NHL experience. Mitchell, 24, has played 84 career NHL games while Wotherspoon has 12 NHL games and nearly 300 in the AHL.

As a right-shot blueliner, Mitchell is the likeliest candidate to immediately land in the NHL lineup while head coach Jim Montgomery will have to choose between Wotherspoon and Lohrei as to which left-shot defensemen he’ll dress for games.

That being said, the left-shot blueliners may stand a stronger chance at lasting on the NHL roster beyond the next four games. Once Charlie McAvoy’s suspension ends, a major void on the right side of the Bruins’ defense gets filled.

Meanwhile, Grzelcyk is set for a more extended absence, meaning Lohrei or Wotherspoon could extend their stay on the NHL roster beyond Mitchell, assuming they can handle the NHL minutes thrown their way.

Boston Bruins Sign Mason Lohrei To Entry-Level Contract

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The Boston Bruins have announced the signing of defenseman Mason Lohrei to a two-year entry-level contract that will take effect from the start of the 2023-24 season. The deal comes with an annual NHL cap hit of $925,000. Further financial terms have not been disclosed.

Lohrei, 22, has had an impressive rise to the professional ranks since Boston drafted him in 2020. He played for Ohio State University for the past two seasons, where he led the team’s defense in scoring in his first year with 29 points in 31 appearances. In his sophomore year, he tallied 32 points in 40 appearances, helping to lead Ohio State to the regional finals of the NCAA Men’s Frozen Four, losing to the eventual national champion, Quinnipiac. He appeared in eight combined regular-season and playoff games for the AHL’s Providence Bruins on a PTO at the end of the season, registering an assist and a -2 rating.

Before his time at Ohio State, Lohrei spent three seasons in the USHL with the Green Bay Gamblers. His final season with the team in 2020-21 was particularly noteworthy, leading all USHL defensemen in scoring and ranked sixth overall, posting an impressive 59 points in 48 games.

Lohrei’s size and skill set make him an exciting prospect for the Bruins and undoubtedly their best one among defenders. Standing at 6-foot-4 and weighing 210 pounds, Lohrei is a strong defender, adept at moving the puck and contributing offensively. He has a natural tendency to get involved in rush plays but, at least at the collegiate level, does so routinely without getting left out to dry defensively. As usual for defenders, he’ll need some seasoning in the minors to adjust to the pro game, but he should find himself gaining some NHL looks by the 2024-25 campaign.

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