By the end of the 2025-26 season, Letourneau was second on the team in points, with 39 (22 goals, 17 assists) in 36 games, just one goal behind forward James Hagens, also a Bruins draft pick, at the top of the team’s statistics.
He had regained his status as an intriguing prospect, regained his confidence as a hockey player.
“Freshman year was a huge jump for him — to skip junior hockey altogether, you don’t see that anymore,” BC coach Greg Brown said. “So to jump straight from Canadian prep school and play against older, stronger, faster guys was a big step and it took some adjustment.
“In practice, you saw some of the abilities and the hockey sense and the skill set that didn’t quite translate to the games as a freshman, but you knew that they would.”
BC had faith. Letourneau had faith.
Both were rewarded.
“To Dean’s credit, he put in a huge summer to get stronger and faster and when he added those elements and came back for sophomore year, then the things that we did see were able to come out in games,” Brown said. “With his extra strength, he was able to extend plays longer, able to protect pucks better, be quicker through the neutral zone and all those things allowed him to use his skill set in games. To see that much of a transformation from one year to the next was really impressive and a credit for Dean.”
Letourneau, 20, showed up at his third Bruins development camp at 6-foot-7, 235 pounds, and was mammoth both in terms of size and impact. He shined on the ice, his skills apparent, his stick handling noticeable.
He looked like the kind of prospect that, much like Hagens had last season, could make his NHL debut by the end of next season, even though one year earlier, so many were ready to write him off as a bad gamble taken by Boston.
“He took a step in pretty well all facets of his game,” Bruins director of player development Adam McQuaid said. “I think he just was more accustomed to the pace of college hockey. … I give him a ton of credit because he stayed confident and believed in himself and stuck with the process.
“He came in with high expectations for himself and he had a great year. The big things were using his size a little more, so he’s embracing that, processing the game faster, and then he’s taken steps physically. He’s getting stronger and quicker and all those things, the natural things for a kid his age.”
