Boston College’s Trevor Kuntar celebrates a goal against Boston University in the Beanpot in February. (Photo courtesy of Boston College Athletics).

Boston Bruins prospect Trevor Kuntar attended the Prospects Challenge in Buffalo several times while growing up in nearby Williamsville, N.Y.

Starting Friday, he’ll get the opportunity to play in it.

A third-round draft pick in 2020 who turned pro in March after three seasons at Boston College, the 22-year-old Kuntar is raring to go.

“I’m super excited about it, obviously just wearing the Bruins jersey for the first time. I’m going to have a lot of family and friends there. Some of my little cousins are coming. It should be super fun. I’m excited to have my parents be there. It will be cool to be playing in it,” he said.

Kuntar’s father, Les, played six games in goal for the Montreal Canadiens in 1993-94. Trevor was on the cusp of making his pro debut with the Providence Bruins last spring when doctors determined that he needed triceps surgery. 

“I thought it was going to be something minor, out two to three weeks. It turned out to be a lot bigger,” he said.

He’s been in Boston all summer doing his rehab and was cleared to get back on the ice four to six weeks ago.

“I’m really starting to feel back to normal. My strength is equal on both sides now. I’m feeling good,” said Kuntar, who scored 13 goals and 29 points in 34 games for BC last season.

He needs two classes to finish his BC degree. He plans to take one class this fall and another next spring so he can graduate with his class in 2024.

Being around Bruins players such as Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle while rehabbing and training at Warrior Arena this summer has been a positive.

“Those guys have been here pretty much the whole time I’ve been here, so it’s been really cool to kind of get to know them and learn from them. I’ve just been trying to take in as much information as possible and learn as much as possible.

“Seeing how those guys, who have already made it and are very successful in the NHL, seeing how hard they work, is obviously some really good motivation. It helps me work harder so I can get to that point eventually. It’s just really cool to be around those guys,” said Kuntar, who figures to play in Providence this season.

Kuntar is comfortable both at center and on the wing. “I don’t really have a preference. I do like taking faceoffs,” he said.

“The speed, every level you play, gets a little faster. That will probably be the biggest adjustment. I’m curious to see what the competition is compared to college.

“It was really nice being here over the summer because I was able to get a little taste of that, skating with pro guys and being around that. I’m excited to compete and fight for an opportunity and just see how it goes.”

For starters, speed, skill up front

Don’t know what the lines will be in the first game against the Penguins but when the Bruins ran through a couple of drills early in Wednesday’s first practice, these two trios caught my eye: Luke Toporowski-Georgii Merkulov-Fabian Lysell and Trevor Kuntar-Johnny Beecher-John Farinacci.

We’ll see what Friday brings.

Mougenel: Merkulov bought in

The high point of Georgii Merkulov’s summer was a visit from his mother, who he hadn’t seen in two years.

The Russian center, entering his second full season as a pro, is looking forward to getting going in Buffalo.

“It’s good to play some games before training camp,” he said.

With the parent club in need of centers, a strong training camp could put Merkulov in position to get an extended look.

Mougenel was upbeat about Merkulov’s progress during his rookie season.

“Maturity is a huge thing with Merk. His personality is kind of stoic. He doesn’t really give you much. He was stubborn, I would say, early on (last season). I’d say his attributes obviously that separates him a little bit is his offensive mind. He’s a pretty clean player. Sees the ice extremely well. Can make plays on his forehand, his backhand and really has an ability to complete a lot of plays. When we lost some of our go-to guys, our older players – (Vinni) Lettieri was out 25-30 games last year – Merkulov really stepped up and really was our offensive guy,” he said.

“His ability to buy in was something that we were questioning at first and I think everybody had those questions. They obviously see the skill and the ability but is he willing to do it. For us, we were extremely pleased with his willingness.”

Playing in the D zone “is something we preach. It’s a little bit of a separator for us with the Bruins. It’s funny how, in the summer, how many coaches you talk to talk about our D zone and how it translates. Merkulov is a player that you have to give him a ‘why’ all the time. He’s super inquisitive. The ‘why’ with Merk was we want to be in and out of our D zone. We want your energy for offense. There’s a certain way of selling it and a certain way to buy in, and he bought in. His offense was really attributed to how well he defended, to be honest with you, as crazy as that sounds,” Mougenel said.

Beecher looking to make a splash

First rounder John Beecher is another young center the parent club would love to see stake a claim on an NHL job as soon as possible.

Beecher said he spent about three weeks training this summer at the National Team Development Program’s facility in Michigan, then worked out in Boston for the last two months.

The vacancies at center are “definitely something that you look at. It’s enticing. Obviously everybody coming into camp wants to have a shot. This year there’s a bunch of opportunities, so just got to go into camp and show my best.”

Mougenel talked about the progress Beecher made over the course of last season.

“He’s not the only player to come down to Providence and – I wouldn’t necessarily say struggle, but maybe have a little bit of an identity issue early on. By the second half he was our go-to guy for a lot of situations. His skating obviously separates him from most of his peers down there. The ability to hang onto a puck and get in and be first on pucks is something he did really well,” he said.

“The one thing we really liked about John by the end of the year was his willingness to play a physical brand of hockey. It took time. In the American Hockey League you have to have patience for players, especially a bigger player, to figure that out. John did an amazing job of that.”