Inside Fraser Minten’s life as a young NHLer: Free Tesla charging, rental income and a mature game
BOSTON — The two Subaru Legacies served the Mintens well. Until they aged out.
“They expired,” Fraser Minten said with a smile, remembering the cars his family owned until he was 18 years old.
It fell to Trevor Minten to choose a pair of replacements. He settled on two Teslas.
Life was changing for the family when they took delivery of their vehicles. Fraser, selected in the second round of the 2022 NHL Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs, had moved out of their Vancouver townhouse. Chantal, the center’s mother, would take the SkyTrain’s Canada Line from Yaletown-Roundhouse to Vancouver International Airport for her shifts with Air Canada. Younger brother Bryce was busy with school and hockey.
Trevor’s commutes, meanwhile, did not take him far. He works in construction and surveying in downtown Vancouver. He realized owning two cars was overkill.
Fortunately, he had an interested party: his eldest child.
At the time of the transaction, neither father nor son considered the future abuse that Minten, now 21 years old, would suffer from his Boston Bruins teammates over his Model 3. It is an unusual car in the NHL, which is mostly populated by trucks, SUVs and sports cars.
“I take a lot of heat,” Minten said with a smile. “Nothing polite.”
Mason Lohrei laughed when informed of his teammate’s complaint.
“I wouldn’t say it’s a hard time. But, yeah, a couple nice, friendly chirps here and there,” Lohrei said. “He’s saving the environment.”
By Minten’s estimation, it takes approximately 30 minutes of plugging in at a Tesla Supercharger to max out his Model 3’s battery. He does not do it often.
On game days at TD Garden, Minten drives down to Level 2 of the garage, pulls into his designated spot and plugs his car into one of the facility’s chargers. By game’s end, his Tesla is good to go. He does not pay a penny.
The joke, then, may be on his teammates.
A good start
Minten is one of four Bruins to have played in every game this season. He is seventh on the team with 23 points. He’s averaging 14:42 of ice time per game. The left-shot center is logging 1:49 per game on the penalty kill, third-highest among team forwards. He has occasionally worked the bumper and net front on the No. 2 power-play unit.
In overtime, Minten’s average workload is 1:01, fourth-highest among Bruins forwards. He’s scored two overtime winners, most on the team.
It is proof that coach Marco Sturm trusts Minten in all situations. The rookie is not among the team’s fastest skaters nor most skilled with the puck. But the former Maple Leaf plays with degrees of awareness, commitment and professionalism that stretch beyond his age.
Fraser Minten celebrates with Jeremy Swayman after a win over the Red Wings. (Steve Babineau / Getty Images)
He has always been an old soul.
In the fall of 2024, Minten, 20 at the time, was starting his first full pro season. A high ankle sprain during a rookie tournament game wiped out his chance to make an impression in training camp. He would not make his season debut until Nov. 20.
Minten had time to kill.
Minten had learned from his parents that savvy real estate decisions can pay off. The Mintens, who used to live in Langley, British Columbia, saw the value of their third-story Vancouver property rise in conjunction with the boom in foreign investment.
At the same time, Minten had banked some of his signing bonuses from his entry-level contract. Upon his parents’ recommendation, Minten worked with a Toronto realtor to help him find property of his own. Just about every day that fall, following treatment for his ankle injury, Minten toured apartments. He wanted to build equity instead of handing over his earnings through rent.
“It’s a privilege to be able to get the paychecks we do to play a game like this,” Minten said. “I don’t want to take it for granted and just spend it all and think it will be there forever. Obviously, it’s something that can be gone in a matter of running into the boards weird, right? Just trying to hedge your bets a little bit and be smart with some of that stuff.”
Minten settled on a place overlooking Lake Ontario. He figured his new city would be habitable for a long-term acquisition.
“Toronto’s like the New York of Canada,” Minten said. “All my buddies are going there from university. That’s where they go work for the start of their career. I always have friends I can rent it to. Just plan to keep it as an investment. Hopefully the market continues, over time, to be a win.”
At times, walking along the lakefront, Minten felt like he was back in Vancouver next to the Seawall. Little did he know how temporary his Toronto home would be.
‘Not much security’
On March 7, 2025, Minten was playing for the AHL’s Toronto Marlies when he got the news: His draft team was trading him to the Bruins for Brandon Carlo, a 2026 first-round pick and a 2025 fourth-rounder.
“That’s the one thing when you’re buying,” Minten said. “You’re like, ‘Uh, there’s not much security with our jobs.’”
If there was any solace to Minten’s situation, it was that he had no shortage of interested parties. This season, Easton Cowan, Toronto’s 2023 first-rounder, has been living in Minten’s apartment. The 20-year-old’s landlord insists he is giving him a fair deal.
“He’s a very good tenant,” Minten said with a smile. “Very easygoing. Pays on time.”
Minten has no plans to sell. He will visit during the offseason.
“Maybe for a week,” Minten said. “Make sure there’s no holes in the walls.”
Minten is renting in Boston. Long term, he has his heart set on planting roots on Vancouver’s North Shore. It has everything he wants: water, mountains, closeness to downtown.
Minten thinks about walking in the woods. But he is still a city kid — the one who used to shoot pucks in the Rogers Arena parking lot or ride his BMC Teammachine through the Vancouver streets.
Minten is only six years removed from taking the SkyTrain from Yaletown to Waterfront, then transferring to a bus to commute to West Van Academy, the Canadian Sport School Hockey League program that launched his major junior career. The way Minten explains it, the academy model rules the day in British Columbia. Connor Bedard, a North Vancouver native and a year younger than Minten, also played at West Van.
“You get left behind so fast,” said Minten. “You don’t see anyone coming from minor hockey in British Columbia past bantam anymore at all. There’s the occasional guy from the interior or up north. But lower mainland, it’s all academy. If you aren’t playing in that CSSHL bantam prep division, basically the scouts don’t even know who you are.”
Academy attendance was not a given for Minten. His original plan was to attend a standard high school. The cost would have strained his family.
But when Minten’s parents understood his love and commitment for the sport, they agreed to fund his dream. Grandparents Peter and Glenda Minten lent a hand. His family’s financial participation is not lost on the forward.
“Very, very pricey,” Minten said. “It’s pretty unaffordable unless you’re upper middle class, at minimum, to be able to pay for academy hockey in western Canada. Everybody pretty much plays that in BC from the age of 14 now. You’re paying $20,000 a year for that, at minimum. It’s insane. Especially if you have a couple kids. It’s a huge financial sacrifice that most people, unfortunately, can’t afford. I’m fortunate my parents were willing to make that sacrifice.”
It left an impression on the teenager. If something is important, it’s worth the investment.
