With the 2019 NHL Entry Draft set to begin later tonight in Vancouver, here’s a look at some potential options for the Boston Bruins, as well as a look at some other important prospects to follow over the next few days.
When is the draft?
The 2019 NHL Entry Draft will be held on Friday, June 21 and Saturday, June 22 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver.
The first round is set to begin at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, while rounds 2-7 will start up at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
TV: NBCSN, NHL Network
Livestream: NBCSports.com
Here’s the full draft order for the first round:
ROUND 1
- New Jersey Devils
- New York Rangers
- Chicago Blackhawks
- Colorado Avalanche (from Ottawa Senators)
- Los Angeles Kings
- Detroit Red Wings
- Buffalo Sabres
- Edmonton Oilers
- Anaheim Ducks
- Vancouver Canucks
- Philadelphia Flyers
- Minnesota Wild
- Florida Panthers
- Arizona Coyotes
- Montreal Canadiens
- Colorado Avalanche
- Vegas Golden Knights
- Dallas Stars
- Ottawa Senators (from Columbus Blue Jackets)
- Winnipeg Jets (from New York Rangers)
- Pittsburgh Penguins
- Los Angeles Kings (from Toronto Maple Leafs)
- New York Islanders
- Nashville Predators
- Washington Capitals
- Calgary Flames
- Tampa Bay Lightning
- Carolina Hurricanes
- Anaheim Ducks (or Buffalo Sabres) (from San Jose Sharks)
- Boston Bruins
- Buffalo Sabres (or Anaheim Ducks) (from St. Louis Blues)
Where will the Bruins pick?
Currently, the Boston Bruins have five picks in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, starting off with the 30th overall selection in the first round.
Here’s a look at Boston’s draft order:
ROUND 1
30th overall
ROUND 3
92nd overall
ROUND 5
154th overall
ROUND 6
185th overall
ROUND 7
192nd overall
The Bruins will be without their second-round pick after dealing it in a trade-deadline move for
Marcus Johansson
back in February, while the Blackhawks gained Boston’s fourth-round pick in a deal for
Tommy Wingels
last season. Boston added a seventh-rounder in the deal with the Rangers for
Adam McQuaid
back in September.
Potential Bruins first-round targets
Samuel Poulin - Wing
Team:
Team:
Stats:
Rankings:
Lassi Thomson - Defenseman
Team:
Team:
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Boston currently has a logjam of left-shot defensemen both up on the NHL roster and lower down in its prospect pool, with youngsters like
Urho Vaakanainen
and
Jeremy Lauzon
vying for a larger role up with the B’s in 2019-20. However, Boston could use an impact player to add to its right-shot D corps, and Thomson has left quite the impression leading up to his draft year. A two-way blueliner, what Thomson lacks in size (6-foot, 190 pounds), he certainly makes up for with his booming slap shot, which allowed him to score 17 goals in the WHL this past season. Thomson could very well be the Finnish, right-shot
Torey Krug
if he reaches his potential.
Robert Mastrosimone - Center
Team:
Team:
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Rankings:
While center may not be a position of need for the Bruins, at least when compared to wingers or a right-shot defenseman, sometimes clubs just have to go with the best player available, and a hard-nosed pivot like Mastrosimone seems to be a potential riser on Friday. A BU product that can develop just a few miles away from TD Garden, Mastrosimone also plays with an edge, which should endear him to the TD Garden crowd if he eventually makes the jump to the pro ranks.
Brett Leason - Wing
Team:
Team:
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Rankings:
A 20-year-old prospect that went from 33 points to 89 points over the span of a season in the WHL, Leason is an intriguing option for teams at the end of the first round/start of the second round. Passed over in his first couple of go-throughs in the draft, Leason made major strides in his skating over the past year, and projects as a power forward with his 6-foot-4 frame. Seems likely that his tools and overall ceiling will make at least one team bite in the first round.
Connor McMichael - Center
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Team:
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While his tools may not wow you as much as other first-round prospects, McMichael made a hell of a first impression up in the OHL ranks with his 72-point campaign. A solid, two-way pivot, McMichael could be a club’s go-to, third-line center for years to come if he continues to follow his current trajectory. Still, like Mastrosimone, Boston could steer clear and focus more on wingers in the first round, especially with pivots like
Jack Studnicka
and
Trent Frederic
already making strides in the prospect pipeline.
