Many people’s first trip to Las Vegas is purely for entertainment, but for Elliott Groenewold, it was strictly business.
Well, maybe not strictly business, as Groenewold got to soak in the tourist attractions on the Strip, but the 18-year-old Bellows Falls, Vt., native made the trip out west primarily to hear his name called at the Sphere during the 2024 NHL Draft from June 28-29.
Growing up a Bruins fan, Groenewold would take the occasional trip down to Boston to see the Bruins at TD Garden. The young defenseman even points to Hampus Lindholm and Brandon Carlo as players he likes to model his game after.
Needless to say, he was excited to find out he was on his childhood team’s radar. After conversations with members of the organization in Vegas, Groenewold knew he would be toward the top of their list when the third and fourth rounds rolled around.
Sure enough, the Bruins selected Groenewold in the fourth round with the 110th overall pick. After hours of waiting, the moment was “indescribable.”
