With the NCAA hockey season nearing its Frozen Four climax in St. Louis (April 10 and 12), the Boston Bruins could be busy putting pen to paper on Sunday and Monday.
Two NHL sources and one NCAA Hockey source have confirmed to RG the Bruins are still “very much in the mix” for 24-year-old Cornell winger Dalton Bancroft, who just completed his junior season.
The Bruins are also pushing hard to sign Bancroft’s teammate, 21-year-old Big Red forward Ryan Walsh, whom they drafted in the 6th round (188th) of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. Cornell lost 3–2 in overtime to Boston University in the Toledo NCAA Regional Final on Saturday. Walsh just wrapped up his sophomore season.
The Bruins had two members of their hockey operations team at both Cornell games in the Toledo regional.
“I know they’re trying hard on both those kids,” an NHL source told RG on Saturday night. “They’ve been on Bancroft for a while, and obviously, Walsh is one of their own that they’d like to bring into the fold. I think with [Mike] Schafer retiring, there’s a really good chance that the kid decides to move on to the next level.”
Cornell head coach Mike Schafer was coaching his 29th and final season with the Big Red, and with Saturday’s loss, his retirement became official.
As for Walsh, the 6-foot-1, 188-pound center was a buzzsaw for the Big Red this season. He scored three goals and added two assists to help Cornell win the ECAC Championship and reach the Toledo Regional Final. That followed a regular season in which he posted 16 goals and 14 assists in 35 games.
“I’m told the Bruins really want him to become part of this rebuild right now—first in Providence and then to the show,” one of the sources said.
RG reported on Wednesday that the Bruins—along with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, and Tampa Bay Lightning—were targeting Bancroft. After posting 15 goals and 11 assists in 34 regular-season games, Bancroft added one goal and two assists in five ECAC playoff contests. He helped extend Schafer’s final run behind the bench with a 3–1 win over Clarkson in the ECAC Championship, then chipped in an assist in Cornell’s upset of Michigan State in the Toledo Regional semifinals. He also recorded an assist in the Big Red’s 3–2 overtime loss to Boston University.
With 24 years of experience (SiriusXM NHL Network Radio, ESPN Boston, NESN, NHL.com, etc.) covering the Bruins, the NHL, NCAA and junior hockey, and more, Jimmy Murphy’s hockey black book is filled with Hall of Famers, current players, coaches, management, scouts and a wide array of hockey media personalities that have lived in and around this great game. For 22 of his 24 years as a hockey and sports reporter, Murphy covered the Bruins on a daily basis, including their victorious 2011 Stanley Cup run and their runs to the 2013 and 2019 Finals. Murphy is currently a co-host, along with Pierre McGuire, on The Eye Test Podcast.
