When Mike Gould of the Daily Faceoff put together a list of potential sophomore breakout players for the 2026-27 NHL season, Fraser Minten’s name was nowhere to be found.
That’s a little surprising considering what the Bruins forward already showed last season. Minten posted 17 goals and 18 assists in 82 games for Boston, a strong first year that had President Cam Neely and general manager Don Sweeney speaking highly of him in May during their end-of-season media availability after the Buffalo Sabres knocked the Bruins out in six games in the opening round of the playoffs.
Those comments made it sound like Boston expects even more from him this season.
Gould did include Ryan Leonard of the Washington Capitals on his breakout watch list, and Leonard’s numbers from last season were a bit higher: 20 goals and 25 assists in 75 regular-season games. But Minten’s production was no less noteworthy, especially for a player who still feels like he’s just getting started.
The two players also came to their teams in very different ways. Leonard was drafted eighth overall by Washington in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. Minten arrived in Boston in the March 2025 trade deadline deal that sent Brandon Carlo to the Maple Leafs and brought back Minten, a 2025 fourth-round draft pick, and a conditional 2026 first-round pick.
That pick was top-5 protected, and Toronto won the Draft Lottery in May, so the Maple Leafs kept it.
Losing out on the first-rounder stings in the long view, but Boston still landed a player who made an immediate impact. If Minten builds on last season the way the Bruins hope he can, this overlooked sophomore could force his way onto a lot more watch lists before long.
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Jeremy Swayman Just Raised The Stakes For Boston Next Season
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The recognition followed, too, with a Vezina Trophy finalist nod and a fifth-place spot on NHL Networks top-10 goalie list going into 2026-27. Boston also enters the season with a new look behind him, after trading Joonas Korpisalo and clearing the backup job for Michael DiPietro, a setup that only sharpens the spotlight on Swayman if the Bruins are going to take another step. [Read more 🡒]