Providence recalls Loke Johansson, signs Max Andreev amid playoff push

Providence added playoff insurance in two different places, recalling 20-year-old defenseman Loke Johansson from Maine and signing 27-year-old forward Max Andreev to a professional tryout as the Bruins headed into the final weekend of the regular season with the Atlantic Division already within reach. For a team sitting first at 51-14-2-0, the move was less about filling a temporary hole than preserving options on the blue line and in the bottom six when every shift starts to matter.

General manager Evan Gold announced the transaction on April 16, and Providence later clinched the 2025-26 Atlantic Division title on April 17, its first division crown since 2022-23 and the second of head coach Ryan Mougenel’s tenure. With the AHL regular season ending April 19, the Bruins are at the point where a single injury, a rest day, or a late NHL recall can reshape a lineup quickly. That makes a recall like Johansson’s and a PTO for Andreev more than routine paperwork. It is roster management with postseason consequences.

Johansson gives Providence a young, physical depth option on the back end. Listed at 6-foot-3 and 213 pounds, the Boston Bruins draft pick has already spent time in the organization, appearing in 12 games for Providence this season and posting a plus-3 rating. He also played 36 games for the Maine Mariners this year, producing two goals and two assists, after Boston selected him in the sixth round, 186th overall, of the 2024 NHL Entry Draft and signed him to a three-year entry-level contract in November 2024. His path has already included 62 games with Moncton in 2024-25, when he recorded four goals and 18 assists and helped the Wildcats win the QMJHL championship.

Andreev brings a different kind of value. He skated in 70 games for Maine this season and piled up 19 goals and 43 assists for 62 points, production that could translate into immediate depth scoring if Providence wants more offense in its lower half of the lineup. He also has five career AHL games with Coachella Valley from 2023-24, plus a four-year Cornell run from 2018-23 that included 22 points in 31 games as a senior. In a stretch where Providence is balancing rest, readiness and seeding, that blend of experience and production makes Andreev a plausible insurance piece if the Bruins need a forward who can step into fast playoff hockey without blinking.

The timing fits a team that has spent months playing like a contender and now has to protect that edge. Even the recognition around the club kept coming, with captain Patrick Brown named the winner of the 2025-26 Fred T. Hunt Memorial Award on April 17. Providence has already won plenty this season; these moves are about making sure it is still equipped to win when the games tighten.