The Boston Bruins made a notable trade earlier this offseason, trading star goalie Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Joonas Korpisalo, Mark Kastelic, and a 2024 first-round pick (Dean Letourneau). With this move, the Bruins will no longer sport the elite Ullmark/Jeremy Swayman tandem. Instead, Swayman will be the club’s clear No. 1 goalie, and they will have a more traditional backup.

Korpisalo, 30, is viewed as the frontrunner for the Bruins’ backup right now, but things could change on that front. Bruins’ top goalie prospect, Brandon Bussi, should not be overlooked for the backup role, as he has been one of the AHL’s top goalies for the last two years. Thus, with a strong training camp, he could make a real case for himself for an NHL job.

After making the AHL All-Rookie Team and Atlantic Division All-Star Team for the 2022-23 season, Bussi was once again quite good for Providence in 2023-24. In 41 appearances, he posted a 23-10-5 record, a .913 save percentage, and a 2.67 goals-against average. With numbers like these, he should get some real NHL consideration.

Bussi has also had even better numbers in the AHL in the past. In 2022-23, he sported a 22-5-4 record, a .924 SV%, and a 2.40 GAA. Clearly, he has good upside, and it could get him reps at the NHL level in 2024-25 because of it.

Ultimately, it is hard not to feel a little bit of excitement about Bussi. It will be interesting to see if he can beat Korpisalo out for an NHL job this upcoming season.