Grading Bruins Draft Picks

By the end of the second day of the 2022 NHL Entry Draft held at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, the Boston Bruins managed to get six picks throughout rounds two through seven. Boston had tried to make a deal to get a first-round pick, but that never materialized.

Matthew Poitras – Round 2

Boston’s first opportunity came in the second round at pick number 54, when they took centerman Matthew Poitras who played with the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League this past season.

When scouting, Poitras was ranked 45th on the NHL’s Central Scouting North American Skaters list. Meanwhile HockeyProspect.com scouts listed him at 105 and Elite Prospects ranked him 78th. One of the most consistent comments from the scouts seemed to focus on his height (he’s 5’10”) and that he is a weak skater. However, Elite Prospects suggested that some of his intangibles cannot be easily quantified. “Poitras is one of the most energetic players in the draft, especially on the forecheck. His intensity and pace is rarely found in draft-eligible players, and because of this, they will make him an attractive draft target.” With that said, Poitras garnered 50 points in the 68 games he played this past season, notching 21 goals and getting 29 assists. Presently the scouts suggest that his simple play hurts him and that he needs to improve his creativity and deception.

Boston’s next opportunities came in the fourth round, having traded their third-round pick (number 87) to the Ottawa Senators for the Sens’ fourth round pick (number 117) which gave the Bruins picks 117 and 119 in the fourth.

Cole Spicer – Round 4

With pick 117, Boston selected USA Hockey’s Cole Spicer, who spent this past season playing with the USA U-18 National Team Development Program. At the USHL Fall Classic last September, he slotted into the third line center position, playing with Rutger McGroarty (who was selected by the Winnipeg Jets 14th overall in round 1) and Devin Kaplan (chosen by the Philadelphia Flyers 69th overall in round 3). Spicer was ranked 120th by NHL Central Scouting and was unranked with both HockeyProspect.com and Elite Prospects. The left-shooting center amassed 39 points (20 goals, 19 assists) in 58 games with the USA Hockey’s U-18 NTDP. Spicer is not afraid to check, and he can steal the puck. He will also make the opposition pay when they make a mistake.

“[Spicer] was a pretty prolific scorer before getting to the [NTDP]. Played a little bit down in their lineup this year on a deep team with some top centers ahead of him. Again, another kid that we think offensively has a bit of an upward trajectory and skillset, going to Minnesota-Duluth—they’ve done a great job developing players. We have a lot of comfort with the path for the player, so we’re really excited on that,” said Ryan Nadeau, Boston Bruins Associate Director of Amateur Scouting.

Dans Locmelis – Round 4

Two picks later, at 119, the Bruins took Dans Locmelis. Another center, Locmelis shoots left and spent the season primarily in the J20 Nationell league on the Luleå HF J20 team. During the season he played 44 games with Luleå scoring 18 goals and getting 16 assists for 34 points. The Latvian native went unranked by the NHL’s Central Scouting. Elite Prospects’ David St.-Louis considers his skills as limited though he does credit Locmelis with good habits. Good habits in a game at his age means that his body already has the muscle memory for certain aspects of his game, such as crossovers on the rush and stick work away from the puck. He is obviously still a bit of a work in progress, but his creativity and good habits are likely what enticed Boston to select him.

Frédéric Brunet – Round 5

During the fifth round, the Bruins had a pick from the Seattle Kraken with number 132, which they used to select Frédéric Brunet, a lanky defenseman. He went undrafted last year, but his birthday is in late August, which may have had something to do with that as well as his play during the 2020-21 season. Drafted by Rimouski Océanic of the QMJHL in 2019 in the fourth round, he was listed at 5’11”. He is now 6’2” showing that he is still maturing. He worked his way up to top defenseman with Rimouski this past season. Brunet was ranked 113 by NHL Central Scouting among North American players and 112 by Elite Prospects who expect him to really grow his game this coming season in the QMJHL. Competing is in the family tree. His dad competed in the 1998 Nagano Olympics in figure skating. His uncle, Dominik Gauthier was also at Nagano as a freestyle skier. His aunt, Jennifer Heil won gold at the 2006 Olympics and silver at the 2010 Olympics in freestyle skiing. In addition, during the off-season he trains in Quebec City with Boston’s very own Patrice Bergeron—offering Brunet an excellent example of what it takes to stick with an NHL team.

“I didn’t talk to Patrice directly [about Brunet]. With Brunet, we’ve watched him closely all year. We met with him here [Montreal] the other day. Just a player that we believe in and a person that we believe in, and just thought that for us, at that point, he was a pick that we felt was a chance to get a kid that we really want into our group,” said Nadeau.

Reid Dyck – Round 6

In the sixth round, Boston selected Reid Dyck with their 183rd pick. Dyck is a goaltender who currently plays for the Swift Current Broncos of the Western Hockey League. Dyck was the backup netminder for the Broncos this past season, limiting the games in which scouts could see him. Within the NHL Central Scouting, Dyck went from being ranked 26th at the midterm of the season to 8th as his final slot among North American goalies. He certainly has the size that most teams are looking for in goalies in the NHL standing 6’4” and weighing 194 pounds. With Jeremy Swayman in net for Boston they are not expecting Dyck to jump straight to the NHL which means he can continue to improve. However, he is definitely someone that the Bruins made an effort to see play.

“A goalie that we had had on our list and honed in. He was a backup this year, so he was hard to see at times, then ended up playing at Canada at the U18 tournament. We got some good views there, as well as some stuff we saw in Swift Current. We just think there’s an upside that our goaltending group, Bob Essensa and Mike Dunham, can really work with and hope to hone and work through,” said Nadeau.

Jackson Edward – Round 7

The Bruins’ final selection came in the seventh round with their choice of defenseman Jackson Edward 200th overall. NHL’s Central Scouting ranked him 123 among North American skaters while Hockey Prospect slotted him at 73rd. He has offensive potential but this past season he struggled to play to his strengths. If he can get back to doing that then he will get back to a level of play that everyone expected when he went 22nd in the 2020 OHL Priority Selection to the London Knights of the OHL. He’s a big player who can skate. He is a physical player, which undoubtedly appealed to the Bruins organization.

“[Edward] has a little bit of size, little bit of stiffess and bite to his game. They have, in London, especially with the young players, they have to really earn their ice and he didn’t necessarily get a ton of ice at the end of the beginning of the year, but we think his game has really rounded out and we’re expecting a big progression for him next year,” said Nadeau.

Conclusion

Overall, without a first-round pick or a higher position in the second round, there were players that the Bruins definitely would have liked to have had an opportunity at. They have certainly looked to get some depth up the center. This wasn’t a particularly deep draft class, as was evidenced by how many players outside the top fifteen or so went much later than expected. There were few “high expectation” players in this year’s draft.

In the end, the Bruins acquired some players who have potential. It will come down to how committed those players are and part of that will be seen this coming week when their six newest prospects get introduced to what it means to be a Bruin at development camp.

Because of their positioning in the draft, I give the Bruins a B- in their acquisitions. I feel there is some promise in their selections and now the onus is on Boston’s player development to grow these players into real Boston Bruins.