Prospect Info: Bruins Prospects XV - Stay on subject!

[PepeBostones]

WJSS wrapped up today and figured I'd share some thoughts from watching Sweden's games.

• It's hard to fully judge Lysell and Svedeback due to how bad the Swedish team was for most of the tournament. The defense in particular was horrible...dudes getting skated right around, awful turnovers, sloppy passes, etc. Sweden had scored 8 goals in their first 5 games (and were largely outplayed) before exploding for 7 goals today in their only victory of the tournament.
• Svedeback allowed 9 goals in 1.67 games but really only two of them were ones that he could have played better, IMO. Both were pretty juicy rebounds that he left right in front of the crease for easy put backs. He did make a number of tough saves including a couple of cross-ice one-timers on the PP. Overall, it is hard to draw any real conclusions on less than two games with his team not giving him much support.
• As for Lysell, he came as advertised. It's hard to not be disappointed with 0 points in 6 games but it wasn't from a lack of chances or effort.
• The thing that stands out most is his playmaking. He is always looking to push the pace and make something happen when the puck is on his stick.
• He straight up embarrassed multiple defenders with dekes throughout the tournament. After he did it once or twice I figured "OK, they aren't going to fall for that move again" and yet every single game he would dangle through the D (especially on a rush at the blue line) at least once to generate a scoring chance. His stickhandling at full speed is really impressive.
• One of the benefits of his pace and skill was his ability to draw penalties. I didn't actually count but I feel like it was around 6 PPs he generated over the 6 games. He reminded me of Pastrnak in that regard...putting the D in bad spots where they end up taking a penalty.
• When he was on the PP, he was the de facto QB. He was often the guy carrying the puck up the ice and entering the zone (usually successfully). He would set up shop at the half wall on his off-wing and look to make plays. My one criticism would be that he did have a number of unforced turnovers when on the PP...he'll need to be a bit sharper if he wants the responsibility of a PP QB.
• Defensively he was solid. You could see the motor going on the forecheck forcing the D to act quickly. He did a solid job of getting his stick in the way of passes in the neutral zone. There were times where he relied a bit too much on a stick wave to defend and would have been better off stepping into the opponent...but I won't ding him too much for that as an undersized player in mid-summer exhibition games.
• He was much chippier than I expected. He was not afraid to get into shoving matches after the whistle against bigger guys. The empty net stick throw was not the brightest idea but he didn't back down when confronted for it moments later.
• As mentioned above, Lysell is a menace in open space/on the rush -- but when it comes to more tight-checking, offensive-cycle parts of the game, he has a much tougher time. There were more than a few times when he had the puck and was closed on by a defender (usually who's bigger) and they didn't have much trouble knocking the puck away from him. Definitely something he'll have to adjust to (especially on the smaller NA ice).
• My biggest concern from the tournament was his finishing ability. He had multiple breakaways, 2-on-1s, a penalty shot, open looks, etc...and couldn't convert any of them. It's a small sample size but something to keep an eye on. With that said, even if his shot/finish never becomes elite, his overall playmaking & passing looks good enough to still be a solid offensive contributor.
• If any of the known prospect "gurus" write a review of the WJSS, it'll be interesting to see what they say about Lysell. Yes, he had zero points but he was generating chances all over the place. Overall, the positives far outweighed any negatives in his game throughout the tournament -- and I'm excited to see how he develops this year.

Outstanding post. Thank you.

I agree, I thought Fabian Lysell played perhaps his best game of the tournament last night and was dominating at times. He could or rather should have scored a few goals on plays he created himself mostly.
Of course, he needs to finish plays better and he needs to get stronger but I think the Bruins could have themselves quite a player here.

It was good reading your post on Lysell and Philip Svedeback, but
I'm disappointed none of the European players will come to camp.

Looking forward to reading your points and views if you go to the development camp.
Quite a few interesting prospects and some exciting camp invites.
Hopefully, they all do well enough to earn a pro contract in the coming years, esp Brandon Scanlin, Marc McLaughlin, and Parker Ford.

 

[PepeBostones]

Draft snub motivates Brady Lyle

Nice piece about Brady Lyle by @MarkDivver

 

[Jim]

WJSS wrapped up today and figured I'd share some thoughts from watching Sweden's games.