Alex Vlasic
-
Defenseman
Team:
Team:
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The Bruins already have an abundance of left-shot D, but if Boston is going with the “best player available” mantra, Vlasic oozes with potential as an impact, top-four option on an NHL blue line. The cousin of Sharks defenseman
Marc-Edouard Vlasic
, Alex projects as a smooth-skating, puck-moving presence with strong offensive-zone instincts. Oh, and he’s 6-foot-6. If he pans out, he could be a monster for whatever team picks him up on Friday or Saturday. He’s also another BU commit, and the Bruins have had enjoyed a pretty good run when it comes to blue-line products from Comm. Ave.
Egor Afanasyev
-
Winger
Team:
Team:
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Rankings:
He might possess a 6-foot-4 frame, but Afanasyev showcases some puck skills usually reserved for smaller wingers operating in the O-zone. Afanasyev has been knocked at times for his speed and overall pace on the ice, but his offensive tools and a heavy, hard shot should allow him to put up points at whatever level of hockey he advances to over the course of his career.
Spencer Knight - Goaltender
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Team:
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If there was ever such a thing as a slam dunk, this would have to be it for the Bruins. While netminder prospects like
Kyle Keyser
and
Jeremy Swayman
are intriguing and promising options for the Bruins down the road, they’re still lacking a clear-cut replacement for when
Tuukka Rask
’s tenure in Boston comes to a close. If you’re looking for the next potential franchise netminder, you can’t go wrong with Knight, who is far and away the best goalie prospect in the entire draft. A technically sound goalie who is set to play at BC next season, Knight would be a huge coup for the Bruins, but given his status as the top man on the board, it would seem unlikely that Knight would fall all the way to Sweeney and his staff at pick No. 30. Crazier things have happened, but…
No pick
While the last couple of drafts have seen clubs snag potential steals at 30th overall in
Eeli Tolvanen
and
Joe Veleno
, the Bruins very well could part ways with their first-round pick, especially if it helps them snag a top-six winger that they’ve been searching for over the past year-plus.
"Yeah,” Sweeney said if the possibility exists of Boston dealing the 30th pick. “I think every year, we continue to look at what helps us, depth-wise, short-term, long term, and this is probably the situation that if we could potentially move back and/or move up for that matter … but if not, we’re well prepared that we’ll make our selection and find hopefully another good player.”
Other potential Bruins draft targets
With four selections over the final five rounds, here’s a look at some other players the Bruins could target in the 2019 Draft.
Ethan Keppen - Winger
Team:
Team:
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Boston struck gold last year with their third-round selection of
Jakub Lauko,
and there are plenty of other intriguing options in this year’s draft. If Boston opts for a defenseman like Thomson or Vlasic in the first round, Keppen is a solid pick for Boston’s first winger of the draft.
Ethan Phillips - Center
Team:
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Rankings:
Colten Ellis - Goaltender
Team:
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If Boston misses out on Knight, there are plenty more netminders to choose from if Boston is adamant about adding another goalie. However, it seems likely that the next men up like
Hunter Jones, Pyotr Kochetkov
and
Matvey Guskov
could all be off the board by the end of the second round or start of the third. Ellis, who impressed in his second season in the Q, could be available when Boston picks in the third round.
Oliver Turan - Defenseman
Team:
Team:
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A physical, 6-foot-5 defenseman from Slovakia? It all checks out. Turan, who also provides plenty of value as a right-shot D, should be available when the Bruins are back on the clock in the fifth round.
Max Crozier - Defenseman
Team:
Stats:
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A right-shot D with plenty of playmaking potential, Crozier is a great value in the fourth or fifth round. The Calgary native will play college hockey at Providence next season.
Other names to keep tabs on
Jack Hughes, Center:
In a first round that’s likely going to be dominated with prospects hailing from the US Men’s National Team Development Program,
Hughes
is in line to be the eighth American to be taken first overall in an NHL Draft. A dynamic, playmaking center that tallied 112 points over 50 games with the USMNT U-18 squad this season, Hughes projects to be a franchise centerpiece for the New Jersey Devils.
Kaapo Kakko, Wing:
Hughes might have the No. 1 overall pick locked down, but the Rangers are set to get one hell of a consolation prize in Kakko, who tallied 22 goals and 38 total points over 45 games against much older competition in the Finnish Elite League as a 17/18-year-old prospect. A smooth-skating, cerebral winger with a great shot, Kakko even seemed to challenge Hughes for the No. 1 spot after scoring six goals in Finland’s run to a Gold Medal in the 2019 IIHF World Championships. The Devils-Rangers rivalry just got much, much more interesting.
Matthew Boldy, Wing:
Another USMNT product set to go in the first round, Millis native Matthew Boldy seems locked in to be a top-10 pick later tonight, with the dynamic forward recording 81 points over 64 games with Team USA this past year.