Signed, Sealed, Delivered; Brazeau Scores In NHL Debut

Not even 24 hours after he signed his first NHL contract, Boston Bruins rookie forward Justin Brazeau scored his first NHL goal in his first NHL game on Monday afternoon.

Just 18 seconds after Dallas Stars defenseman Ryan Suter had put the Dallas Stars up 2-1 in the second period, the 6-foot-5, 245-pound Brazeau parked his big frame in front of Stars and former Boston University goalie Jake Oettinger and buried a feed from Bruins forward Jesper Boqvist.

JUSTIN BRAZEAU! FIRST NHL GOAL IN HIS FIRST NHL GAME! 🤩 pic.twitter.com/E5WBYA2xUB

— NHL (@NHL) February 19, 2024

Just hours before the Boston Bruins hosted the Stars and a pre-game ceremony honoring captain Brad Marchand, the team announced that they had signed the 26-year-old Brazeau to a two-year, two-way contract that carries a $775,000 salary cap hit. In order to make room for Brazeau, the Bruins waived forward Oskar Steen on Sunday. Steen cleared waivers on Monday and reported back to the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League.

Justin Brazeau is quite the story of perseverance. In his final season (2018-19) with the North Bay Battalion (OHL), Brazeau lit the lamp 61 times and finished with 113 points. However, he was passed up for a second time in the NHL Entry Draft and wound up signing with the Newfoundland Growlers in the ECHL. Brazeau scored 27 goals and had 28 assists in 57 games for the Growlers in the 2019-20 season. That would be his only season with the Growlers, as he spent the next two in the AHL playing for the Toronto Marlies.

After two seasons there, Brazeau signed a contract with the Bruins’ ECHL affiliate, the Maine Mariners, for the 2021-22 season. Brazeau spent a season with the Mariners before signing an AHL contract with the Providence Bruins prior to last season. He scored 16 goals and had 29 assists in 67 games for the P-Bruins last season and had 18 goals and 19 assists in 49 games for Providence this season.

“What a great story,” Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said prior to the game on Monday. “Someone who I think started out on an East Coast two-way American League deal and fought his way to earn an American League deal, and now he’s earned all his way up. It is a great story. It’s the best thing you appreciate about anyone in life. No one starts as a CEO, right? You hope to end up being a CEO. Here he is. His dream was to play in the NHL, and he’s worked his way up to earn this opportunity. It’s a great story, and I’m grateful to be a part of it, to be honest.”