• It's hard to fully judge Lysell and Svedeback due to how bad the Swedish team was for most of the tournament. The defense in particular was horrible...dudes getting skated right around, awful turnovers, sloppy passes, etc. Sweden had scored 8 goals in their first 5 games (and were largely outplayed) before exploding for 7 goals today in their only victory of the tournament.
• Svedeback allowed 9 goals in 1.67 games but really only two of them were ones that he could have played better, IMO. Both were pretty juicy rebounds that he left right in front of the crease for easy put backs. He did make a number of tough saves including a couple of cross-ice one-timers on the PP. Overall, it is hard to draw any real conclusions on less than two games with his team not giving him much support.
• As for Lysell, he came as advertised. It's hard to not be disappointed with 0 points in 6 games but it wasn't from a lack of chances or effort.
• The thing that stands out most is his playmaking. He is always looking to push the pace and make something happen when the puck is on his stick.
• He straight up embarrassed multiple defenders with dekes throughout the tournament. After he did it once or twice I figured "OK, they aren't going to fall for that move again" and yet every single game he would dangle through the D (especially on a rush at the blue line) at least once to generate a scoring chance. His stickhandling at full speed is really impressive.
• One of the benefits of his pace and skill was his ability to draw penalties. I didn't actually count but I feel like it was around 6 PPs he generated over the 6 games. He reminded me of Pastrnak in that regard...putting the D in bad spots where they end up taking a penalty.
• When he was on the PP, he was the de facto QB. He was often the guy carrying the puck up the ice and entering the zone (usually successfully). He would set up shop at the half wall on his off-wing and look to make plays. My one criticism would be that he did have a number of unforced turnovers when on the PP...he'll need to be a bit sharper if he wants the responsibility of a PP QB.
• Defensively he was solid. You could see the motor going on the forecheck forcing the D to act quickly. He did a solid job of getting his stick in the way of passes in the neutral zone. There were times where he relied a bit too much on a stick wave to defend and would have been better off stepping into the opponent...but I won't ding him too much for that as an undersized player in mid-summer exhibition games.
• He was much chippier than I expected. He was not afraid to get into shoving matches after the whistle against bigger guys. The empty net stick throw was not the brightest idea but he didn't back down when confronted for it moments later.
• As mentioned above, Lysell is a menace in open space/on the rush -- but when it comes to more tight-checking, offensive-cycle parts of the game, he has a much tougher time. There were more than a few times when he had the puck and was closed on by a defender (usually who's bigger) and they didn't have much trouble knocking the puck away from him. Definitely something he'll have to adjust to (especially on the smaller NA ice).
• My biggest concern from the tournament was his finishing ability. He had multiple breakaways, 2-on-1s, a penalty shot, open looks, etc...and couldn't convert any of them. It's a small sample size but something to keep an eye on. With that said, even if his shot/finish never becomes elite, his overall playmaking & passing looks good enough to still be a solid offensive contributor.
• If any of the known prospect "gurus" write a review of the WJSS, it'll be interesting to see what they say about Lysell. Yes, he had zero points but he was generating chances all over the place. Overall, the positives far outweighed any negatives in his game throughout the tournament -- and I'm excited to see how he develops this year.

Nice balanced review.

 

[BlackFrancis]

If you're trying to understand what he does, he's got a website and this is the explanation of how his stuff works: About the Tools

I think it's solid data science, but context is always key. He uses NHLe to compare players historically. That's points only, so doesn't account for defense, team/teammates, or ice time. The key to remember with the whole thing is it's based on probabilities, so there's basically no guarantees with any player, even if the model says they've got a 90% chance of being an NHLer. Just because a prospect produced the same as an NHLer doesn't mean he's going to have the exact same success/career. A model like this doesn't suggest how much success a player will actually have, just their chances of having success.

I'm a big follower of hockey analytics, but I think the problem with a lot of it is how it's delivered. It's very much like the Hannibal Buress meme 'Why are you booing me? I'm right.' Stuff is presented as fact without offering much context or explaining potential weaknesses in the data, and a lot of hockey analytics people don't seem to respond well when anyone questions their work.

