Prospect Lohrei Signs ATO With Boston Bruins Organization

The Boston Bruins have announced that defenseman prospect Mason Lohrei has signed an amateur tryout agreement with the Providence Bruins.

The ATO will allow the 22-year-old Lohrei to start playing AHL games and getting some pro experience while the Boston Bruins and Lohrei’s agent hammer out a permanent contract agreement with the Black and Gold. Lohrei is coming off a dominant sophomore season at Ohio State where he finished with four goals and 32 points in 40 games and showed the kind of two-way promise at the blueliner position that makes the 6-foot-4, 210-pounder a prime time pro prospect.

The former second round pick had four goals and 29 points in 31 games for the Buckeyes as a freshman a couple of seasons ago and before that played three seasons for the Green Bay Gamblers at the USHL level.

This will be Boston Bruins fans first chance in a while to get an up close look at Lohrei – aside from the college hockey games that Ohio State played against local teams this past season – after he was unable to participate in Bruins Development Camp last summer due to an injury. An ATO signed with Providence means that Lohrei won’t be able to play at the NHL level during that period, but it avoids the Boston Bruins being forced to burn a year of an entry level NHL contract that should be coming at the end of the season.

Boston’s overwhelming D-men depth at the NHL level allows the Boston Bruins to bring Lohrei along slowly, rather than rush him in as they had to do with Charlie McAvoy when he was in similar situation at the end of his final BU season prior to debuting in the Stanley Cup playoffs. It is worth noting, however, that McAvoy went the same route with an ATO in Providence at the end of that 2016-17 NHL season prior to playing against Ottawa in the postseason.

Lohrei will join Boston College alum Trevor Kuntar, who signed a two-year entry level contract with the Boston Bruins earlier this week and should also start getting some pro experience with the Providence Bruins for the remainder of the season. For the record, Lohrei was not at Providence Bruins practice this morning per Mark Divver.

New guy leads the stretch this morning. No, not Mason Lohrei. That’s Fedor Gordeev. Don’t know when Lohrei arrives pic.twitter.com/SyCRvnQmr2

— Mark Divver (@MarkDivver) March 31, 2023

The Providence Bruins have eight games remaining on their schedule, including a road game on Friday night against Hartford and a home date on Saturday night against Bridgeport that would be a good showcase for Boston’s top defensemen prospect.