For the first time in three years, the Boston Bruins have a first-round pick on the day of the NHL Draft.
The 2024 draft begins Friday night in Las Vegas, where the Bruins will be on the clock at No. 25 overall in Round 1. The Bruins acquired this pick from the Ottawa Senators as part of the Linus Ullmark trade earlier this week.
The Bruins have one of the worst prospect pools in the league. You could make a case that there are zero high-end prospects in the system.
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This No. 25 pick offers the Bruins a great chance to add a talented player to their organization and start restocking the cupboard.
What approach will the Bruins take with this pick? Best player available or draft for need?
“We’re going to try to find the best player we possibly can,” Bruins general manager Don Sweeney told reporters Thursday in Las Vegas.
“There’s always an eye toward positional needs if it presents. But it’s a dangerous prospect going into the draft thinking you’re just going to target a particular position. It’s ill-fated at times. You can make some mistakes. We all make them -- they're 18-year-old players and there's a lot of development to be done. We want to find the best player that fits some of the things that our prospect pool may lack, but ultimately find the best player.”
The Bruins' most glaring needs in the draft are center, left wing and left-shot defenseman. You could make a strong case for all three at pick No. 25.
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The organization could absolutely use a top-six center. That kind of player is hard to acquire via trade and expensive to sign in free agency. Drafting one is the most ideal route. Depth at left wing is needed, too. Brad Marchand is the team's best left wing and he's 35 years old. If Jake DeBrusk leaves in free agency, that would weaken Boston's depth at wing even more. Mason Lohrei is the only young defenseman in the organization with star potential, so it wouldn't hurt to take the best defenseman available Friday night.
The Bruins have not made a first-round pick in four of the last six drafts, so if they keep the No. 25 pick, it will be an important step in improving a prospect pool that badly needs an infusion of high-end talent and depth.
“Getting back into the top part of the draft was important for us,” Sweeney said Thursday. “It’s not an easy task at this time of the year. Those don’t trade hands very often at this point in time. But the opportunity was there, and hopefully we can take advantage of it.”