The Bruins must have been top of the food chain back in 2016, when Providence had Koko, Griffith and Czarnik doing the ppg thing while a 20 year old Frankie Vatrano was putting up a goal a game.

 

[ODAAT]

WJSS wrapped up today and figured I'd share some thoughts from watching Sweden's games.

• It's hard to fully judge Lysell and Svedeback due to how bad the Swedish team was for most of the tournament. The defense in particular was horrible...dudes getting skated right around, awful turnovers, sloppy passes, etc. Sweden had scored 8 goals in their first 5 games (and were largely outplayed) before exploding for 7 goals today in their only victory of the tournament.
• Svedeback allowed 9 goals in 1.67 games but really only two of them were ones that he could have played better, IMO. Both were pretty juicy rebounds that he left right in front of the crease for easy put backs. He did make a number of tough saves including a couple of cross-ice one-timers on the PP. Overall, it is hard to draw any real conclusions on less than two games with his team not giving him much support.
• As for Lysell, he came as advertised. It's hard to not be disappointed with 0 points in 6 games but it wasn't from a lack of chances or effort.
• The thing that stands out most is his playmaking. He is always looking to push the pace and make something happen when the puck is on his stick.
• He straight up embarrassed multiple defenders with dekes throughout the tournament. After he did it once or twice I figured "OK, they aren't going to fall for that move again" and yet every single game he would dangle through the D (especially on a rush at the blue line) at least once to generate a scoring chance. His stickhandling at full speed is really impressive.
• One of the benefits of his pace and skill was his ability to draw penalties. I didn't actually count but I feel like it was around 6 PPs he generated over the 6 games. He reminded me of Pastrnak in that regard...putting the D in bad spots where they end up taking a penalty.
• When he was on the PP, he was the de facto QB. He was often the guy carrying the puck up the ice and entering the zone (usually successfully). He would set up shop at the half wall on his off-wing and look to make plays. My one criticism would be that he did have a number of unforced turnovers when on the PP...he'll need to be a bit sharper if he wants the responsibility of a PP QB.
• Defensively he was solid. You could see the motor going on the forecheck forcing the D to act quickly. He did a solid job of getting his stick in the way of passes in the neutral zone. There were times where he relied a bit too much on a stick wave to defend and would have been better off stepping into the opponent...but I won't ding him too much for that as an undersized player in mid-summer exhibition games.
• He was much chippier than I expected. He was not afraid to get into shoving matches after the whistle against bigger guys. The empty net stick throw was not the brightest idea but he didn't back down when confronted for it moments later.
• As mentioned above, Lysell is a menace in open space/on the rush -- but when it comes to more tight-checking, offensive-cycle parts of the game, he has a much tougher time. There were more than a few times when he had the puck and was closed on by a defender (usually who's bigger) and they didn't have much trouble knocking the puck away from him. Definitely something he'll have to adjust to (especially on the smaller NA ice).
• My biggest concern from the tournament was his finishing ability. He had multiple breakaways, 2-on-1s, a penalty shot, open looks, etc...and couldn't convert any of them. It's a small sample size but something to keep an eye on. With that said, even if his shot/finish never becomes elite, his overall playmaking & passing looks good enough to still be a solid offensive contributor.
• If any of the known prospect "gurus" write a review of the WJSS, it'll be interesting to see what they say about Lysell. Yes, he had zero points but he was generating chances all over the place. Overall, the positives far outweighed any negatives in his game throughout the tournament -- and I'm excited to see how he develops this year.

thx for the well balanced observations

 

[Montecristo]

Wayne Gretzky had a few times he went scoreless six straight too....it happens.

this dude is wayne gretzky now?

 

[The Andrew Peeke Fan]

Draft snub motivates Brady Lyle

Nice piece about Brady Lyle by @MarkDivver

I saw him about a half dozen times last year, reminds me a lot of a young Nick Leddy.

 

[burstnbloom]

The Bruins must have been top of the food chain back in 2016, when Providence had Koko, Griffith and Czarnik doing the ppg thing while a 20 year old Frankie Vatrano was putting up a goal a game.

this is what I’m saying.

 

[UncleRico]

Toronto being fourth shows how useless that list is IMO.

Their rankings are based off top 5 star %, top 5% nhler, top 10% nhler and top 30% nhler.

