Will Zellers made a loud early-season statement for North Dakota, and it may have done more than just help the Fighting Hawks open with a pair of wins.
The Boston Bruins prospect was everywhere in a home-and-home sweep of Bemidji State, piling up points on six of North Dakota’s seven goals in the 3-2 and 4-3 victories. He set the tone with three assists in the first game, then came right back on Saturday night with the first two goals for the Fighting Hawks before adding another assist later on.
North Dakota looks every bit like a team that belongs near the top of the national picture after reaching the Frozen Four last season, and Zellers is becoming a bigger part of that rise. Since Boston landed him at the 2025 trade deadline, he has kept climbing, and this weekend only added more fuel to the idea that the Bruins may have made one of Don Sweeney’s best moves in recent years.
Will Zellers is on about massive tear. Three assists last night and he’s already on hat trick watch here in the first period for North Dakota. #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/savc6m5Oo2
- Robert Chalmers (@robbatwo) October 10, 2026
For now, Zellers is still more likely to finish the year at North Dakota than in Boston. The better bet is a run with the Providence Bruins once his college season ends, followed by a push for an NHL spot next season. That would set up what could be one of the most fascinating training camps in a long time, with Zellers joining a growing group of Bruins prospects that includes Dean Letourneau, Fraser Minten, James Hagens, and Frederic Brunet.
Letourneau, of course, is the name getting plenty of attention too, and Boston College’s opener only added to that. The Eagles fell 3-2 to Alaska on Friday night in Chestnut Hill, but Letourneau still found the net for one of BC’s two goals.
Even in the loss, he left a clear footprint on the game. Letourneau put seven shots on goal, won 11 of 17 faceoffs, and logged 22 minutes, which was four more than the next Bruins forward on the ice. That kind of usage says plenty about how BC plans to lean on him this season as he continues to develop.
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