With the Bruins offseason Rookie Development Camp underway, most of the focus was understandably on high profile prospects like Anders Bjork or recent draft picks like 1st round defenseman Urho Vaakanainen. While these players drew the crowd, a local high schooler, James Corcoran was a surprise star.

With camp approaching, the Bruins needed to add a handful of players to their rookie development camp roster as a few players were out due to surgeries and injuries. Among the last minute camp callups was James Corcoran, a 6’4” left handed goalie from Walpole, MA. The lanky 18 year old received a surprise call from Bruins goalie coach Bob Essensa on Thursday morning and skated alongside some of the best young players from the NCAA, European leagues, and the various North American prospect leagues.

“He (Essensa) gave me a little encouragement, telling me that I earned it to be here and there’s no reason I should be scared to be out on the ice.” - On working with Coach Essensa

After a few minutes of warmup shots in which his nerves clearly showed, Corcoran looked like he belonged. At his height and with his poise, you wouldn’t have known he was a late call up if it wasn’t for the giveaway missing nameplate on his jersey.

As the skaters warmed up and James faced his first few shots, it was evident the shot speed caught him off guard, but to his credit he quickly adjusted, stopping the majority of shots he faced afterwards.

“How fast the puck came off the stick... it came off a lot faster. It took me a little bit in the warm up drills, there definitely were a couple that got past me. It took a little to get used to, but once I kind of got into it, I was making some saves.” - On the biggest difference playing against B’s prospects

Much like Tuukka Rask, Corcoran’s game isn’t flashy, he relies heavily on positioning and technique to make the safe play. He sees the ice well and made a few tough saves in traffic during the scrimmage.

Asked if he was using this opportunity to work on anything specific, he replied “Just working hard and trying to get noticed. Just trying to get better”, a can do attitude from a player who posted tremendous numbers thus far in his high school career.

James finished last year at Walpole High with a .970 SV% and 0.46 GAA in 26 games. Attending Winchendon Academy in 2017-18, Corcoran is well on his way to getting noticed, and a strong showing today showed a high upside for the shy but skilled goalie. Echoing the words Coach Essensa told James on his phone call, Corcoran earned his call up and was right at home on the ice today.