TAMPA, Fla. — Will Zellers is having a very good season for the Green Bay Gamblers. The left-shot forward leads the USHL with 38 goals in 42 games. In 2025-26, Zellers, acquired in the Charlie Coyle trade from the Colorado Avalanche, will be a freshman at North Dakota, a perpetual NCAA contender.

None of this guarantees the 18-year-old Zellers will become a Boston Bruin to form the support staff for David Pastrnak (28), Charlie McAvoy (27) and Jeremy Swayman (26).

“See him as more of an AHL scorer,” wrote one NHL director of amateur scouting, granted anonymity to discuss a prospect whose rights do not belong to his club. “Will produce in college, but will it translate to pro?”

This is the issue with acquisitions such as Zellers, the 2025 second-round pick from the Trent Frederic trade and the 2026 first-round pick from the Brandon Carlo deal. Their NHL timelines may be mismatched when it comes to the franchise’s contention expectations around its three best players.

As Pastrnak noted after Saturday’s 4-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning, the right wing is one of the Bruins’ oldest players. While there are still plenty of points remaining in Pastrnak’s stick, time is ticking when it comes to maximizing No. 88’s window of stardom.

Don Sweeney’s swift and deep carvings at the deadline, in other words, represent only the first stage of the turnaround. The general manager’s next step, be it in free agency or with additional trades before the 2025 NHL Draft, is to reinforce the roster while Pastrnak is still pouring in pucks, McAvoy is thumping bodies and pushing the pace and Swayman is taking goals off the scoreboard.

For now, Casey Mittelstadt, the primary return in the Coyle transaction, is the player most ready to give his stars a hand. The 26-year-old centered the No. 2 line against the Lightning between fellow Minnesotans Cole Koepke and Vinni Lettieri. The left-shot center was also on the No. 1 power-play unit, primarily working his strong side.

Mittelstadt initiated the Bruins’ first goal by intercepting a Nick Perbix clearing attempt. When Perbix approached to close, Mittelstadt pulled the puck around the defenseman and floated a backhander onto Koepke’s stick. It was a creative, high-speed maneuver by Mittelstadt, whose career high in helpers is 44 with the Buffalo Sabres in 2022-23.

“Ability to hold onto pucks,” interim coach Joe Sacco said when asked how Mittelstadt caught his attention. “Poise with the puck, especially coming over the blue line a couple times, cutting across in the offensive zone. Just hanging onto pucks, the ability to have some confidence to make some plays in those areas.”

Mittelstadt, the No. 8 pick in 2017, is signed through 2027 at $5.75 million annually. He is a different center than Coyle, the latter an older, heavier and more reliable three-zone presence.

“A lot of speed today I saw,” Pastrnak said. “Casey’s line had a great game.”

By being the No. 2 center behind Pavel Zacha, Mittelstadt pushed Elias Lindholm to the third line and Matt Poitras out of the lineup against the Lightning.

Lindholm, on the books until 2031 at $7.75 million annually, is on track to be Sweeney’s most miscast signing. The 30-year-old is best suited to be a checking-line center, not the No. 1 pivot the GM signed him to be.

As for Poitras, Sacco did not know the plan for the 20-year-old. Poitras was assigned to Providence on deadline day to be eligible for the AHL playoffs. So were Lettieri, Patrick Brown, Ian Mitchell and Riley Tufte. Lettieri, Brown and Mitchell were then recalled to play against the Lightning. Poitras and Tufte were not. Poitras, once projected to be a top-two center, was riding a nine-game scoreless streak.

Of the other acquisitions, Marat Khusnutdinov, 22, projects to have the highest offensive ceiling. Khusnutdinov was the No. 3 left wing Saturday next to Lindholm and Jakub Lauko. The left-shot forward is quick, shifty and creative with the puck. It’s possible he could become a third-liner. Khusnutdinov’s entry-level contract expires at year’s end.

Lauko, 24, is a depth wing. Henri Jokiharju, who requested a trade from the Buffalo Sabres, will be unrestricted. Time will tell whether the Bruins extend the right-shot defenseman.

So until Sweeney acquires more help, Zacha, Morgan Geekie and Mason Lohrei will make up the secondary tier. Geekie and Lohrei will be restricted. Geekie will have arbitration rights, which will give him muscle during negotiations.

Geekie will earn a raise over his current $2 million average annual value. This will leave the Bruins with enough cash to be aggressive in free agency.

It cost them last summer when they erred on Lindholm. But perhaps Mitch Marner will be available this time. It’s the kind of impact player Sweeney needs to keep the pain of what he initiated at the deadline from stretching into multiple dark years.