Do the bruins have any prospects that could be in those? Maybe lysell, besides that no. Honestly by the criteria they laid out it seems pretty accurate.

 

[duffy]

Draft snub motivates Brady Lyle

Nice piece about Brady Lyle by @MarkDivver

Good piece, and hope he succeeds with the Bruins.

 

[Coach Parker]

Thank you for posting this as it's what I hear when I talk to anyone outside the Bruins board.

 

[EverettMike]

Thank you for posting this as it's what I hear when I talk to anyone outside the Bruins board.

For the last few years every time someone shared a prospects ranking list, the Bruins were near the bottom. Each instance was then followed by indignation and claims the writer was totally incompetent and had no idea what they were talking about. And every single one of them turned out to be completely right.

 

[Baddkarma]

Thank you for posting this as it's what I hear when I talk to anyone outside the Bruins board.

Pittsburgh prospects sucks! No wonder they pulled out of the prospect challenge. They are embarrassed!

Now, as far as the Bruins go its worse than I though. These next 2-3 years better be great because after that it could be a while before there is any joy...

 

[Saxon Eric]

I still stand by my ranking the B's kids around 22, still bottom 1/3 of the league but closer to the middle than the bottom
Swayman Lysell and Lohrei are pretty high end followed by the next tier of Studnicka Lauko and Beecher, room for improvement but not the desert some on here want to portray
Let's see what tomorrow brings at camp!

 

[PlayMakers]

If you flip that list upside down you get a list of the most successful teams in the NHL recently. Boston, PIT, TB, NYI, VGK, COL, STL, CAR, WAS… the notable exceptions are Buffalo and Vancouver.

Like AOF used to say, you can’t have both a perennial contender and a great prospect pool.

 

[PlayMakers]

Folks have been saying our pool is horrible for years now, and it certainly hasn’t been great, but we did produce some NHL players out of it. Carlo, Grzelcyk, Swayman, Vladar, Lauzon, Clifton, Heinen, Bjork, Donato, Frederic, Zboril, Kuhlman, DeBrusk…

 

[Baddkarma]

Editing...

 

[Baddkarma]

Bruins selection at the center position since 2003 Bergeron and 2004 Krejci, both 2nd rounders...

2005 Entry	106	4	Vladimir Sobotka	C	Slavia Praha HC [Czech]	548	53	118	171	362
2005 Entry	154	5	Wacey Rabbit	C	Saskatoon Blades [WHL]
2005 Entry	172	6	Lukas Vantuch	C	Liberec Jrs (Czech Rep.)
2005 Entry	217	7	Brock Bradford	C	Omaha Lancers [USHL]

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2006 Entry

158

6

Levi Nelson

C

Swift Current Broncos [WHL]

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2007 Entry

8

1

Zach Hamill

C

Everett Silvertips [WHL]

20

0

4

4

4

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2008 Entry	97	4	Jamie Arniel	C	Sarnia Sting [OHL]	1	0	0	0	0
2008 Entry	173	6	Nicolas Tremblay	C	Smiths Falls Bears [CJHL]
2008 Entry	197	7	Mark Goggin	C	Choate Rosemary Hall (Conn.)

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2009 Entry

206

7

Ben Sexton

C

Nepean Raiders [CJHL]

2

0

0

0

0

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2010 Entry

2

1

Tyler Seguin

C

Plymouth Whalers [OHL]

744

281

356

637

223

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2010 Entry

45

2

Ryan Spooner

C

Peterborough Petes [OHL]

325

48

119

167

63

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2011 Entry

40

2

Alexander Khokhlachev

C

Windsor Spitfires [OHL]

9

0

0

0

2

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2012 Entry	131	5	Seth Griffith	C	London Knights [OHL]	79	8	11	19	24
2012 Entry	145	5	Cody Payne	C	Plymouth Whalers [OHL]

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2014 Entry	56	2	Ryan Donato	C	Dexter School (Mass H.S.)	180	35	42	77	30
2014 Entry	116	4	Danton Heinen	C	Surrey Eagles [BCHL]	272	44	77	121	44

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2015 Entry

45

2

Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson

C

Omaha Lancers [USHL]

29

3

6

9

2

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2015 Entry	165	6	Cameron Hughes	C	U. of Wisconsin [Big-10]	2	0	0	0	0
2015 Entry	195	7	Jack Becker	C	Mahtomedi (Minn. H.S.)

