bostonglobe
The Boston Bruins' AHL affiliate in Providence features a pair of Czech goaltenders, Simon Zajicek and Jiri Patera, both aiming to eventually earn a spot in the NHL with the Bruins. Zajicek, 25, went undrafted and initially joined Boston as a free agent before last season; this marks his second AHL campaign. Patera, 27, was selected by Vegas in the 2017 draft and signed with the Bruins as a free agent in July, now in his seventh AHL season.
After weekend action, Zajicek held a 1-2-0 record and Patera 1-3-0, their win-loss marks partly a reflection of Providence's early struggles to generate offense. In seven games, the Baby Bruins have managed just 18 goals, with seven coming from the demoted Mikey Eyssimont and two from fellow Boston exile Henri Jokiharju.
First-year Providence head coach Trent Whitfield expressed no complaints about his goaltenders. "I've had no complaints with either goalie, both have been really good," Whitfield said. "I can't complain there."
Zajicek, who grew up in a farming community about 80 miles north of Patera's hometown of Prague, also contributed one of the team's 18 goals. He became the first goalie in franchise history to be credited with a goal, scoring in a 6-2 win over Charlotte. Recalling the play, Zajicek smiled and said, "I was watching. I was like, 'That might go in!' and then I saw it was kind of going to the post. Then it hit a post and went in."
Teammates on the bench erupted in celebration upon realizing Zajicek had been credited with the goal, even though he didn't shoot the puck. Instead, a Charlotte forward sent a pass from behind the net that deflected off a defenseman and into the empty net. Because Zajicek was the last to touch the puck on a save from a short shot on the left side, he earned the strike. It's too early to tell if he'll ever reach the NHL, but Zajicek will always have that goal—something even the legendary Dominik Hasek never achieved in his Hall of Fame career.
Off the ice, Zajicek longs for svickova, his favorite Czech dish featuring a creamy vegetable sauce and bread dumplings. "It's really good," said the proud shot-blocker from Frydlant (population approximately 600). When asked if he'd found good Czech food on Federal Hill, he lamented, "No way. Not at all. It's just completely different food here."
Zellers Off to Hot Start at North Dakota
University of North Dakota winger Will Zellers, perhaps the Bruins' top college prospect, was held off the scoresheet over the weekend in back-to-back 5-0 wins over visiting Bentley. Acquired in the March 2025 trade that sent Charlie Coyle to the Avalanche, Zellers began his sophomore season with a 2-4-6 line across two games against Bemidji State. The Bruins also received forward Casey Mittelstadt in the Coyle deal (Coyle is now in his second season with Columbus). The NCHC named Zellers, who turns 21 in April, its forward of the week for his performance against Bemidji.
North Dakota travels to Minnesota this week for back-to-back games (Thursday, Friday) against the Golden Gophers, where Zellers will face fellow Bruins prospect Beckett Hendrickson. A 6-foot-2, left-shot center, Hendrickson is in his junior season and has posted 1-12 through four games. Last season, he finished with 7-13-20, sixth in Golden Gophers scoring.
Luke Mittelstadt, an offensive-minded defenseman and Casey's younger brother, graduated from Minnesota in the spring and joined Laval, the Canadiens' AHL affiliate, for the remainder of the 2025-26 season. As of Monday morning, Luke led the Rocket and the entire AHL in scoring with a torrid 4-9-13 through six games. Mittelstadt was selected 197th overall in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Letourneau Reaches New Heights
Now 6-7 and 238 pounds, Boston College's Dean Letourneau is one of the NCAA's biggest players, and his game continues to develop at The Heights. A junior and the Bruins' top pick (No. 25) in the 2024 draft, Letourneau finished second in BC scoring last season with 39 points, behind James Hagens (47), who has held a varsity job with the Bruins early this season. The Eagles split a pair of games at Conte Forum over the weekend against St. Cloud State, with Letourneau combining for 1-2-3. Zellers and Letourneau could be prime candidates to turn pro in the spring. NHL clubs typically are compelled to sign their top college prospects ahead of their projected graduation date to avoid the risk of a player playing out his four college years and becoming an unrestricted free agent. Letourneau leads the Eagles in scoring (2-2-4). He'll be on the team flight Thursday to Denver, where BC faces the Pioneers in Friday-Saturday back-to-backs. The Eagles have their first Hockey East matchups of the season the following weekend (Oct. 30-31 against Northeastern), both at Conte.
Pelosi, Groenewold Producing at Quinnipiac
Quinnipiac junior center Chris Pelosi (picked 92nd by the Bruins in 2023) finished with 34 points last season, and his 2-3-5 through five games is right in line with that production. He is a 6-2 left shot. Elliott Groenewold (picked 110th by the Bruins in 2024) emerged from the weekend as Quinnipiac's top-producing defenseman (0-5-5 in five games). Groenewold grew up in Vermont and was drafted after one season at USHL Cedar Rapids.
Bruins prospect Leo Henriquez, sharing the BC net this season with Louka Cloutier, lost his NCAA debut, allowing five goals on 20 shots in a 5-3 loss to St. Cloud State.
Originally reported by bostonglobe.