From the moment Boston drafted Mason Lohrei in the second round of the 2020 NHL Draft, the 2021-22 Ohio State Buckeyes were going to be a team of interest for the Bruins and those who follow their prospects.
Little did anyone know they would be of such interest that the Bruins would end up signing two more Buckeyes. On March 25, the Providence Bruins announced they had signed fifth-year senior defenseman Grant Gabriele to a one-year American Hockey League contract for next season. He is with the P-Bruins on an amateur tryout agreement (ATO) for the rest of this season.
Then on Saturday, the Bruins made a splash in the college free agent market when they signed freshman center Georgii Merkulov to a three-year entry-level contract that begins next season. He will join Gabriele in Providence on an ATO for the rest of this season.
Oddly enough, the one member of this Buckeye triumvirate who isn't yet signed and won't be before next season is Lohrei. In a phone interview with WEEI.com, Ohio State coach Steve Rohlik confirmed that Lohrei will be returning to Columbus for his sophomore season.
So, what are the Bruins getting in Lohrei, Merkulov and Gabriele?
"Just three great kids," Rohlik said.
Beyond that, the Bruins hope they have two future impact NHL players in Lohrei and Merkulov. Lohrei's story is more familiar to Boston fans. He went undrafted in 2019 and was considered by many to be a reach when the Bruins took him in the second round in 2020.
It now looks like he was anything but. Lohrei's stock has skyrocketed the last two years. He earned USHL Defenseman of the Year honors in 2020-21 with 59 points in 48 games. This season, he ranked fifth among all NCAA defensemen in points per game with 29 in 31 games. The 21-year-old left shot is now widely viewed as the Bruins' No. 2 prospect behind only 2021 first-round pick Fabian Lysell.
Rohlik, who already had Lohrei committed to Ohio State when the Bruins drafted him, can only guess at why so many weren't as high on him two or three years ago.
"I'm not pertinent to being in NHL meetings or anything like that or know what they're looking for," Rohlik said, "but I can tell you what -- someone that plays defense, that's 6-foot-4, that has such great offensive instincts and ability and a great stick and can shut teams down, I mean, his upside is tremendous.
"His strength and all those kinds of things, he's not even close to where he's going to end up being. Here's a guy that could end up playing at that level as a 20-plus-minutes-a-night guy and be put in every position, and just be comfortable with that. That's what he is. I think it was a great get for Boston."
Rohlik believes another season with the Buckeyes will help Lohrei continue to develop physically and improve the defensive side of his game. And with the Bruins already having Hampus Lindholm, Matt Grzelcyk, Mike Reilly, Derek Forbort, Jack Ahcan and possibly Jakub Zboril (free agent after the season) as left-shot defensemen, there's no need for the Bruins to try to rush Lohrei into NHL action.
"I think Boston's just allowing him to continue to get bigger, get stronger, continue to work with his defensive side of the game -- which he's really good at, but can become better in all aspects," he said. "They're gonna get a guy that can play a 200-foot game and add an unbelievable element every time he touches the ice because of his offensive instincts."
Merkulov, also 21, is less familiar to Bruins fans given the recency of the signing, but there is plenty to be excited about there as well. The 5-foot-11, 181-pound center led all NCAA freshmen with 20 goals this season and led the country with seven game-winning goals. He was named to the All-Big Ten First Team -- voted on by coaches and media -- alongside top prospects like Matty Beniers, Owen Power, Brock Faber and Ben Meyers.
Many expected Merkulov to spend at least one more year at Ohio State, making his signing a little bit of a surprise. In that sense, the Bruins may have gotten him a year early, before even more teams were ready to offer him a contract. Rohlik said that while he thinks another college season could have been good for Merkulov, he supports his decision to turn pro.
"At the end of the day, do I think he could've come back another year? 100 percent. I don't think that would've been a bad thing for him. But you know what? I'm happy for him," he said. "He made a decision that he thinks this is the road he needs to go, and we support that 100 percent. We're behind him. OSU is his home and always will be his home."
Rohlik also understands exactly what the Bruins see in Merkulov, who grew up in Russia before moving to the U.S. in 2019 when he joined the Youngstown Phantoms of the USHL.
"Georgii, he's certainly made a huge impact on our program and a huge impact on college hockey and in our league here in his first year in the Big Ten," he said. "He's just got tremendous offensive ability, great edges. He scored 20 goals at this level, which is not easy to do."
In fact, Rohlik would have liked to have seen Merkulov use his lethal shot even more. He scored his 20 goals on just 55 shots (1.53 shots per game). Shooting more would also help offset a certain regression in his 36.4% shooting percentage.
"He didn't shoot the puck a lot. I wish he would've shot the puck even more," Rohlik said. "He liked to use his teammates, and you certainly had to be ready on the ice because the puck would've been on your stick. But he's certainly got some tremendous offensive talent."
Rohlik said Merkulov will also have some work to do defensively as he takes the next step in his career, especially given how much of an emphasis the Bruins organization puts on that part of the game.
"I don't think they came in here and decided to sign Georgii to go out there and shut teams down. I think they saw a kid with unbelievable offensive instincts," Rohlik said. "I think that they feel that they can work with him and put him in positions so that they're confident and comfortable he can play both ends of the rink. But certainly that's going to be the aspect he's probably going to have to improve on at that level."
That kind of pure offensive talent is a welcome addition to a Bruins prospect pool that has lacked those kinds of players in recent years. Lysell, of course, is the most notable infusion of offensive skill in a while. While Merkulov doesn't quite have the same upside as Lysell, he could still have the potential to be a top-six forward.
Gabriele, the third member of this Buckeye-to-Bruins pipeline, is a 6-foot-2 right-shot defenseman who turns 25 next week. He had a solid 20 points in 37 games this season. He's a much longer shot to be an NHL player, but Rohlik still had high praise for him.
"He's got a great skill set and played a ton of minutes for us," Rohlik said of Gabriele. "I think they're giving him a chance to get down there [to Providence] and see what he can do at that level. But a great kid, great offensive instincts, has great feet for a bigger kid. I think he led our team in average minutes per night. I think he can play in all aspects of the game. Like everybody, they want to see maybe a little harder out of him. But again, if you've got a great stick and you can defend with your stick and your skating, that's all they need to see."
What the Bruins have been seeing at Ohio State is obviously something they like. And with Lohrei now going back for a second season, the Buckeyes will continue to be a team to watch as they hope to take the next step after narrowly missing the NCAA Tournament this season.
