Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney has been in his position for ten years now and has seen success with one Stanley Cup Finals appearance and one historic regular season. This past season was the first time since 2016 that the Bruins failed to make the playoffs. Sweeney has added pieces to the prior core that helped propel the Bruins into Stanley Cup contenders. In fact, it was the nucleus of Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Zdeno Chara, and Tuukka Rask that led Boston to many strong seasons, and also made Sweeney fearful of what could be next. Well, here is what’s next, and it *has Sweeney on the ropes.
Sweeney’s strengths have been involving the trade market. Past deals to acquire the likes of Charlie Coyle, Tyler Bertuzzi, Hampus Lindholm, and Taylor Hall, among others, have been major bright spots. Even in a disastrous 2024-25 season, the Bruins GM was able to trade away Brandon Carlo, Coyle, Trent Frederic, and Brad Marchand for good returns. However, Sweeney’s drafting has been under immense scrutiny. Some of that was warranted, and some was at least slightly unfair. The Bruins have used first-round picks to obtain some of the aforementioned players, which has made it difficult for Boston to replenish a barren prospect pool. But even Sweeney admitted recently that the Bruins’ drafting and development has been subpar.
That leads us to this past NHL Draft where Boston was drafting in the top ten for the first time since 2013. The Bruins walked into this year’s draft with the seventh pick and were rumored to be offering it in trades, but eventually chose former potential top pick James Hagens out of Boston College. Boston needs centers of an elite caliber, and Hagens has the skill set as a point-per-game player in Hockey East to be just that. Instead of trading the pick or reaching and overthinking, Sweeney made the appropriate choice.
With the 51st pick in the second round, Boston took another left-shot center who is heading to Boston College in William Moore. Moore is a 6-foot-2 forward who is still maturing physically but has very good skill with the puck and has played in the National Development Program. Moore models his game after Minnesota Wild forward Matt Boldy. If Moore reaches that level, this is a steal of a selection for Sweeney.
At pick 61, the Bruins reached a little with Swedish defenseman Liam Pettersson. The 6-foot-2 blueliner has really good puck-moving skills but needs a lot of work defensively, which caused him to be more of a third or fourth round prospect. However, the Bruins see potential in Pettersson, who plays for the Vaxjo U-20 club.
The 79th pick in the draft is possibly the most intriguing. Cooper Simpson is a former Minnesota high school standout had totaled 49 goals and 83 points in 31 games his senior year. After the completion of that season, Simpson played nine games for Tri-City in the USHL and collected seven goals in nine games. Simpson is a very talented offensive player who can really shoot it. Typically, dominant Minnesota public school players become legitimate pro prospects. This is a player to keep an eye on for sure.
At pick 100, the Bruins went off the board…literally. Vashek Blanar is a raw 6-foot-4 defenseman who has been playing in Sweden. This choice seems to be a find from Bruins’ Swedish scout PJ Axelsson. Blanar turned heads at this week’s Bruins Development Camp, also. When Blanar was drafted, there was not much information on him, and it would take years before you possibly see the blueliner anywhere near the NHL roster, but at the 100th pick, why not?
In the fifth round, 133rd overall, Sweeney took Cole Chandler, the 172nd-ranked North American skater. Chandler is another left-shot center who battled injuries and illness in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with Shawinigan. Chandler collected 32 points in 64 games this season, but plays a very smart 200-foot game for his age.
And lastly, at pick number 165 in the sixth round, Boston took Russian center Kirill Yemelyanov, the 31st-ranked international skater in the draft. This is another center who doesn’t show a ton of offensive explosion but does have a complete game similar to Chandler.
Don Sweeney needed a good draft as the Bruins have struggled to reset their roster. In many experts’ eyes Sweeney has nailed this year’s draft. Time will tell, of course. However, this draft seemed different, and Sweeney chose talent over potential for the most part. When all is said and done, this might be the draft that saves Sweeney’s job in the long run.
Season 4. Episode 39. The Off Season – Bruins Benders Podcast
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