The Boston Bruins have added to their black aces as they have recalled nine players from the AHL’s Providence Bruins (as per AHL Transactions). Providence was eliminated by the Hartford Wolf Pack last Friday for the second year in a row allowing the Bruins to recall the nine players today to take part in the remainder of the Bruins playoff run. Boston will face elimination once again tomorrow night in Game 6 of their best-of-seven series against the Florida Panthers.
Joining the Bruins’ black aces will be forwards Joey Abate, Trevor Kuntar, Marc McLaughlin, Georgii Merkulov, Anthony Richard, and Oskar Steen. Defensively, Michael Callahan and Ian Mitchell will join the team, while goaltender Michael DiPietro also received a callup.
Abate just completed his second season in the NHL and has yet to see NHL action in his brief professional career, while Kuntar was a rookie this season in the AHL after being drafted in the third round back in 2020.
McLaughlin has had brief appearances in the NHL in each of the past three seasons posting four goals in 14 games, including a goal in his only NHL appearance this season. The 24-year-old grew up near Boston and was the captain of Boston College in his final two NCAA seasons.
Merkulov led Providence in scoring this season with 30 goals and 35 assists in 67 AHL games. The undrafted free agent signing has been a solid offensive contributor in the AHL since arriving in 2021-22. The 23-year-old saw his first NHL action this season going scoreless in four games.
Richard has been a mainstay in the AHL for eight seasons but has bounced around in recent years. The former fourth-round pick in 2015 has had a few cups of coffee in the NHL throughout his professional career, posting four goals and four assists in 24 NHL games. The 27-year-old had a goal and two assists in nine NHL games this season with Boston.
Steen spent much of the year with Boston dressing in 34 games but tallying just a single goal. He fared much better in the AHL scoring 12 goals and adding four assists in 25 AHL games. The native of Karlstad, Sweden has been in the Bruins organization for five seasons and remains a tweener bouncing back and forth between the AHL and the NHL in each of the last four years.
On the backend 24-year-old Callahan just completed his third professional season, playing in a career-high 70 AHL games. The former fifth-round pick has yet to make his NHL debut and doesn’t offer much offensively, posting just four goals and 13 assists this season.
Mitchell came over to the Bruins from the Chicago Blackhawks last summer in the trade that sent Nick Foligno and Taylor Hall the other way. He looked like he may have found a home on the Bruins blueline early in the season but hasn’t dressed in an NHL game since December 23rd and was demoted to the AHL. With Providence, the 25-year-old posted solid offensive numbers with six goals and 18 assists in 42 games.
DiPietro’s young career feels as though it’s come full circle as the netminder had a few NHL starts early in his career with the Vancouver Canucks after an impressive OHL career, but his play fell off and he was relegated to the ECHL last season. This year, Dipietro bounced back and posted impressive AHL numbers with an 18-9-2 record to go along with a .918 save percentage and a 2.51 goals-against average.
The nine men will join several of their other Providence teammates along for the ride with Boston as they look to extend their playoff run tomorrow. The black aces are unlikely to see action in the playoffs, but they will have an opportunity to practice with the Bruins and soak in the atmosphere of the NHL playoffs.