Rarely does Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney speak so matter of factly about a roster hole on his hockey team like the one left by his March 7 trade of Brandon Carlo to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The sweet, compensatory package of futures notwithstanding, he readily acknowledged in answer to Fluto Shinzawa’s question last Wednesday that second-pairing, right-shot defenseman is a position that absolutely needs filling – pronto – as in high noon Tuesday (if not sooner).
A potential solution came off the board today when the Columbus Blue Jackets announced a four-year, $16.5 million contract extension for impending free agent Dante Fabbro, who was acquired from Nashville in season. The former teammate of Charlie McAvoy at Boston University would have been a desirable fit for Sweeney, who gravitates toward former first-round draft picks who played college hockey and are approaching their prime years but have not fulfilled their NHL potential. Fabbro: check, check, check, and check-a-roonee.
As we approach Independence Day in the United States, here is one man’s expression of patriotism this past Memorial Day during remembrance ceremonies held at Old Landing in Marion, Mass. Photo by Mick Colageo
When meeting Bruins media on Wednesday in advance of the draft, Sweeney said he was trying to re-sign Henri Jokiharju, whom he had quietly acquired from Buffalo while offloading Carlo and Charlie Coyle, veteran players with term remaining on their contracts. Given these GM’s talk all the time, it has to be possible he inquired about a trade for Fabbro’s exclusive negotiating rights prior to July 1 and thereby knew Don Waddell’s intentions.
Jokiharju, who turned 26 just 12 days ago, is an impending unrestricted free agent less than 48 hours from the open market in a summer with few, affordable, top-four righties available (see examples below).
If there is any reasonable hope that Sweeney can get Jokiharju to re-sign ahead of Monday’s opening bell and remain a Bruin – the Finn told media he likes Boston, and he played very well with Nikita Zadorov – it may be in the fact that Fabbro came in at an AAV just over $4 million per. With the salary cap going up, what more could Boston hope for?
Especially considering McAvoy and Zadorov are alpha-male defensemen and Hampus Lindholm drives offensive play better than either one of those two, the fit for a quieter presence in the top four makes a mountain of sense. Unless the Bruins want to become the Calgary Flames and run around making loud noises on the boards and entertaining (but not winning), keeping a player like Jokiharju is a sound move.
The only asterisk there is the highly respected Bob Beers, the longtime analyst for Bruins’ radio broadcasts on 98.5 The Sports Hub and who played defense in the NHL, scoring a huge playoff goal for the 1989-90 B’s during their run to the Cup final before breaking his leg and still carving out a solid, journeyman’s career, was not especially high on Jokiharju as a permanent Carlo replacement when the station did its season recap on the Saturday morning Hockey Show.
Rink Rap hoped to get Beers to flesh out his thought on the matter when executive management held its season-ending presser at Legends, but he was engaged in conversation with Sweeney and Sweeney (GM Don and Bruins Foundation co-creator Bob) – the three of them teammates on that last Bruins team to make the Cup final before the glory of 2011.
For the sake of the hypothetical, a glance at some of the more-prominent, RH-shot defensemen unsigned as of 4 pm ET on Sunday, June 29 (age at the start of the 2026 Stanley Cup playoffs in parentheses): Brent Burns (41); Cody Ceci (32); Aaron Ekblad (30); and John Klingberg (33). Would you have guessed Klingberg is older than Ceci and Ekblad? I digress.
The one UFA depth signing fully expected here was the two-year extension to left-shot D-man Michael Callahan. Providence Bruins Coach Ryan Mougenel told Rink Rap during the winter that Callahan had played his way out of the American Hockey League, that his game was NHL-ready. The Bruins concurred, and though Callahan rejoined the P-Bruins for the Calder Cup playoffs, it was to pile on meaningful experience and to utilize Callahan’s AHL eligibility to try and extend the season for Boston’s young forward prospects such as Matt Poitras and Fraser Minten. Over 8 postseason AHL games, Callahan was the only Bruins defensemen whose even plus-minus was not in the negative.
Callahan’s two-year, two-way contract is a winner for the Bruins; he can play on either the NHL or AHL team as needed (pending waivers).
Restricted free agent forward Marat Khusnutdinov also signed a two-year extension with a cap hit under a million per. A second-round pick of the Minnesota Wild, the 5-11, 176-pound Russian winger finished the 2024-25 season in Boston as one of the new wave of high-pedigree players that Sweeney has majored on acquiring and bringing out their best in black and gold (ie. Hampus Lindholm, Pavel Zacha, Morgan Geekie, etc.). The Bruins hope they’ll be able to add Casey Mittelstadt to that list of success stories.
