Jim Montgomery Confident In Bruins Prospect Ahead Of Debut

The Bruins will be down Matt Grzelcyk and Charlie McAvoy for at least four games, and Boston will rely on new-look pairings against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.

Mason Lohrei was among a trio of call-ups the B’s made Wednesday, and he skated with Brandon Carlo in the second defensive pairings in practice, per The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa. The 2020 second-round pick notched four assists in seven games in Providence, which caught the attention of Boston’s coaching staff.

“Just getting better and better since the season started, which is a sign of a guy who is a good hockey player,” Jim Montgomery told reporters, per team-provided video. “Camp, he was excellent. We feel he can go in and do a really good job for us. He’s going to play alongside Carlo.”

The pairing with Carlo is likely one Lohrei will be excited by.

“He’s such a great guy. So easy to play with,” Lohrei told reporters on pairing up with Carlo in the preseason, per team-provided video. “Just communicates so well out there so happy to be able to have him up here.”

Carlo, Hampus Lindholm and Kevin Shattenkirk likely will carry a larger workload against Toronto on Thursday, but the Bruins won’t be hiding Lohrei from any tough matchups.

“I think you’re going to see him out there a lot,” Montgomery said. “We think he’s ready for this league, and we think he’s going to play well in this league. I don’t know what the minutes are going to be, but he’s playing top minutes, so it should be anywhere from 18 depending on special teams.”

“Obviously since the call-up, there’s been nerves, but that’s what makes it so special and so fun,” Lohrei said.

Parker Wotherspoon and Ian Mitchell skated on the third defensive pairing, and Derek Forbort was ruled “questionable” by Montgomery.