The Boston Bruins made just five selections at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. Despite that fact, the organization was quite bullish on its five newest prospects.
Defenseman Axel Andersson was the team’s first pick, taken in the second round, 57th overall. From Järna, Sweden, Andersson played for Djurgardens IF J20 in the SuperElit, posting a plus-14 rating while scoring six goals and adding a team high 25 assists in 42 games played.
Andersson was part of Sweden’s bronze medal-winning team at the 2018 IIHF U-18 World Championship.
“The staff was really high on him,” said Bruins assistant GM Scott Bradley. “He can really skate. He’s one of the better skaters in the draft. He’s real mobile up the ice. He can join the rush.”
Next up was forward Jakub Lauko, picked in the third round with the 77th overall selection. A left shot from Praha, Czech Republic, Lauko was expected to go higher by most prognosticators and certainly was a good value in the third round.
“On our list, he was a first-round pick,” Bradley explained. “We’re ecstatic to get Jakub at that point in the draft. He’s fast, energy. He plays with a lot of character. He’s willing to sacrifice, and this player can really shoot the puck. His best asset could be his speed.”
Lauko struggled to produce while playing for Pirati Chomutov, scoring just three goals and six assists in 42 games. However, he fared much better when going up against his peers. He scored three goals and added three helpers in seven games at the U-18 World Championship. He had four goals in five games at last summer’s Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament, considered one of the major events on the scouting calendar.
Big two-way center Curtis Hall was the team’s next pick at 119th overall in the fourth round. Hall, who grew up in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, scored 16 goals and 21 assists in 65 USHL games last season with the Youngstown Phantoms. Like Lauko, Hall had a good Hlinka Tournament, potting three goals in four games.
Hall is considered a versatile prospect. He has the potential to be a second-line center who could play heavy and score goals or he could center a bottom-six line and provide more of a physical presence.
“He’s a big boy. We followed him all year. We closely watched him. He’s a powerful player. He had a strong playoffs. We think there is a lot of upside. It’s hard to find that size,” said Bradley.
“Curtis is an extremely hard player to handle,” said Youngstown coach Brad Patterson. “He’s big and powerful. He has a good stride. He’s skilled. From the blue line in, he’s a dominant player. Teams have a hard time matching up against him. He’s very good on draws and becoming better in all areas of his game.”
Defenseman Dustyn McFaul was the next prospect taken by the Bruins. The Watertown, Ont., native was taken in the sixth round with the 181st overall pick. Committed to play college hockey for Clarkson University, McFaul scored four goals and 15 assists for
19 points in 38 games for the Pickering Panthers in the OJHL. McFaul is considered to be more of a raw prospect who will need
quite a bit of seasoning before being ready for pro hockey.
“I’m a two-way defenseman who moves the puck well and I’m good skater,” said McFaul, when asked to describe his game, adding he’d like to improve his strength and shot over the coming years.
McFaul, who attended Bruins Development Camp, said he enjoyed the experience of skating with the organization’s other top prospects.
“It was great to meet people and learned some new things,” he said.
The Bruins’ last pick at the 2018 NHL draft was Pavel Shen, pegged in the seventh round with the 212th overall pick. In 2017-18,
Shen split time with the Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk in the KHL and the Mamonty Yugry in the MHL. He had 12 goals and 14 assists in 29 MHL games while posting just two goals in 29 KHL games.