The team-issued press release:
BRUINS SIGN MARAT KHUSNUTDINOV AND MICHAEL CALLAHAN
Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney announced today, June 29, the following roster transactions:
The team has signed forward Marat Khusnutdinov to a two-year contract extension through the 2026-27 season with an annual cap hit of $925,000. The team has also signed defenseman Michael Callahan to a one-year, two-way contract through the 2025-26 season with an NHL cap hit of $775,000.
Khusnutdinov, 22, appeared in 75 games during the 2024-25 season with Boston and Minnesota, recording five goals and seven assists for 12 points. The 5-foot-11, 176-pound forward has skated in 91 career games with Boston and Minnesota, totaling six goals and 10 assists for 16 points. During the 2023-24 season, Khusnutdinov played in 49 games with HK Sochi in the Kontinental Hockey League, tallying six goals and 14 assists for 20 points. The Moscow, Russia native was originally selected by Minnesota in the second round (37th overall) of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
Callahan, 25, appeared in 45 games with Providence during the 2024-25 season, recording one goal and eight assists for nine points. The 6-foot-2, 197-pound defenseman was selected to represent Providence at the 2025 AHL All-Star Classic. He also skated in 17 games with Boston in 2024-25, scoring one goal. Callahan has played in 185 career AHL games, all with Providence, scoring seven goals and 29 assists for 36 points. The Franklin, Massachusetts native was originally selected by Arizona in the fifth round (142nd overall) of the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.
#06/29/25#
SOUTHPAWS, ALL OF THEM
Something wasn’t quite right about the Boston Bruins’ 2026 draft results, as in it was noted by Bruins season-ticket holder Dennis Vautour that not a single right shot was among the team’s seven selections.
Not that it matters where, unlike in the NBA and NFL where draft picks are often ready for the show, hockey is more like baseball in that player development on average is closer to five years than it is to one or two.
James Hagens, the Bruins pick at No. 7 overall on Friday night, shoots left.
As an aside, Sweeney’s comments at the conclusion of the draft on Saturday afternoon indicated a strong belief that second-round pick Will Moore is at a far greater advantage experience-wise to Dean Letourneau and is expected to be impactful immediately at Boston College.
Speaking of Hagens, Moore and Letourneau, should BC Coach Greg Brown slot Andre Gasseau as his second-line center, his 1-4 depth chart down the middle could, theoretically at least, be property of the Boston Bruins.
The team-issued press release:
BRUINS MAKE SIX SELECTIONS ON DAY TWO OF 2025 NHL ENTRY DRAFT
Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney announced today, June 28, that the team has made six selections on day two of the 2025 NHL Entry Draft.
Boston selected forward William Moore in the second round (51st overall), defenseman Liam Pettersson in the second round (61st overall), forward Cooper Simpson in the third round (79th overall), defenseman Vashek Blanar in the fourth round (100th overall), forward Cole Chandler in the fifth round (133rd overall) and forward Kirill Yemelyanov in the sixth round (165th overall).
The team acquired a 2025 third-round draft pick (Cooper Simpson) and 2025 fourth-round draft pick (108th overall) from the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a 2025 third-round draft pick (69th overall).
Boston traded the 2025 fourth-round draft pick (108th overall) to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a 2026 fourth-round draft pick.
Audio, video and b-roll from the 2025 NHL Entry Draft can be found HERE.
William Moore, Forward, Second Round, 51st Overall
Moore, 18, appeared in 64 games for the U.S. U18 National Team of the National Team Development Program during the 2024-25 season, recording 27 goals and 32 assists for 59 points. The 6-foot-3, 181 pound forward ranked second in scoring and tied for second in goals for the U.S. U18 National Team. In 2023-24, Moore appeared in 50 games for the U.S. U17 National Team of the National Team Development program, totaling 23 goals and 20 assists for 43 points. Internationally, Moore won bronze with the United States at the 2025 IIHF U18 World Junior Championship, tallying 11 points in seven tournament games.
Moore was also a member of the United States silver medal-winning team at the 2023 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, where he led the tournament in scoring with 12 points and was named to the tournament’s all-star team. The Mississauga, Ontario native is committed to Boston College for the 2025-26 season.
Liam Pettersson, Defenseman, Second Round, 61st Overall
Pettersson, 18, appeared in 39 games with the Växjö Lakers HC of the Swedish J20 Nationell League during the 2024-25 season. He led Växjö defensemen in scoring, recording six goals and 15 assists for 21 points. The 6-foot-2, 170-pound blueliner also appeared in seven games for the club’s J18 team and five games for the team in the Swedish Hockey League. In 2023-24, the Gislaved, Sweden native skated in 14 games for Växjö’s J18 team in the Swedish J18 Region League, notching one goal and 12 assists for 13 points.
