After selecting 6-foot-4, 215-pound defenseman Ryan Mast with the 181st pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, the Bruins stuck with the theme of size and strength in 6-foot-4, 205-pound center Andre Gasseau.
Gasseau skated in 42 games with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program's Under-18 Team last season and recorded 27 points with 12 goals and 15 assists. The shifty power forward joined the NTDP full-time after spending the 2019-20 season with Shattuck St. Mary's Under-16 AAA Team. In 55 games with Shattuck, Gasseau recorded 62 points with 33 goals and 29 assists.
"I think being away from home, making that transition, having to be more responsible and on my own, the transition from hockey and all that at Shattuck - it really grew my game and grew me as a person," said Gasseau. "[That] led me to play on the National Team and be an NHL Draft pick."
Gasseau will play with the USHL's Fargo Force next season before making his way to Boston and beginning his freshman year at Boston College in the fall of 2022.
"Super convenient, just down the street," said Gasseau. "It'll be Boston for a couple more years after that, super excited.
"I was talking to [the Bruins] a couple of times, actually, the past two weeks. Every time I've talked to them, we've had a strong connection. I believe it's going to be the right fit."
