By: Neil Simmons | Follow me on Twitter / X: @NSimmz
A few short weeks from now, the Boston Bruins will be on the clock with the seventh overall pick in the NHL Draft. All expectations point to them, justifiably, drafting a Center with that pick, ideally one of the “top six” in this class. But what should they do after that? For the first time in years the Bruins have a full deck of draft capital at their disposal, including a pair of second-round picks acquired at the deadline. The prospect pool has been regarded as one of the most barren in the league for several years, and although a handful of prospects have graduated to the NHL roster in that time, it is still in dire need of an infusion of young talent.
Acquiring Will Zellers was an immediate shot in the arm, and the emergence of Dans Locmelis has fortified the reinforcements in Providence. However, while the forward depth has been under the microscope for their lack of development, the defense may quietly be an area of concern as well.
According to EliteProspects, the Bruins have 15 defensemen in their system, but realistically, only nine can be considered actual prospects. Billy Sweezey, Daniil Misyul, Ian Mitchell, Michael Callahan, and Drew Bavaro will all be at least 25 years old next season and effectively transitioning from “prospect” to “full-time minor leaguer” if they haven’t already. Roman Bychkov was a fifth-round pick in 2019 who has never left Russia, and at this stage isn’t likely to come to North America and make an impact.
Callahan appears to be the bright spot of the bunch, breaking through to the big leagues and skating in 17 games with Boston. He made a strong enough impression to be a favorite to contend for the Bruins’ seventh defenseman role in training camp.
The nine remaining blueline prospects are all at various stages of their development and pro-readiness. BNG colleague Tom Calautti spoke about the system depth on the most recent episode of the Black n Gold Hockey Podcast, saying that after Frederic Brunet and Jackson Edward, there is a sizable drop-off in the pipeline. Brunet has two full seasons under his belt with Providence and made his NHL debut at the tail end of this past season. Edward played in both the AHL and ECHL this year after three seasons with the London Knights in the Ontario Hockey League.
Behind them, the rest are still very much a work in progress; Max Wanner and Ryan Mast are the only others with at least a full year of pro experience in the lineup, but project to be depth defensemen at best and aren’t likely to be knocking on the door to Boston very soon.
Loke Johansson had a strong debut season with Moncton in the QMJHL, racking up a gaudy +46 en route to a league championship. But at 19 years old, he has a ways to go before he’s NHL-ready. The same goes for Kristian Kostadinski and Elliott Groenewold, who are going into their freshman and sophomore seasons at Boston College and Quinnipiac, respectively.
Ty Gallagher parlayed a career year at Colorado College into a contract and 18 AHL games, but will need more seasoning at the pro level before making his case for a call-up. Mason Langenbrunner could find his way into the Providence lineup next spring after finishing his senior year as co-captain of Harvard, but his limited offensive ability caps his ceiling.
If the Bruins emphasize bolstering the defensive pipeline in the draft, the first place they should look is dipping back into the NCAA pool. Don Sweeney is well-versed in the NCAA and has a track record of drafting and developing players from college, including a few of the prospects mentioned above. College hockey has grown into a factory of NHL-caliber defensemen over the past decade-plus, and it’s not limited to the high-end first-round talents like McAvoy, Makar, or the Hughes brothers.
Prominent names like Jaccob Slavin, Adam Fox, Brock Faber, and Lane Hutson were all drafted after the first round and developed into elite defensemen through the college ranks. Others selected on day two of the draft, such as Jake Walman, Matt Roy, or current Bruin Andrew Peeke, may not be at that same level but are still solid, everyday pros.
There are over a dozen defensemen in this upcoming draft who are either committed to play NCAA, or have already played a year, and are projected to be drafted after the first round. Two names to keep an eye on during day two of the draft are Francesco Dell’Elce from UMass and Dakoda Rheaume-Mullen from Michigan. Both defensemen are ranked around the Top 100 prospects in the draft and regarded for their skating and puck-moving abilities. As a bonus, they both already have a year of NCAA experience, which gives them a leg up on development relative to their peers in this class.
Drafting experienced defensemen would not only add depth to the prospect pool, but it would also shorten the timeline to their pro-readiness. The Bruins could benefit from bringing in more young talent, especially those who could contribute at a high level sooner rather than later.
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