Bruins' 22-year old rising star leaving contract to test free agency

Bruins' 22-year old rising star leaving contract to test free agency originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The Boston Bruins were ahead of the curve.

In the 2021 NHL Draft, they used their seventh-round pick on a young player named Andre Gasseau. He has only gotten better since.

Gasseau had played for the U.S. National Development Team at that point, but he was clearly a raw talent at the time of the pick.

He then put up a 38-point season for the Fargo Force in the USHL before moving on to college hockey.

The 6-foot-4 lefty center spent four seasons at Boston College, scoring 111 points across the four years -- 43 goals and 68 assists.

Now, Gasseau is ready to come to professional hockey. The Bruins will be missing out, though.

Gasseau has the right to test free agency, and that's his plan.

This is what Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman wrote in his new 32 Thoughts article this week:

"Andre Gasseau, Boston’s seventh-round pick in 2021, is going to free agency in August. Astute pick by the Bruins, but will test the market."

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There's still a path for Gasseau to return to the Bruins, but it seems he wants to see what else might be out there for him.

Clearly, it's been a long time since Boston drafted him. Hockey draft rights can create for fascinating scenarios like this one, and Gasseau will be an under-the-radar pursuit for a few teams this offseason, it seems.

Boston would love to reap the rewards for its stellar draft pick, but whether or not the Bruins get the chance to do that is less certain.