Bruins 2023-24 Report Card: Justin Brazeau – Hockey Writers – Boston Bruins

Justin Brazeau took a unique path to the NHL. After his junior career, he joined the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. In his three years there, he made more appearances in the ECHL than in the American Hockey League (AHL). Having never gotten a shot in the NHL, Brazeau decided it was time to hang up the skates. He enrolled as a 22-year-old kinesiology freshman at the University of Toronto. That's when the Bruins came calling. They convinced the frontrunners to give their organization a shot.

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Brazeau played the 2021-22 season in Providence on a short stint with the club's ECHL team, the Maine Mariners. In 69 games for both teams, he scored 25 goals and 26 assists. He continued to shine the following season, posting 45 points in 67 games, all in the AHL. His 37 points in 49 games to start the 2023-24 season in Providence were enough: the Bruins signed him to a two-year contract and called him up to the big club. Brazeau's unlikely journey to the NHL was complete.

Impact Hitting

Brazeau is hard to miss when he's on the ice: he's six-foot-five and 220 pounds. He plays all that, always finding himself in front of the net. At his best, he's a physical nightmare for opposing defensemen, and his first NHL goal in his first NHL game was fitting. Jesper Boqvist won the puck battle to the right of Dallas Stars netminder Jake Oettinger. He went under the goal line, carrying the puck. Brazeau puts himself in a good position, moving himself to open up Ryan Suter's defensive effort. Boqvist found Brazeau, who didn't miss, beating Oettinger over his glove.

Brazeau was an impact player for the Bruins in all 19 regular season games in black and gold. He scored his second and third NHL goals in a 6–2 win against the Ottawa Senators for his first multi-point game. Just two days later, he registered a goal and an assist against the New York Rangers, and two days after that, he scored on the road against the Philadelphia Flyers to snap a three-game hitting streak. His regular season ended early when he was injured against the Nashville Predators on April 2nd. However, it was clear by then that the Bruins had gotten the least amount of steals in the league. Brazeau will not return to the AHL.

Playoff Presence

Brazeau returned from injury in Game 5 of the Bruins' first-round series against the organization where he started his career. After quiet Games 5 and 6, he got the second assist on Hampus Lindholm's game-tying goal in the series finale after his shot missed the net. Perhaps his most memorable postseason performance came in Game 1 against the Florida Panthers. The Bruins found themselves in transition, and the winger was able to get open. He flew past Aaron Ekblad and found himself facing goalkeeper Sergei Bobrovsky. On a strong drive to the net, he pulled the puck on a backhand and beat the Panthers goalie above his right pad for the perfect goal, which ended up being his only goal of the postseason.

Player grade: A

Brazeau gets an A for the season. He proved himself in the AHL, got a shot, made his NHL debut, and capitalized on it, proving he'll be a valuable bottom-six forward for the Bruins in the future. The Bruins should have more than a month to sign the 26-year-old for another year at the minor league level, and he figures to play a key role as the anchor of a respectable offense next season.