The Boston Bruins are facing uncharted waters this off-season. After finishing tied for last place in the Eastern Conference with the Philadelphia Flyers, they landed the seventh overall pick in Monday night’s NHL Draft Lottery. The New York Islanders defied the odds and landed the top pick, while the Black and Gold landed at the lowest spot they could have. Par for the course this season. They even lose when they're not on the ice this season.
Drafting this is high not what Boston is used to, and drafting in general for the front office over the years has been suspect at best. Despite all of the questionable drafts, they have a chance to strike it big next month with the NHL Draft and this can’t be a swing and miss with one huge need facing them.
The Boston Bruins must find a future center in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft
The opportunity is there for the Black and Gold to rewrite the narrative with their drafting. With the seventh pick, Boston must find their next future center and preferably find one that can make an impact sooner rather than later. There are only so many times you can try to address the need through free agency and swing and miss.
Right now, Matthew Poitras is a young center who is NHL-ready, but because of injuries and roster construction, he has struggled to play a full NHL season. After that, their young centers have questions, and John Beecher is a restricted free agent (RFA) this summer, and it’ll be interesting to see how the Bruins handle a contract with him.
It has been four Entry Drafts since the Bruins picked Fabian Lysell with the 21st pick in the first round, and he still hasn’t carved out much of a role in Boston. It took him until last December to make his NHL debut. Wyatt Johnson, selected two slots behind him, has been tremendous with the Dallas Stars. Imagine if the Bruins had selected him?
All of the drafting failures of the Bruins can be eased if Sweeney and the scouting staff can get this pick right and draft an impactful center. There is no need to draft another position or trade the pick. Identify the player or players that will be available with the seventh pick and find the next franchise center. Anything less will be another failure in late June for the Black and Gold.
