Big “who is this guy?” energy.
Justin Brazeau’s 2024 rating: 7.7
To say he was completely unknown might be a little bit of a stretch, as Justin Brazeau was called up to the NHL Bruins on the back of a successful run of games over two-plus seasons with the Providence Bruins.
However, when you consider that Brazeau rarely appeared on any kind of list of Bruins prospects, or even “first guy up from the AHL” lists, it’s fair to say that few saw his 2023-2024 NHL campaign coming.
After a relatively unassuming training camp last September, Brazeau was included in the first round of cuts and headed back to Providence, where he appeared set to have another productive season.
Brazeau had 45 points in 67 AHL games in 2022-2023, then added three points in four playoff games. He became a reliable contributor for Providence during that stretch.
It’s worth noting that prior to February, Brazeau didn’t have an NHL contract; he signed a one-year AHL contract extension with Providence in June of 2023.
So when he was called upon to make his NHL debut back in February, he had to sign on the dotted line first.
It ended up being a great decision for the Bruins, one that paid immediate dividends when Brazeau scored in his first NHL game:
He’d be relatively quiet after that, recording just a single assist in his next 11 games.
However, Brazeau impressed with his willingness to be physical and his presence on the forecheck, traits the Bruins needed down the stretch.
The Legend of Brazeau reached its fever pitch in late March, when the winger scored four goals in three games, all while continuing to provide the “heaviness” the Bruins needed.
He was also able to add a net-front presence to the Bruins’ second power play unit, something that was sorely needed.
Unfortunately, Brazeau would run into trouble shortly thereafter, suffering an upper-body injury on a Luke Schenn hit that would cause him to miss the remainder of the regular season and the beginning of the playoffs.
He returned for Game 5 of the Toronto series, and ended up with a goal and an assist in nine playoff games.
The goal was a beauty:
(He also had a very nice dance with Dmitry Kulikov.)
Brazeau’s production fizzled as the Florida series went on, and he only recorded two shots on goal in the final four games of the series.
Still, his season was undeniably positive: he went from a guy who didn’t have an NHL contract to a guy who was a lock to play in the playoffs, when healthy.
There’s a bit of an element of hype to him after that super-productive March stretch, so it’s probably worth it to temper expectations a bit.
However, goals/assists aside, he showed that he’s able to make an impact off the scoresheet as well, whether on the forecheck or just by generally being physical.
The Bruins bulked up this offseason, but Brazeau remains one of the bigger guys on the team at 6’ 5”, 220 lbs.
He should be penciled into a middle-six spot once training camp roles around, but this will be a big season for Brazeau: he had that first taste of NHL success, but he’s also in the final year of his NHL contract.
If we see the March Brazeau, he’ll probably have a new deal on the table before Christmas.
It’ll be hard for Brazeau to outperform expectations to the same degree he did last season, but if those 28 games were any indication, he’s more than capable of continuing to raise eyebrows.