By: Lucas Pearson  | Follow Me On Twitter @LucasPearson_
The Bruins have taken a lot of slack on their draft picks over the years, but the fact of the matter is that the Bruins know how to draft. 10/14 of their top scorers have all been drafted by Boston and Don Sweeney has been able to rebuild a farm system that is now littered with talent.
It’s been just over five months since the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. While the Bruins missed out on a couple of rounds due to some trade deadline deals, they managed to pick up a solid group of players to add to their farm system, so let’s take a look at how they’ve been doing this season.

John Beecher – Round 1, 30th Overall

Unlike the previous year’s draft, the Bruins elected to hang onto their 1st round pick this year. With big offensive talents on the board like Arthur Kaliyev, Bobby Brink and Raphael Lavoie, the Bruins elected to go with a more well-rounded player in John Beecher. Last season, Beecher played with the US Developmental Program and put up 15 goals and 43 points while playing in a diminished role behind guys like Jack Hughes and Cole Caufield.
Now at the University of Michigan, Beecher has fit in well at the college level. He’s got wheels, a big frame and maybe most importantly, great hockey sense. The freshman has started to heat up as of late, collecting his first career multiple-goal game last weekend against UNH, and increasing his total to four on the season. He’s leading the Wolverines in points this season and with plenty of room to grow, the Bruins have a great player on the way.

Quinn Olson – Round 3, 92nd Overall

The Bruins next pick wasn’t until the 3rd round, as they dealt their 2nd-rounder to the Devils in return for Marcus Johansson’s services last year. They used that pick on Calgary native and Minnesota Duluth commit, Quinn Olson.
Joining the reigning NCAA champion Bulldogs, Olson has looked solid to begin the season. After cracking a rib and chipping a vertebrate in his season opener against UMass-Lowell, the freshman has recovered quickly and is a big part of Duluth’s depth scoring. Playing primarily on the fourth line, Olson has three points in ten games. The winger’s play hasn’t gone without praise. His coach Scott Sandelin has said; “he’s competitive, he’s smart. He brings a lot. He’s a young, young kid but like I’ve said before, he plays the game with a lot of maturity. He’s going to help us a lot.” Good early signs from the 3rd rounder.

Roman Bychkov – Round 5, 154th Overall

The Bruins went to Russia with their next pick when they selected Roman Bychkov. He’s a sound defender with good hands that isn’t afraid to get physical along the boards. At 5’11 he isn’t a big skater, but he’s been able to carve out two straight seasons of strong play in the Russian Junior League (MHL). Building off of last season’s 15 points, Bychkov has put up four goals, ten points and a +10 rating for the second place Loko Yaroslavl this season.

Matias Mantykivi – Round 6, 185th Overall 

Matias Mantykivi was drafted out of the Finnish Junior League where he put up over a point-per-game pace through 34 games. This season, Mantykivi has made a full-time jump to the Finnish Pro League (Liiga). His stat-line of two goals in 16 games is far from impressive, but it’s important to remember that the Fin is an 18-year-old playing in a league with older, bigger and stronger players. Players like Joonas Donskoi, who had two goals in his first 18 games in Liiga, turned into very solid NHLers so there is no need to rush Mantykivi, he still has a lot of time to grow. With a name like that, I just hope we get to hear it in the NHL.

Jake Schmaltz – Round 7, 192nd Overall 

For the Bs final pick, they decided to go with an American with some NHL talent in his blood. Jake Schmaltz is the cousin of Nick and Jordan Schmaltz, who are both former 1st rounders and have over 250 games of NHL experience between the two. Jake spent last season in the USHL with the Chicago Steel but changed clubs to the Green Bay Gamblers this season.
The winger’s game is one that focuses on forechecking. His ten points through 19 games aren’t incredible, but his two-way ability still projects him to be a solid bottom-six option in the future. It will be interesting how Schmaltz’s game can translate to the NCAA when he goes to the University of Dakota next year.

Check out the new Black N’ Gold Hockey Podcast episode 155 that we recorded below! You can find our show on many worldwide platforms such as Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Spotify, SoundCloud, and Stitcher.

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