Kalman: Deep Draft Class Should Ensure Sweeney's Debut Goes Better Than Chiarelli's
BOSTON (CBS) -- For the first time since 2011, the Bruins are scheduled to have a first-round pick in the top 15 at the NHL Draft when it commences Friday in Sunrise, Fla.
They haven't picked in the top 15 with their own pick since 2007, when they made Zach Hamill the eighth overall selection.
The general manager and a lot of the staff is different now than eight years ago when the Bruins and rookie GM Peter Chiarelli missed out on eventual San Jose star Logan Couture, who was picked one slot after Hamill. The Bruins this season will also have the benefit of a deeper draft pool than there has been in several years.
"As everyone is well aware of, Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel at one and two put a special shine on the 2015 draft, but the depth of talent goes well beyond those two franchise players," said Brendan Ross, a draft expert for McKeen's, TheScout.ca and Dobber Prospects. "The top 10 is particularly strong with upwards of 15 legitimate players vying for a spot. That will assure that come draft day, we'll hear the media personalities emphasizing that Player X and Player Y is 'falling.' In reality, there's just too many top-end talents and several of them will need to land outside of the tier that they should."
Bruins fans should get excited that there could be 15 top-10 talents available considering Boston's position at 14. And although it won't make up for Johnny Boychuk's absence on Boston's blue line, the Bruins should be able to get some value for one of the picks they acquired from the New York Islanders at 37 (which was originally Philadelphia's spot).
"Beyond the top 10 to 15 strong picks, the draft features a slew of very promising prospects with upwards of 50 or 60 of them receiving consideration as first-round targets," Ross said. "That's much higher than traditionally expected. Teams should be able to grab some very skilled and valuable players even into the third round. And because of these talented tiers of players, it should ensure that there will be plenty of movement leading up to the draft and on the draft floor."
GM Don Sweeney has reiterated that barring a major change in draft position or in the expected pecking order of players, the Bruins are going to go for the best available player. Ross said there should be several top-tier players within grasp when the Bruins get on the clock.
"The one player who would fit in perfectly with the Bruins system is Swiss power forward Timo Meier, who spent the year in Halifax (QMJHL) flanking Nikolaj Ehlers. He's skilled but powerful winger capable of adapting his game to feature finesse puck touches or grinding it up in the tough areas," Ross said.
The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Meier had 44 goals in 61 games last season. McKeen's ranked him as the 13th-best prospect and as having the fifth-best shot among this year's prospects.
"Two other players to keep tabs on for Boston are Travis Konecny and Nick Merkley, both shorter but very competitive high-character players who just so happen to feature great skill as well," Ross continued. "Merkley is a playmaker while Konecny has a noteworthy snap shot and underrated passing game as well. Neither are prototypical Bruins players but if [Brad] Marchand can wear the 'B' then I think Boston would welcome both of them because they'd certainly add much needed skill."
Konecny, ranked 14th by McKeen's, is listed at 5-foot-10, 175 pounds. He had 29 goals in 60 games for Ottawa (OHL). Merkley was ranked 15th by McKeen's. The 5-foot-11, 190-pound right wing had 20 goals and 90 points in 72 games for Kelowna (WHL).
Ross also suggested Prince George (WHL) two-way forward Jansen Harkins, who's considered a two-way forward, and defenseman Jakob Zboril of Saint John (QMJHL). But Ross believes that at 14 the Bruins' best bet is to go for a forward because of the draft's depth.
Over at TSN.ca, Craig Button predicted the Bruins will pick Seattle (WHL) forward Mathew Barzal. Kevin Allen at USA Today has the Bruins picking Zboril. Mike G. Morreale has the Bruins picking Merkley, while Morreale's colleague Adam Kimelman predicts Zboril to Boston.
It seems as though the Bruins picked the right season to miss the playoffs. Based on the talent pool, it should be tougher for Sweeney to screw up his first draft the way Chiarelli messed up in 2007. If this is indeed the new era of Bruins hockey management is trying to sell, Sweeney will have to get this one right in the leadoff spot.
Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.
