Why Dans Locmelis Felt Drawn To UMass At Bruins Development Camp

BOSTON — When the Bruins drafted Dans Locmelis in the fourth round of the 2022 NHL Draft, he was not committed to a college. After stepping foot in Bruins development camp the same year, that all changed for Locmelis.

UMass head coach Greg Carvel was in attendance at Warrior Ice Arena and had a talk with Locmelis. The conversation led the Latvian native to commit to UMass not long after development camp took place.

“(Carvel) inspired me,” Locmelis said after Day 1 of development camp. “I really like the team and the way he talks about it, especially how he cares about guys. So I really enjoyed the talk with him and yeah, that’s why I came to UMass.”

A year after his commitment to Amherst, he entered his freshman season. Locmelis had to miss the first four games of the regular season due to an NCAA violation after he played two games in the Swedish Hockey League.

By missing the beginning of the season, Locmelis felt that he could not adjust to Hockey East play right away. Through 30 games with UMass, he totaled 13 points on seven goals and six assists.

“Last year was a little bit tough. Had to sit out the first (four) games and also the adjustment maybe wasn’t the easiest,” Locmelis said. “So planning to have a better year next year.”

The forward is listed at 6-foot, 172 pounds and is hoping to get stronger as he heads into his sophomore season with UMass. As a smaller player, Locmelis wants to strengthen his physical play.

“I want to get stronger, gain some weight,” Locmelis said. “Work on my skills in the corner in those one-on-one battles.”

Despite Locmelis coming out of his freshman season not happy with his performance, Carvel has said before that he’s been impressed by him.

Bruins fans can get an in-game look at Locmelis in Amherst during the Hockey East season. UMass is set to take the ice on Oct. 5 on the road against Bentley.