The Boston Bruins will be one of eight playoff teams in the Eastern Conference with more than 100 points when the regular season comes to an end on Friday.
That the B’s have made the playoffs 13 of the last 15 seasons, with three trips to the Stanley Cup final, means that the team has not had many years with early draft pick positions. General manager Don Sweeney has also not been averse to trading draft choices to bring in veteran NHLers for a more immediate upgrade. Whether dealing first- and second-round picks for Rick Nash (2018), Charlie Coyle (2019), Ondrej Kase (2020) or Hampus Lindholm (2022), the Boston scouting staff has often had the challenge of having to find undervalued players later in the drafts or unearth diamonds in the rough via the college free agent market.
The B's have not gotten a single NHL game out of any player drafted after 2018, which has not impacted the big club's fortunes yet. Help could be coming in the form of promising prospects like 2019 first-rounder John Beecher or 2020 top pick (second round) Mason Lohrei, but there are several players who have elevated themselves within the Bruins organization recently. We will look at them, plus a few other B’s prospects at other positions who might not be household names but could surprise with their progress.