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2016 Entry

29

1

Trent Frederic

C

U.S. National Development Team [USHL]

59

4

1

5

80

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2016 Entry

135

5

Joona Koppanen

C

Ilves Jrs (Finland)

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2017 Entry

53

2

Jack Studnicka

C

Oshawa Generals [OHL]

22

1

3

4

2

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2017 Entry

173

6

Cedric Pare

C

Saint John Sea Dogs [QMJHL]

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2018 Entry

119

4

Curtis Hall

C

Youngstown Phantoms [USHL]

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2018 Entry

212

7

Pavel Shen

C

Khanty-Mansiysk Yugra [KHL]

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2019 Entry

30

1

John Beecher

C

U.S. National Development Team [USHL]

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2020 Entry

182

6

Riley Duran

C

Lawrence Academy (Mass. H.S.)

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2021 Entry

85

3

Brett Harrison

C

Oshawa Generals [OHL]

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2021 Entry

213

7

Andre Gasseau

C

U.S. National Under-18 Team [USHL]

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

The Bruins have not hit on a center since Seguin and we all know that top 2 picks are locks 99% of the time. This has not been due to neglect as the Bruins have selected several centers and few have panned out but nothing even close to resembling top nine talent, much less top six.

Seguin is the one that got away and we have various bits of information on why. No need to beat that very dead horse.

Part of the issue is that for where 37 and 46 were drafted they have far exceeded their draft slot and drove the team culture and offense for the last 15 years. Also, the Bruins as an organization value defense over centers. Wingers in the draft don't hold high value for the Bruins and their draft history bears that out. They value goalies over wings in many cases.

In the current situation I like Beecher and really think Harrison could be a steal. However, I don't think anyone has a clue if they will develop into top flight players but we all hope for the best.

The Bruins by hook or by crook are going to have to find a franchise center for their farm system through the draft or acquire one via trade. For the next couple of years they will be drafting 20-30 so I would assume those picks in terms of value have less than those the Bruins will have after 37 and his homies are gone. Coyle is not the answer for 1c or 2c...

I think the Bruins should go all out and attempt to acquire a center that can drive the second line now and take over for Bergeron in a couple of years. I would be fine trading 1st rounders, some players, and prospects for that player. These deals can be done, Sweeney is going to need to get creative.

 

[The don godfather]

Bruins selection at the center position since 2003 Bergeron and 2004 Krejci, both 2nd rounders...

2005 Entry	106	4	Vladimir Sobotka	C	Slavia Praha HC [Czech]	548	53	118	171	362
2005 Entry	154	5	Wacey Rabbit	C	Saskatoon Blades [WHL]
2005 Entry	172	6	Lukas Vantuch	C	Liberec Jrs (Czech Rep.)
2005 Entry	217	7	Brock Bradford	C	Omaha Lancers [USHL]

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2006 Entry

158

6

Levi Nelson

C

Swift Current Broncos [WHL]

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2007 Entry

8

1

Zach Hamill

C

Everett Silvertips [WHL]

20

0

4

4

4

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2008 Entry	97	4	Jamie Arniel	C	Sarnia Sting [OHL]	1	0	0	0	0
2008 Entry	173	6	Nicolas Tremblay	C	Smiths Falls Bears [CJHL]
2008 Entry	197	7	Mark Goggin	C	Choate Rosemary Hall (Conn.)

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2009 Entry

206

7

Ben Sexton

C

Nepean Raiders [CJHL]

2

0

0

0

0

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2010 Entry

2

1

Tyler Seguin

C

Plymouth Whalers [OHL]

744

281

356

637

223

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2010 Entry

45

2

Ryan Spooner

C

Peterborough Petes [OHL]

325

48

119

167

63

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2011 Entry

40

2

Alexander Khokhlachev

C

Windsor Spitfires [OHL]

9

0

0

0

2

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2012 Entry	131	5	Seth Griffith	C	London Knights [OHL]	79	8	11	19	24
2012 Entry	145	5	Cody Payne	C	Plymouth Whalers [OHL]

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2014 Entry	56	2	Ryan Donato	C	Dexter School (Mass H.S.)	180	35	42	77	30
2014 Entry	116	4	Danton Heinen	C	Surrey Eagles [BCHL]	272	44	77	121	44

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2015 Entry

45

2

Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson

C

Omaha Lancers [USHL]

29

3

6

9

2

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2015 Entry	165	6	Cameron Hughes	C	U. of Wisconsin [Big-10]	2	0	0	0	0
2015 Entry	195	7	Jack Becker	C	Mahtomedi (Minn. H.S.)