Cooper Simpson, Forward, Third Round, 79th Overall
Simpson, 18, appeared in 31 games with Shakopee High School during the 2024-25 season. He led Minnesota high school skaters in goals and ranked fourth in scoring, recording 49 goals and 34 assists for 83 points. The 6-foot, 180-pound forward also played in nine games with the Tri-City Storm of the United States Hockey League (USHL) in 2024-25, tallying seven goals and one assists for eight points.
He appeared in 31 games with Tri-City during the 2023-24 season, recording seven goals and six assists for 13 points. Simpson has skated in 108 career games with Shakopee High School from 2021-25, totaling 139 goals and 100 assists for 239 points. The Shakopee, Minnesota native skated in five games with the United States U18 Team at 2024 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. Simpson is committed to play at the University of North Dakota for the 2025-26 season.
Vashek Blanar, Defenseman, Fourth Round, 100th Overall
Blanar, 18, skated in 38 games with IF Troja-Ljungby of the Swedish J18 Region League during the 2024-25 season, recording six goals and 15 assists for. He led defensemen and ranked fourth among all skaters in scoring. The 6-foot-4, 183-pound defenseman also appeared in four games with the club’s J20 team, notching one assist.
Blanar was born in Vail, Colorado before moving to Czechia. In 2023-24, he played in 28 games as captain for Hässelby Kälvesta HC of the Swedish J18 Division 1 League, collecting 16 goals and 22 assists for 38 points.
Cole Chandler, Forward, Fifth Round, 133rd Overall
Chandler, 18, skated in 64 games with the Shawinigan Cataractes of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) during the 2024-25 season, recording 13 goals and 19 assists for 32 points. The 6-foot-2, 176-pound forward appeared in 25 games with Shawinigan in 2023-24, tallying three goals and seven assists for 10 points.
The Bedford, Nova Scotia native was a member of Canada’s gold medal-winning team the 2024 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, recording two assists in eight games.
Kirill Yemelyanov, Forward, Sixth Round, 165th Overall
Yemelyanov, 18, skated in 35 games with Loko Yaroslavl of the Russian Molodyozhnaya Hokkeinaya Liga (MHL) during the 2024-25 season, recording 13 goals and 10 assists for 23 points. The 6-foot, 170-pound forward ranked tied for fourth in goals and tied for sixth in points among Loko Yaroslavl skaters. The Irkutsk, Russia native appeared in 44 games with Loko Yaroslavl in 2023-24, totaling 10 goals and 10 assists for 20 points.
#06/28/25#
D CAMP STARTS MONDAY MORNING
Sweeney was hopeful as of Saturday afternoon that all of his 2025 draft picks would be able to join the preliminary list of campers distributed last week for the Bruins’ annual Development Camp that begins Monday morning at Warrior and goes through Thursday, ending with a full scrimmage.
Mark Divver (Rinkside Rhode Island) noted that the possibility of Hagen and Will Zellers trading passes could spark the most interest that the camp has garnered in several years.
Rink Rap will thusly enjoy but is most intrigued by how Dalton Bancroft will look. The Bruins would not compete for and convince a NCAA free agent whose 25th birthday falls next winter that Boston is the place to be unless they believe he can play for them now.
With Cornell behind him and only a smidge with the P-Bruins after the NCAA season ended, Bancroft is not long on pro experience so, as Sweeney explained Saturday, Development Camp is another opportunity to get him used to his surroundings. The age gap, though, is compelling when every year can represent critical mass in the match-up against the grizzled veterans of professional hockey, be it in the majors or minors.
So two things we’re looking at here: In the battle drills, is Bancroft winning 50/50 pucks, and how does his pace of play stack up against the faster campers such as Zellers. He has to be capable of playing against speed, even if he cannot match it step for step, and he has to be more capable, via strength and polish, in the hard-skill areas of the game.
I have a similar interest in Gasseau where it concerns all of this stuff, even though it appears the senior C/LW will play one more winter at BC.
The tentative schedule:
Monday, June 30 (Warrior Ice Arena | Brighton, MA)
– On-ice session (forwards), 9:50 a.m.
– On-ice session (defensemen), 11:30 a.m.
Tuesday, July 1 (Warrior Ice Arena | Brighton, MA)
– On-ice session (defensemen), 9:15 a.m.
– On-ice session (forwards), 11 a.m.
– Community visits, 3 p.m.
Wednesday, July 2 (Warrior Ice Arena | Brighton, MA)
– On-ice session (full group), 10 a.m.
Thursday, July 3 (Warrior Ice Arena | Brighton, MA)
– On-ice session/scrimmages (full group), 9:30 a.m.
Rink Rap with Mick Colageo 