The Ohio State product signed his entry-level contract in May and is looking to add size and stability on Boston's blue line.
BRIGHTON, Mass. – With three days of training camp in the books for the Boston Bruins, Mason Lohrei can be pretty content with his body of work thus far.
The 22-year-old defenseman has shown real consistency in his first NHL practices, further adjusting to the pro level after skating in five regular season and three playoff games with AHL Providence at the end of the 2022-23 campaign.
“Just being in a pro environment and kind of living that schedule as opposed to college,” Lohrei told reporters Saturday about the advantages of getting some time in Providence.
“As hockey goes, a lot faster, more physical and just getting used to that. It was really beneficial to go there and get some games in.”
The Ohio State product signed his two-year, entry-level contract in May after the Buckeyes’ run ended in the NCAA quarterfinals. Lohrei spent two seasons with Ohio State, tallying 32 points (four goals, 28 assists) through 40 games last year.
Standing at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, Lohrei’s size on the backend aids a more physical, grinding game, but he’s got a flair for the offensive side of things as well. Lohrei has been tabbed, and reasonably so, as one of the Bruins’ top prospects after the team selected him 58th overall in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.
“He’s been a pleasant surprise in how he’s been good all three days so far,” coach Jim Montgomery said to reporters Saturday about Lohrei.
“I really had no expectations of him coming into camp as far as what his ceiling was or maybe what he needed to work on because I really hadn’t seen him. And he’s been good so far at camp.”
Lohrei, a left-shot defenseman, was paired with righty Brandon Carlo on Saturday as the Bruins continue to blend and experiment with their youth and veteran talent. Entering his eighth season in the league, Carlo now has the chance to step up and be an impactful leader on and off the ice; Lohrei has seen it first hand.
“Anytime you get to play with somebody like that, he’s an unbelievable player. Whatever I can do to learn from him while playing with him, I’ll add to my game,” Lohrei said. “On top of that, he’s one of the nicest guys here, so it makes it easy to go out there and feel comfortable.”
One of Montgomery’s early messages ahead of the 2023-24 season has been being more physical around the crease and winning net-front battles in both zones. Elevating that grit in his game has been a priority, Lohrei said.
“I feel like I’m always improving every aspect of my game, that’s one that’s been stressed upon for a little while. I think I’ve improved in that area for sure. Just gotta go out there every day and keep competing hard and getting under sticks in front and using my body to defend and box guys out for sure,” Lohrei said.
“I take a lot of pride in defending and being on the penalty kill, going out there late in games to prevent the other team.”
While there’s no guarantee to where Lohrei will land out of training camp this season, it seems he’s been skating with the mindset that Mongomery wants to see out of his players, especially the younger ones; Lohrei’s excited to be out there in a Bruins jersey and he’s looking to improve every day.
“We’ve got a lot of good hockey players at camp and there’s open spots. It’s good to see guys going to grab the opportunity. That’s what you’re looking for,” Montgomery said. “Guys that are sitting around waiting for things to happen, they get passed by.”
Lohrei, who is not in the lineup for the Bruins’ Sunday preseason home opener against the Rangers, will have to wait to show Montogmery and his staff that he can shift into a higher gear in actual game play.
The B’s are rolling with Mike Callahan, Ian Mitchell, Alec Regula, Reilly Walsh, Parker Wotherspoon and Jakub Zboril on the blue line for the 5pm matchup.