The Boston Bruins had to wait a while to make a pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, but the team addressed needs by the end of seven rounds.
With GM Don Sweeney and associate director of amateur scouting Ryan Nadeau (Taunton, Mass.) heading the draft table, the Bruins focused on the center position with their first three picks — including second-rounder Matthew Poitras — before adding to the organization’s depth with two defensemen and one goaltender.
“You know how painful it is going in when you’re sitting on the sidelines, realizing there are good players going. It’s difficult to start the draft,” Sweeney said. “... We’re happy we attacked the middle of the ice, not necessarily by design, but that’s how it played out and we like all three players that play that position because of their creativity and offensive abilities and their growth.”
Here’s a look at each of the Bruins’ picks:
Matthew Poitras
C, Guelph (OHL), 5-11/176 (Round 2, pick 54)
Poitras was the first of three straight centers taken by the Bruins at the top of their draft class, coming off a 50-point season with 21 goals in 68 games for the OHL’s Guelph Storm. The 18-year-old is a smaller player, but he has gained more than 20 pounds after the CHL’s 2020-21 season was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic and has the versatility to play both on the wings and at center. Poitras, who considers himself a versatile player with a “bit of a mix of skill and greasiness,” was ranked 45th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.
Quotable: “He’s got a lot to work on, as a lot of young kids do, but we just see a player that’s a driver, someone who has the puck a lot and can make things happen. Even when he doesn’t have the puck, the motor is running. He’s getting involved. He’s just someone who keeps getting into dirty ice.” — Nadeau
Cole Spicer
C, U.S. NTDP U-18, 5-10/176 (Round 4, pick 117)
Another 18-year-old in the middle, Spicer joins the Bruins organization with the first of two draft picks acquired in a trade with the Seattle Kraken (giving up their third-round pick in exchange). The native of Grand Forks, N.D., has spent the last two years with USA Hockey’s renowned National Team Development Program, recording 20 goals and 39 points this past season. He is committed to Minnesota Duluth, a program known well for its ability to develop top-tier prospects.
Quotable: “Andrew Copp, I would say," Spicer said of an NHL player he sees as a model for his game. "Just a responsible forward who scores goals, but he gets to the tough areas and is solid defensively.”
Dans Locmelis
C, Lulea HF J20 (Sweden), 6-0/170 (Round 4, pick 119)
Locmelis left his native Latvia to play in Sweden at age 15 and has become just the fifth Bruins draftee from the country, which he represented at the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship. The center had 18 goals and 34 points during a breakout season in the Swedish junior ranks, earning the opportunity to play in a pair of games at the highest level. A smart two-way forward according to scouts, he rounded out Boston’s run of centers with the other pick acquired from the Kraken.
Quotable: “Another kid who's maybe a bit more of a shooter type in the middle, scored quite a few goals this year in Swedish juniors.” — Nadeau
Frederic Brunet
D, Rimouski (QMJHL), 6-2/185 (Round 5, pick 132)
The Bruins’ first pick away from the middle of the ice was Brunet, a blueliner who the organization has been tracking recently and has made year-over-year improvements in his game. Brunet had 12 goals and 34 assists in 63 games last season for the QMJHL’s Rimouski Oceanic after recording just eight points in 33 games in 2020-21. Brunet has trained with Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron this summer at Laval University in Quebec.
Quotable: “We really liked what he was doing this year and (how) his game progressed throughout the season. We think he added some additional defensive layers to his game, as well as (being) a really smooth puck-moving kid with a good frame.” — Nadeau
Reid Dyck
G, Swift Current (WHL), 6-4/194 (Round 6, pick 183)
Dyck served as a backup for the WHL’s Swift Current Broncos in 2021-22, but the Bruins see plenty of upside that doesn’t show in his numbers (6-12-1, 4.26 goals against, .884 save percentage) over 23 games. The Manitoba native, who earned a spot in the WHL Top Prospects Game, is an athletic and competitive goaltender who has good positioning. The Bruins had drafted just one goalie over the last four drafts, so Dyck provides needed organizational depth.
Quotable: “I really enjoy watching (the Tampa Bay Lightning's) Andrei Vasilevskiy. He plays very athletic, and I feel like that's one of my biggest strengths, athletic ability. So, I feel we play similar that way and he's such a great skater and he's obviously one of the best in the world, so I really try to play like him.” — Dyck
Jackson Edward
D, London (OHL), 6-0/170 (Round 7, pick 200)
Boston finished its draft (one selection earlier than expected after trading its other seventh-rounder to the Los Angeles Kings) by returning to the blue line to select Edward, who has spent the last two years with the OHL’s London Knights. The first of those seasons was canceled because of the pandemic, but he recorded six assists in 54 games and is a player the organization expects to continue developing greatly over the coming year. A lifelong Bruins fan, Edward cited Brad Marchand and Zdeno Chara as favorite players.
Quotable: “I think I have a lot of raw potential and I think that I need to become more defined all around. I learned how to play defense really well this year and became a good two-way defenseman.” — Edward
