Bruins preparing for ‘unique’ 2021 NHL Draft
The 2021 NHL Draft certainly has the early makings of a truly weird one.
With the COVID-19 pandemic raging through and across every league — and with several leagues suspending or even canceling play at various points throughout the past 18 months — the scouting department of every NHL team has been forced to flip their process on its head. And the Bruins were no exception to that.
“The process has certainly been unique,” Bruins general manager Sweeney said in his pre-draft media availability. “There are a number of players in certain leagues that we didn’t get to see live nearly as much as in years past.”
Slated to pick at No. 21 (note: it’s actually going to be the 20th selection in actuality as the Coyotes were stripped of their 2021 first-round pick due to combine-testing violations), this will be the B’s first first-round pick since John Beecher in 2019, and their highest draft pick since Urho Vaakanainen at No. 18 pick in 2017.
The Bruins are also coming off their third second-round exit in four years, while their core is hoping for at least one more run at a Stanley Cup after coming up short in both 2013 and 2019. The Bruins also have some serious NHL roster needs right now, and this first-round pick is one of their only viable trade chips at their disposal on July 23.
In other words, there’s a lot on the line with this pick, especially if it’s made.
“You’re relying on a smaller sample size, underage projections of players and their own growth and development, so it presents some challenges,” said Sweeney. “We’ve done an awful lot of video work, a lot of background work and sort of diving below. I think every team’s probably trying to go in the same direction on that front.
“I think it presents a little more variance in terms of what the projections are for players as you go through. Outside of the top-end players in the draft that people feel comfortable with, I think you’ve got a spectrum of players probably from there on through the second and third rounds that may have greater variance associated with them. That’s just associated with the challenges and uniqueness of what we’ve all been dealing with and the lack of dealing with live [scouting] in particular.”
As for positions of interest for the Bruins, how does just about everywhere sound? The Bruins have needs almost everywhere with the exception of left wing and right defense. What the Bruins could really use in this draft, however, is a player who projects to help them out within the next couple of years. The Bruins seem all-in on winning another Cup before Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand regress out of their top-line form, and if you’re not going to trade this pick, you have to hope that it’s used on a player who can pull a David Pastrnak or Charlie McAvoy and burst onto the scene before that day comes.
Taking another player who projects as a third-line center, and who we won’t see for about four years, will do little to help this grouping achieve their goal before the clock runs out on them.
And as for the player themselves, here’s a ‘fun’ fact entering this year’s draft: Since 2013, the Bruins have selected just 11 Canadians. That is the lowest total in the NHL over that span. Even the Vegas Golden Knights, who were introduced into the NHL in 2017, have selected more Canada-born players than the Bruins, with 15.
Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter: @_TyAnderson.