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2016 Entry

29

1

Trent Frederic

C

U.S. National Development Team [USHL]

59

4

1

5

80

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2016 Entry

135

5

Joona Koppanen

C

Ilves Jrs (Finland)

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2017 Entry

53

2

Jack Studnicka

C

Oshawa Generals [OHL]

22

1

3

4

2

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2017 Entry

173

6

Cedric Pare

C

Saint John Sea Dogs [QMJHL]

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2018 Entry

119

4

Curtis Hall

C

Youngstown Phantoms [USHL]

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2018 Entry

212

7

Pavel Shen

C

Khanty-Mansiysk Yugra [KHL]

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2019 Entry

30

1

John Beecher

C

U.S. National Development Team [USHL]

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2020 Entry

182

6

Riley Duran

C

Lawrence Academy (Mass. H.S.)

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2021 Entry

85

3

Brett Harrison

C

Oshawa Generals [OHL]

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2021 Entry

213

7

Andre Gasseau

C

U.S. National Under-18 Team [USHL]

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

The Bruins have not hit on a center since Seguin and we all know that top 2 picks are locks 99% of the time. This has not been due to neglect as the Bruins have selected several centers and few have panned out but nothing even close to resembling top nine talent, much less top six.

Seguin is the one that got away and we have various bits of information on why. No need to beat that very dead horse.

Part of the issue is that for where 37 and 46 were drafted they have far exceeded their draft slot and drove the team culture and offense for the last 15 years. Also, the Bruins as an organization value defense over centers. Wingers in the draft don't hold high value for the Bruins and their draft history bears that out. They value goalies over wings in many cases.

In the current situation I like Beecher and really think Harrison could be a steal. However, I don't think anyone has a clue if they will develop into top flight players but we all hope for the best.

The Bruins by hook or by crook are going to have to find a franchise center for their farm system through the draft or acquire one via trade. For the next couple of years they will be drafting 20-30 so I would assume those picks in terms of value have less than those the Bruins will have after 37 and his homies are gone. Coyle is not the answer for 1c or 2c...

I think the Bruins should go all out and attempt to acquire a center that can drive the second line now and take over for Bergeron in a couple of years. I would be fine trading 1st rounders, some players, and prospects for that player. These deals can be done, Sweeney is going to need to get creative.

Play the crap of studnicka would help instead of playing Coyle and haula stunting his growth.

 

[PepeBostones]

Having back-to-back top 3 picks seems the best way to build a winner

 

[The don godfather]

Bruins selection at the center position since 2003 Bergeron and 2004 Krejci, both 2nd rounders...

2005 Entry	106	4	Vladimir Sobotka	C	Slavia Praha HC [Czech]	548	53	118	171	362
2005 Entry	154	5	Wacey Rabbit	C	Saskatoon Blades [WHL]
2005 Entry	172	6	Lukas Vantuch	C	Liberec Jrs (Czech Rep.)
2005 Entry	217	7	Brock Bradford	C	Omaha Lancers [USHL]

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2006 Entry

158

6

Levi Nelson

C

Swift Current Broncos [WHL]

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2007 Entry

8

1

Zach Hamill

C

Everett Silvertips [WHL]

20

0

4

4

4

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2008 Entry	97	4	Jamie Arniel	C	Sarnia Sting [OHL]	1	0	0	0	0
2008 Entry	173	6	Nicolas Tremblay	C	Smiths Falls Bears [CJHL]
2008 Entry	197	7	Mark Goggin	C	Choate Rosemary Hall (Conn.)

