{"id":4194,"date":"2026-07-03T19:05:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T19:05:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4194"},"modified":"2026-07-03T19:05:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T19:05:17","slug":"bruins-breakout-prospect-cooper-simpson-has-a-clear-path-to-follow-in-will-zellers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4194","title":{"rendered":"Bruins\u2019 breakout prospect Cooper Simpson has a clear path to follow in Will Zellers"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span>\u200bIt should come as little surprise that both Cooper Simpson and Will Zellers\u2019 stalls are next to one another in the Bruins\u2019 dressing room during development camp.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4192\">Alex Ovechkin returning for a 22nd NHL season after re-signing with the Capitals<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>Both Bruins prospects hail from Minnesota. They\u2019ll both make the trek to North Dakota later this month, their first season as teammates for the Fighting Hawks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>And in due time, both skilled, shot-ready wingers could anchor Boston\u2019s middle-six corps \u2014 giving the Bruins a much-needed influx of high-end, young talent as they hope to turn this retooling club into a legitimate contender once again.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>\u201cCoop doesn\u2019t live too far away from me back home, either, so it\u2019s nice being stallmates with him,\u201d Zellers said Tuesday at Warrior Ice Arena. \u201cCame here on the plane together and have been training for the past [few] months together in Minnesota. So it\u2019s been nothing but the best with him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Boston\u2019s prospect pipeline is headlined by a pair of talented pivots in James Hagens and Dean Letourneau. But both Zellers and Simpson have seen their stock soar \u2014 especially after both forwards joined Boston\u2019s organization in 2025.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span>Get Starting Point<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><label>Enter Email<\/label><\/p>\n<div><button>Sign Up<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>Zellers \u2014 acquired as part of the Charlie Coyle trade with Colorado in March 2025 \u2014 has gone from intriguing prospect to potent sniper with every stop he\u2019s made in his young career.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The 6-foot forward took home USHL Player of the Year honors in 2024-25 with the Green Bay Gamblers \u2014 leading the league in goals (44) while posting 71 total points in 52 games. Zellers\u2019s heavy wrist shot translated to elevated competition, with the freshman tallying 18 goals and 34 points over 38 games.\u200b<\/span><\/p>\n<div><\/div>\n<p><span>\u201cHe certainly has the ability to be as high as a top-six scoring winger that you can use in different situations,\u201d Bruins director of player development Adam McQuaid said of Zellers. \u201cHe\u2019s a fantastic kid, a great teammate. He\u2019s a student of the game. \u2026. He knows the right times to try and create.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cHe\u2019s a gamer. Really bought into more of a 200-foot game this year. Those are the things that you\u2019re looking for in players, and it\u2019s happened pretty quickly for him.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>An ascending prospect like Zellers has paved the ideal pathway for Simpson.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI\u2019m kind of following in his footsteps,\u201d Simpson said of Zellers. \u201cHe\u2019s a year older than me, and he\u2019s done the [same] stuff in front of me, so I kind of just talked to him a lot about what to do, and obviously school with him \u2026 it\u2019ll be a lot of fun.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div><span>Related<span>: <\/span><\/span>Bruins development camp offered a hint of what\u2019s ahead for Quinnipiac<\/div>\n<p><span>Much like Zellers, Simpson put himself on the map by routinely shredding opposing defenses in the USHL.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4190\">HGTV\u2019s Taniya Nayak talks designing a Bruin\u2019s home and new Boston restaurants<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>A third-round pick by Boston (No. 79 overall) in the 2025 NHL Draft, Simpson represented a worthwhile investment by the Bruins \u2014 fresh off scoring 49 goals and 83 points across just 31 games with Shakopee High School (Minn.) in 2024-25.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>That lofty stat line didn\u2019t take a hit after Simpson made the jump to the USHL. In 61 games with the Youngstown Phantoms, Simpson ranked second in the league with 34 goals and 74 points in 60 games.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Simpson\u2019s blistering shot was put on display during last year\u2019s development camp, but his offensive creativity and hands make him a talent with 25-goal upside in the pros.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cI think a lot of my little habits got a lot better,\u201d Simpson said of his play last season. \u201cI think a lot of the defensive side, like stick positioning and all that stuff. I also think like a mental side of it, always just figuring out what to do and staying strong.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div><span>Related<span>: <\/span><\/span>New addition Will Borgen willing to do anything to help the Bruins on their suddenly-crowded blue line<\/div>\n<p><span>Simpson is another strong pickup for what should be a loaded North Dakota squad in 2026-27. Fresh off of a Frozen Four appearance, the Fighting Hawks are bringing in a strong freshman class that includes 2026 sixth-overall pick Carson Carels.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cAt North Dakota, the only goal is to hang one of those national championship banners,\u201d Zellers said. \u201cTo get so close and lose like that, it\u2019s pretty tough. But it\u2019s going to motivate us for next year. We\u2019ve got a lot of young guys coming back who have been through that process. It hurt pretty bad, but it also is going to help us in the long run.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The duo of Zellers and Simpson should dole out plenty of damage in Grand Forks this summer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It may not be very long until they\u2019re peppering netminders on Causeway Street as well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>\u201cIt\u2019s so hard to play against grown men,\u201d Zellers said. \u201cSo I\u2019m kind of proving to myself \u2014 not to everyone, but also to myself, that I can play in college and still score goals. [It] helped my confidence, made me kind of realize the NHL isn\u2019t too far of a reach away.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=4188\">J\u00fcrgen Klopp \u2018signals willingness\u2019 to take over as Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann resigns after World Cup failure<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Both playing at North Dakota next season, Simpson and Zellers have plenty of potential as high-skill forwards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4193,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Bruins\u2019 breakout prospect Cooper Simpson has a clear path to follow in Will Zellers - 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