With Bruins in need of scoring punch, can Matej Blumel realize his potential?
— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights & News (@HockeyDaily365)
Rather, it was his track record of lighting the lamp with the Texas Stars, Dallas' AHL affiliate.
Over the past two seasons, Blumel has held court as one of the top goal-scorers in the American Hockey League.
After scoring 31 goals in 72 games with Texas in 2023-24, he followed that up with 39 tallies and 72 total points in 67 games in 2024-25.
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For some, Blumel represents the type of talent whose skills are maximized at the AHL level.
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For a Bruins team in desperate need of a middle-six scoring spark, Blumel (and fellow AHL standout Alex Steeves) represent a risk worth taking — and a player who could be poised for a breakout with more minutes up for grabs with Boston.
'He and Alex, both, they've done what they needed to do at the American Hockey League level and scoring at a high, high level with consistency,' Sweeney said. 'There are a number of players around the league that have gone through this, and when they got their opportunity, they've taken advantage of it.
'The conversations we have with both Matej and Alex were, 'If you're going to score at the National Hockey League level, we want you here — not anywhere else.' So we provided that opportunity today and they're excited about it. And I said, if they take the job of somebody that believes they're an incumbent, that's what happens in the National Hockey League when a guy gets passed and the internal competition starts.'
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The Bruins would welcome a scenario where Blumel's sharp wrist shot and knack for operating into Grade-A ice translates during training camp and the preseason.
Too bad the Bruins bottom six is way too crowded because Matej Blumel could've been a fun player to compete for a job
— Robert Chalmers (@IvanIvanlvan)
Beyond bringing in a middle-six winger with some scoring pop in Viktor Arvidsson, Boston's offseason moves did little to quiet the concerns that this team will labor offensively when David Pastrnak isn't out on a shift.
Beyond bringing in a middle-six winger
Allocating cap space toward the likes of Tanner Jeannot, Sean Kuraly, and Mikey Eyssimont will make Boston a hard out on the ice against opponents.
But, it also might lead to some painful readings on the scoreboard if Boston can't complement that heft with the skill needed to consistently win in this league.
Together, Jeannot, Kuraly, and Eyssimont combined for a whopping 484 hits last season. And just 22 total goals.
Boston is going to need a lot more production beyond the usual suspects like Pastrnak moving forward.
As such, the Bruins — unable to reel in big fishes like Mitch Marner, Boeser, or Ehlers — opted for a player poised for a greater role in the NHL in Blumel, especially at a cheap price tag ($875,000).
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But it wasn't just Sweeney and Co. who were intrigued by Blumel's skill set.
Speaking to Dominik Dubovci at the Czech website
'The only Czech player I've talked to so far was Pasta,' Blümel told Dubovci , per Google Translate. 'He left the decision up to me, and Pittsburgh wouldn't be a bad decision either. But he said they wanted me and that I could help them.'
Most of the hope that rests in Blumel developing into a middle-six NHLer revolves around his AHL stat line translating over to the next level if Boston carves out some minutes for him.
But, Blumel generated some looks during the various cups of coffee he earned with Dallas over the last few seasons.
Despite averaging just 9:01 of average ice time per game so far in his NHL career, he generated 4.73 high-danger scoring chances per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 hockey with the Dallas Stars (
Of the 1,009 NHLers who have logged at least 100 minutes of 5-on-5 hockey over the last three seasons, Blumel's 4.73 mark ranks 39th overall — ahead of names like Timo Meier, Matthew Tkachuk, and Filip Forsberg.
Of course, it's a sizable ask to expect elite results for a player operating with such a small sample size.
And as evidenced by other AHL standouts like Georgii Merkulov, there's no guarantee that operating at nearly a point-per-game pace in the AHL will mean that said player can score 20-plus goals in the NHL ranks.
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But, given Boston's shortcomings in the offensive zone, Sweeney and his staff must leave no stone unturned when it comes to adding scoring help — even if it's an unproven commodity like Blumel.
Conor Ryan can be reached at
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