Adam McQuaid is not the excitable type – unless maybe you ventured too close to his goalie back in his playing days — but you can see the sparkle in his eyes when he talks about Mason Lohrei.
A sophomore defenseman at Ohio State, the 21-year-old Lohrei is hands down the best Boston Bruins prospect not already playing pro hockey.
McQuaid, as player development coordinator for the Bruins, is keeping close tabs on Lohrei as the college hockey season revs up. McQuaid and Danielle Marmer (Dorset, Vt.), player development and scouting assistant, were in Hartford last Friday and Saturday to watch Lohrei play two games against UConn.
It wasn’t a great weekend for the Buckeyes, but Lohrei had some good moments, particularly on Friday.
Watching him in person, you can’t miss his size – 6-foot-4, 210 pounds. But the thing that really jumps out is his skating. You just don’t come across a lot of defensemen that big who get around the rink like he does.
And there’s lots more to like. He has an excellent hockey IQ, he’s poised with the puck and his passes have zip and are right on the tape.
“He just has so much upside. It was good to see him early in the year and I’m glad he’s back playing,” said McQuaid, referring to offseason knee surgery that impacted Lohrei’s training and kept him off the ice at the Bruins' development camp in July.
“He’s such a great kid and he cares about the game and wants to get better, so he’s in a good space. He’s playing a ton, he’s playing in all situations,” said McQuaid.
He sure is. So far, Lohrei has played around 30 minutes per game most weekends.
He was more noticeable in Friday’s 0-0 tie, posting a game-high seven shots on goal and 10 shot attempts. In Saturday’s 6-1 loss, both of his shot attempts were blocked.
“He was fine. Playing that much the night before and then playing an afternoon game (on Saturday), he was probably managing the game a little bit at times,” McQuaid said.
After Saturday’s game, Lohrei said he’s had no issues with his knee.
“I'm feeling really good. I've been working hard with rehab, especially with getting back to school and working with our training staff,” he said.
Lohrei is looking to build on an impressive freshman season. He put up 4-25-29 in 31 games, missing the last six games (the Buckeyes went 1-5 without him) after his injury. He made the Big Ten All-Freshman team and was a finalist for Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
This year the expectations have grown now that he’s proven himself as a top college player and the best of Boston’s amateur prospects.
“He's obviously a hell of a player,” said Buckeyes coach Steve Rohlik. “He's paid the price just to get back and be healthy enough to start the season. That's a credit to him. He's nowhere near where he's going to be. You're probably not going to see top-end Mason for a couple of more months.
“Most guys without injuries get to build on what they have. He's spent the last few months getting back. It's just going to take time with any young kid. He's got all the tools, the work ethic and all that. There's no doubt in my mind he's going to keep getting better every day.”
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McQuaid believes Lohrei will be back in top form soon.
“I think it’s going to come quicker. I think a couple of months is probably conservative. I’m not expecting it to be long before he’s up and running the way he wants to be,” he said.
If you turn the clock back 12 months to the start of Lohrei’s freshman season, his offensive game was clearly more developed than his defense. Now the gap has closed.
“It’s been a fine line. He was super active, overactive, starting out last year. He was almost like a fourth forward, driving the net on every rush, hanging around the net. He’s kind of learned to pick his spots a little bit more, rein his game in a bit, letting things come to him a bit more,” McQuaid said.
“He’s working on not being one-dimensional, not being solely focused on the offensive part of it. I think everyone gets so excited about a guy that big that can move like he can, who produces. You have to be able to defend.”
Lohrei is thankful for the help he’s getting from McQuaid and the Bruins.
“I’ve worked a lot on my defensive game. That’s a big credit to the Bruins player development staff. I’ve talked with Adam McQuaid a lot, just breaking stuff down, looking at film and learning from him. That’s really been beneficial,” he said.
“I’ve definitely taken big strides in my defensive game. I always want to keep improving on both sides, offense and defense, keep getting better.”
McQuaid is impressed by the improvement in the defensive zone.
“I think that’s the area where he’s improved the most – using his stick and his reach. That’s, honestly, night and day for me from the beginning of last year to where he is now. That’s a huge asset at his size.
“When you’re playing that much it’s hard to be super physical, but he looks stronger this year. He looks stronger in battles. I think there will be a willingness to play a little more physical, but he relies on his smarts and if he can do that, why not?”
McQuaid has nothing but praise for Lohrei’s attitude and approach.
“He’s always looking to improve," McQuaid said. "There’s games that I’ve been at where he has multiple points and played really well and he asks, ‘Well, what can I do better?’"
“He’s a super bright kid. He’s one of the guys that you don’t have to worry too much about, whether he’s going to be putting the work in or being focused. He wants to impact the game in all areas, which he’s certainly capable of doing.”
How good Lohrei ultimately can be remains an open question.
“He has all the tools and the potential to certainly be a top four guy, to play in all situations, and who knows from there?” McQuaid said.
“He’s focusing on where he’s at right now. That’s something that he’s good at. He’s not getting too far ahead of himself and we’re not getting too far ahead of ourselves, either.”
