By: Neil Simmons | Follow me on Twitter / X: @NSimmz
The World Junior Championships are nearly upon us. The exhibition games have wrapped up, and rosters have been finalized ahead of puck drop on Friday, when the top prospects in hockey take center stage.
This year’s tournament will offer a great opportunity to peek into the future of the Boston Bruins, with James Hagens, Will Zellers, and Vashek Blanar taking the ice for Team USA and Team Czechia. However, the tournament will also offer Bruins fans an opportunity to do some advanced scouting for potential future Bruins come next June’s NHL Draft.
As of Christmas Eve, the Bruins hold both the tenth- and twelfth-overall picks, the former acquired from Toronto in the Brandon Carlo trade last March. It goes without saying that picks will fluctuate frequently between now and the draft lottery in May, but their current positions provide a reference point for which prospects to focus on, relative to draft rankings.
Using Corey Pronman of The Athletic’s rankings as a basis, and dialing into the Bruins’ most significant areas of need, here are five players to look out for in Minneapolis to keep in mind for draft season:
Ivar Stenberg – LW – Sweden
- Height/Weight: 5’11” 183lbs
- Stats: 6-18-24 in 25 Games with Frolunda HC (SHL)
The Bruins, admittedly, would need a friendly bounce from the lottery balls to be in a position to draft Stenberg, as he’s a near-consensus top-three to top-five pick. Pronman describes him as an electric offensive talent and a natural scorer, highlighting his puck handling, passing, and shooting. Stenberg is barely 18 years old, and he’s playing at a near point-per-game pace with Frolunda HC in Sweden, and should be one of the Swede’s top forwards.
It’s not impossible to jump up in the lottery, just look at the Islanders’ massive leap up for Matthew Schaefer last year. If the same fate were to await either of Boston’s picks, Stenberg would be a badly needed injection of pure skill on the wing behind David Pastrnak.
Chase Reid – RD – USA
- Height/Weight: 6’2”, 188lbs
- Stats: 14-21-35 in 31 Games with the Soo Greyhounds (OHL)
As a right-shot defenseman, Reid would fill an immediate need in the Bruins organization at the position, where the pipeline is very thin. Per Pronman, Reid is a talented defenseman with strong offensive tools, particularly his speed, hands, vision, and shot. Not hard to see when he’s producing over a point-per-game from the blueline in the OHL, where he’s currently an alternate captain with the Soo Greyhounds. He’ll be heading to Michigan State next fall, where Head Coach Adam Nightengale has sent several players to the NHL in recent years.
Reid is likely to be the top draft-eligible player on the USA roster for this tournament. The youngest skater on the team (he’ll turn 18 on the 30th), his ice time is likely to be limited by a loaded group of first and second-round picks in front of him. His exact draft position is hard to pin down, ranging everywhere from the top three to as low as the 22nd pick. Proman has ranked Reid as his #12 prospect, which could very well be within Boston’s range if either they or Toronto misses the playoffs this spring.
Carson Carels – LD – Canada
- 6’1” 202lbs
- 8-21-29 on 28 Games with the Prince George Cougars (WHL)
Carels is another blueliner to keep an eye on that could end up within Boston’s draft range. Pronman considers him a strong two-way defender, emphasizing his skating and vision to break up plays at one end and create offense at the other. He won’t turn 18 until around draft time and is currently producing at a point-per-game pace with Prince George in the WHL as an alternate captain for the Cougars. His exact role for Team Canada hasn’t quite been nailed down, as he was the seventh defenseman in their first pre-tournament exhibition game against Sweden, and then skated on the second defensive pair against Denmark.
Pronman has Carels ranked seventh among draft prospects, just behind Stenberg, while other outlets have him slightly closer to the end of the lottery range. Should Boston be in a position to draft him, he would be a solid addition to a pipeline lacking higher-end talent on defense.
Oliver Suvanto – C – Finland
- 6’3”, 207lbs
- 2-5-7 in 30 Games with Tappara (Liiga)
Pronman’s description of Suvanto sounds like a prototype for the kind of player for Bruins-style hockey: a big, heavy center with a high skill level and a direct style of play. He’s the top-ranked Finnish player on Pronman’s board, and doesn’t turn 18 until next September, so there’s plenty of room for him to grow his offensive game to pair with his two-way tenacity.
Suvanto centered the top line for the Finns in their exhibition loss to Team USA on Tuesday night and scored in their previous exhibition win over Germany. Pronman has him as his ninth-best prospect in the upcoming draft, while other outlets have him around the teens to mid 20’s. The absence of top center Konsta Helenius for Team Finland could open the door for Suvanto to really show his game and raise his draft stock.
Adam Novotny – LW – Czechia
- 6’1”, 204lbs
- 19-16-35 in 29 Games with the Peterborough Petes (OHL)
Novotny is another draft-eligible skater whose stock could rise at the World Juniors. Pronman notes him as a well-rounded winger with good skating, stick skills, and hockey sense, and is well seasoned for his age, having already played 51 games with Mountfield HK in the Czech Extraliga before moving over to the OHL this season, where he’s over a point-per-game with the Peterborough Petes.
Pronman has Novotny ranked as his 22nd overall prospect, and most outlets have him just outside the lottery range. A strong showing in Minnesota, where he should be one of the Czech’s top forwards, could see him rise up draft boards and into a position where the Bruins could snatch him up with one of their two picks, and continue to strengthen the Czech cohort in Boston.
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