Mason Lohrei has spent the summer and the first week of the season answering questions about whether he really belongs in the Bruins’ everyday mix. Five games in, the answer on the ice has been a lot louder than the chatter around him.
The 25-year-old defenseman has settled in on Boston’s third pair and, with a little more muscle on his frame after adding 10 pounds in the offseason, he’s looked more stable and more assertive than he did at this point a year ago. He’s been paired first with Jonathan Aspirot and now with Frederic Brunet, and the Bruins have gotten enough from him to keep the discussion going in a favorable direction.
Coach Marco Sturm has noticed the work.
“We definitely noticed that he put in the work over the summer, so that was good. I thought he had a really strong start, I’d say the first three games or so.
He played a lot of minutes in that stretch, maybe even too much. But that was good for him.
(With Charlie McAvoy out), Mason was one who had more minutes than usual (19:48 a game). I think the last few games, he can clean up a few breakouts, a few turnovers.
But other than that, I thought he came in ready to go.”
Lohrei also flashed the kind of skill that makes him hard to ignore in Thursday’s 6-1 win over the Utah Mammoth. Early in the first period, he worked through the right side of the offensive zone, created space and found a lane before beating Sebastian Cossa. Later, he showed sharp hand-eye coordination to keep an airborne puck from crossing the goal line in the second period, one of only two pucks that got past Jeremy Swayman.
That’s a far cry from where Lohrei stood at this time last year, when he was one of several Bruins trying to sort out the man/zone system. He did bounce back over the course of the season, turning a brutal minus-43 two years ago into a plus-17.
For his part, Lohrei likes where his game is at.
“I think I’m just trying to play my game and play with confidence every night. I’ve felt pretty good so far,” said Lohrei, who also has a couple of assists and is plus-1.
“There’s always things to clean up and things to improve on. But I’m working on that with (assistant coach) Matt (McIlvane) every day trying to get better and be even better (on Saturday against the Flyers).”
McIlvane is new to the Bruins staff this season, taking over the defense after Jay Leach left for the Hartford Wolf Pack job. He also has a history with Sturm from the German national team, and Lohrei says the fit has been smooth.
“He’s been awesome,” said Lohrei. “Just really great to work with.
Just a great mind and a great communicator. He’s an Ohio State guy (McIlvane played four years in Columbus, Lohrei two years), so there’s a good connection with him there.
I’ve enjoyed working with him so far. It’s only been, what, two weeks now?
But I’m looking forward to the rest of the year.”
Even with the strong start, nothing about Lohrei’s place in the lineup is guaranteed. Boston opened camp with 10 waiver-eligible defensemen, and Lohrei survived the first round of cuts while Henri Jokiharju and Jordan Harris went to Providence after clearing waivers.
The logjam hasn’t gone away. The Bruins currently have seven defensemen available, and that number grows to eight next Tuesday when Charlie McAvoy finishes serving his six-game suspension. That return makes the next lineup call a real puzzle, and Lohrei’s spot on the third pair doesn’t automatically protect him from being the odd man out.
Sturm still has Saturday’s game to gather more information before making any call, and he didn’t hide the difficulty of the decision.
“But it’s a good problem,” said Sturm. “You have a guy like Charlie back … and there’s a lot of D right now waiting for opportunity.
Even a guy like (Aspirot). It was not fair to get him out because he played pretty good.
But we have too many now. So that’s going to be the challenge moving forward.
It’s almost like we have to get used to it. Some guys will be unhappy but also we need them to be ready any time there’s a call.”
Beyond the immediate lineup squeeze, there’s also the business side hovering in the background. The Bruins have been tied to trade talk, with Pavel Zacha in a walk year and contract talks going nowhere so far. Lohrei has been part of that conversation too, especially with his pending restricted free agency and arbitration rights after this season.
There was even a version of the offseason where Lohrei could have been headed elsewhere had Rasmus Andersson wanted to sign an extension with Boston last season.
For now, though, Lohrei can only control what he does on the ice, and that’s been enough to keep him in the picture.
“I think so,” said Lohrei. “Every day, I just show up to work and just do my best to showcase my abilities.
I’ve said before but it’s a goal of mine to be in the lineup all 84 games. So nothing changes there.”
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Bruins Youth Movement Suddenly Looks More Real Than Ever
Over the past 20 months, the Bruins have taken a hard turn from the veteran core that defined their recent past, trading away established names and leaning into a younger, more flexible roster. The additions of Fraser Minten, Marat Khusnutdinov, Casey Mittelstadt, James Hagens and JJ Peterka, along with the hiring of Marco Sturm as head coach, have given the organization a different look and a different timeline, and the early returns have been encouraging enough to make the plan feel less like a reset and more like a real direction.
A strong start to the season, capped by a 5-1 win over the Flyers, only adds to that sense of momentum. Boston still has roster business to sort out, with decisions ahead on pending free agents and the possibility of more movement before the picture settles, but for the first time in a while the youth movement does not feel theoretical. It feels like something the Bruins can actually build around, even if the next few weeks will say a lot about how far theyre willing to push it. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Face One Big Pregame Decision As Flyers Come To Boston
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Philadelphia arrives in Boston still looking for answers, having had a rough first handful of games offensively and on special teams. The bigger Bruins question is still a pregame one, with the lineup and goaltending picture not yet fully settled, and the decision in net carrying a little extra weight as Boston tries to close the homestand on a clean note. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Head Into Road Trip With A Lot More To Like Than Expected
The Bruins left TD Garden with a convincing 5-1 win over the Flyers, and the larger takeaway was how many different parts of the roster chipped in. Boston moved to 4-2-0, got goals from Pavel Zacha, Mason Lohrei, Marat Khusnutdinov, Casey Mittelstadt and Fraser Minten, and saw Jeremy Swayman turn aside 14 shots in a game that never felt especially dangerous for the home side.
Now comes the part that will tell a lot more about what this start really means: a four-game road trip beginning in San Jose. Early-season home wins can cover over a few things, but the Bruins are heading west with some momentum and a deeper scoring mix than expected, which makes the trip a useful early test of whether this group can carry those contributions away from Boston. [Read more 🡒]