Langenbrunner Feels at Home During Development Camp

BOSTON - Mason Langenbrunner had one message for his father, Jamie, ahead of Bruins Development Camp: no special treatment.
"He kind of asked me about that and I said just treat me like anybody else," said the younger Langenbrunner.
While the 18-year-old isn't looking for any perks or breaks during the camp, he has still leaned on his father - the two-time Stanley Cup champion and Bruins Director of Player Development, who is running the show this week - as he normally does for advice throughout the process.

"Him being my dad, he's such an easy resource. He's a pretty easy guy to talk to and I think he's a pretty knowledgeable guy, so I definitely use him as a resource," Langenbrunner said following Day 3 of Development Camp at Warrior Ice Arena.
"Obviously him being my dad, it's a little bit different. The other night I went to his room and had a quick conversation with him. But other than that, it's just him giving me pointers on the ice and trying to help me out with things.
"I think for the most part he's kind of left me alone and left Adam McQuaid to really help me out this week."
Langenbrunner was selected by the Bruins in the fifth round of the 2020 NHL Draft and spent the last two seasons with Eden Prairie High School in his native Minnesota. After having Development Camp scrapped last summer due to COVID-19, the defenseman is getting his first real taste of what it means to be a part of the Bruins organization.
"It's been awesome so far, learning off these guys, especially the pro and college guys," said the 6-foot-2, 181-pounder. "For me, I played high school hockey last year so being able to learn how these guys train and work has been amazing."

The right-shot blue liner ended the 2020-21 season by playing four games for Sioux City of the USHL and will suit up for Fargo this fall after being traded in May.
"I think it's just preparing you to really focus on hockey and be able to prepare your game and get it to the next level," Langenbrunner said of the USHL. "Right away, [you notice] just the physical growth in the guys. You got guys playing at 190, 200 pounds instead of a 170 pounds like I was. I think just the physical strength in the biggest difference.
"I think I skate pretty well so the speed aspect of it wasn't the hardest thing - just the physicality and how strong those guys are."
Langenbrunner plans to play one season in the USHL before shifting to Harvard for the 2022-23 season.
"I kind of visited around. I looked all over the country, really. Looked around Minnesota, looked out East a little bit," said Langenbrunner. "I visited Harvard, loved the coaches there, loved the campus. Leaving with a Harvard degree at the end of the day is not such a bad thing."
And, of course, his dad was there to provide some valuable advice, too.
"My tipping point was my dad," said Langenbrunner. "When I was going through the whole process, he goes, 'I think you'll know when you step on campus what feels right.' I think from the moment I stepped on campus at Harvard and went on my tour there, I think it was just obvious that that was the place for me."

Kuntar Set for Year 2 at BC

Like Langenbrunner, Trevor Kuntar doesn't have to go far to visit his college campus. The 20-year-old, who was the Bruins' third-round pick, in 2020 will embark on his sophomore season with Boston College this fall and is looking forward to taking on some added responsibility with several of the Eagles' key players having departed for the pros or via graduation.
"I think from an opportunity standpoint, it definitely opens up a lot of opportunities for me and some others," said Kuntar, who's been training at the HarborCenter in his native Buffalo this summer. "There are some big shoes to fill. But I've been working really hard this summer and I think I'm ready and I know some of the other guys will be ready, too. I'm really excited for that opportunity."
The 6-foot, 196-pound forward notched 10 points (six goals, four assists) in 23 games for the Eagles last season.
"I think overall it was a really good season," said Kuntar. "I was really happy that we got to have a season. We ended up playing around 23 games so that was awesome. I definitely think it was a good learning experience for me being a freshman, especially having a lot of the upperclassmen like [Marc] McLaughlin - who's also here [as a camp invite], as a role model.
"He's someone that's really awesome to have as a role model and look after…it was a really good learning experience for me. Coach [Jerry] York is awesome at developing his players…it was a really good year."

Olson Making Progress

Two years after his first Development Camp, Quinn Olson feels much further along in his progress during his second visit to Warrior Ice Arena. The 20-year-old forward will be a junior at Minnesota-Duluth this fall and is coming off a 28-game season with the Bulldogs, during which he notched 11 points (three goals, eight assists).
"I was here two years ago and kind of got my feet wet there and see what the Bruins organization is all about," said Olson, who hails from Calgary. "Taking that one year off and now coming back older and more mature…being at Minnesota-Duluth, it's given me a great opportunity to develop and get bigger and stronger. Coming back here two years after, I've definitely seen improvement."

Creating a Bond

The campers went through their first team-bonding exercise on Tuesday afternoon when they visited the Boston Fire Department Training Academy in Quincy. The teams - which included seven groups of four - were tasked with, among other things, carrying a fire hose up stairs and climbing through obstacles while wearing a view-obstructed fire helmet.
The foursome of John Beecher, Kyle Keyser, Curtis Hall, and J.D. Greenway took home the crown.
"We had to feel our way through a bunch of obstacles and work as a team to get through that obstacle course which was really fun. And everybody had a firefighter to time their score, so it was a little competition," said Kuntar.
"We were all pretty tired from the skate the morning of but that was only five stations, they say they do 15 stations in under 10 minutes. We were all like, 'Wow.' You have to be in pretty crazy shape to do that. And they have to wear all their equipment so we were definitely our eyes were open after we did those."