William Zellers emerges as a Boston Bruins building block

For the Boston Bruins, selling off veteran players at the 2025 trade deadline was a tough pill to swallow for everyone involved. Longtime Bruins had to move their families mid-season. Fans saw their favorite players shipped elsewhere and executives were forced to make these tough decisions above all else. However, one of the silver linings in all the disarray was the arrival of left-shot forward William Zellers to the organization.

Traded from the Colorado Avalanche alongside center Casey Middelstadt and a 2025 second-round pick, Zellers was initially a fresh face for most hardcore Bruins fans. But by the time they got to know him, most soon realized he was the top scorer in the USHL in 2024-25 for the Green Bay Gamblers. In 52 games, he had 71 total points including 44 goals. For a fanbase that wasn't used to blue-chip prospects in the system, Zellers quickly became one of the most exciting young players to follow in quite some time. 

After the Bruins drafted James Hagens seventh overall, speculation began to swirl that he could play alongside Zellers at this year's IIHF World Junior Championships. Given Zellers' strong start at the University of North Dakota, where he has tallied 15 points in 18 games, and Hagens' equally-as-strong showing at Boston College, this theory has come to fruition in the last week or so at the World Juniors. 

So far, Zellers has four goals and two assists in three games while Hagens has two each in the same span. While the sample size is small, it supplements their strong body of work at the collegiate level and is an indicator of possible future chemistry in the NHL. For Zellers in particular, it's a culmination of stardom that's been budding for years.

Perhaps to a Colorado team that's currently the best in the league, they can look past the trade as simply one that got away. Meanwhile, Boston could have a future franchise player.