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2009 Entry

206

7

Ben Sexton

C

Nepean Raiders [CJHL]

2

0

0

0

0

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2010 Entry

2

1

Tyler Seguin

C

Plymouth Whalers [OHL]

744

281

356

637

223

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

2010 Entry

45

2

Ryan Spooner

C

Peterborough Petes [OHL]

325

48

119

167

63

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2011 Entry

40

2

Alexander Khokhlachev

C

Windsor Spitfires [OHL]

9

0

0

0

2

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2012 Entry	131	5	Seth Griffith	C	London Knights [OHL]	79	8	11	19	24
2012 Entry	145	5	Cody Payne	C	Plymouth Whalers [OHL]

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2014 Entry	56	2	Ryan Donato	C	Dexter School (Mass H.S.)	180	35	42	77	30
2014 Entry	116	4	Danton Heinen	C	Surrey Eagles [BCHL]	272	44	77	121	44

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2015 Entry

45

2

Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson

C

Omaha Lancers [USHL]

29

3

6

9

2

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2015 Entry	165	6	Cameron Hughes	C	U. of Wisconsin [Big-10]	2	0	0	0	0
2015 Entry	195	7	Jack Becker	C	Mahtomedi (Minn. H.S.)

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2016 Entry

29

1

Trent Frederic

C

U.S. National Development Team [USHL]

59

4

1

5

80

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2016 Entry

135

5

Joona Koppanen

C

Ilves Jrs (Finland)

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2017 Entry

53

2

Jack Studnicka

C

Oshawa Generals [OHL]

22

1

3

4

2

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2017 Entry

173

6

Cedric Pare

C

Saint John Sea Dogs [QMJHL]

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2018 Entry

119

4

Curtis Hall

C

Youngstown Phantoms [USHL]

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2018 Entry

212

7

Pavel Shen

C

Khanty-Mansiysk Yugra [KHL]

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2019 Entry

30

1

John Beecher

C

U.S. National Development Team [USHL]

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2020 Entry

182

6

Riley Duran

C

Lawrence Academy (Mass. H.S.)

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2021 Entry

85

3

Brett Harrison

C

Oshawa Generals [OHL]

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2021 Entry

213

7

Andre Gasseau

C

U.S. National Under-18 Team [USHL]

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The Bruins have not hit on a center since Seguin and we all know that top 2 picks are locks 99% of the time. This has not been due to neglect as the Bruins have selected several centers and few have panned out but nothing even close to resembling top nine talent, much less top six.

Seguin is the one that got away and we have various bits of information on why. No need to beat that very dead horse.

Part of the issue is that for where 37 and 46 were drafted they have far exceeded their draft slot and drove the team culture and offense for the last 15 years. Also, the Bruins as an organization value defense over centers. Wingers in the draft don't hold high value for the Bruins and their draft history bears that out. They value goalies over wings in many cases.

In the current situation I like Beecher and really think Harrison could be a steal. However, I don't think anyone has a clue if they will develop into top flight players but we all hope for the best.

The Bruins by hook or by crook are going to have to find a franchise center for their farm system through the draft or acquire one via trade. For the next couple of years they will be drafting 20-30 so I would assume those picks in terms of value have less than those the Bruins will have after 37 and his homies are gone. Coyle is not the answer for 1c or 2c...

I think the Bruins should go all out and attempt to acquire a center that can drive the second line now and take over for Bergeron in a couple of years. I would be fine trading 1st rounders, some players, and prospects for that player. These deals can be done, Sweeney is going to need to get creative.

 

[The don godfather]

Would love to see studnicka and Harrison take the torch.

 

[Estlin]

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The Bruins have not hit on a center since Seguin and we all know that top 2 picks are locks 99% of the time. This has not been due to neglect as the Bruins have selected several centers and few have panned out but nothing even close to resembling top nine talent, much less top six.

The first round of 2015, when a first-line C prospect fell into Boston's lap, is definitely a case of negligence on the part of the Bruins.

 

[JerseyBruin]

The first round of 2015, when a first-line C prospect fell into Boston's lap, is definitely a case of negligence on the part of the Bruins.

I wouldn't label it is as negligence , just a case of bad drafting or bad talent evaluation.

 

[The don godfather]

I wouldn't label it is as negligence , just a case of bad drafting or bad talent evaluation.

Or donny being arrogant that night.