Bruins use 2022 NHL Draft to build out the Daniel Vladar trade tree
The 2021 signing of Linus Ullmark spelled the end of Daniel Vladar’s Boston run.
Almost immediately, too, as the Bruins flipped Vladar to Calgary in exchange for a 2022 third-round pick the same day they signed Ullmark. But the B’s decided to maximize that further Friday, by flipping that third-round pick (No. 91 overall) to the Seattle Kraken in exchange for a fourth-round selection and fifth-round selection in Friday’s Day 2 of the 2022 NHL Draft.
With the first of the two picks from Seattle, the Bruins selected American center Cole Spicer.
A University of Minnesota-Duluth commit (Spicer had originally committed to North Dakota), the 5-foot-10 Spicer is coming off a 2021-22 that included 10 goals and 16 points in 26 games for the U.S. National Development Team.
🌶️🌶️🌶️ Cole Spicer spicing things up with a breakaway goal that puts @usahockey up 7-3 over Canada.#U18Worlds #CANUSA pic.twitter.com/iZvlQ63FrO
— IIHF (@IIHFHockey) April 23, 2022
And with the second pick obtained from the Kraken, which checked in at No. 132 overall, the Bruins selected defenseman Frederic Brunet. A 6-foot-2 left-shooting defenseman (who can also play forward), Frederic put up 12 goals and 46 points in 63 games with Rimouski Oceanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
Ranked as the No. 113 North American skater by Central Scouting, the Quebec-born Brunet fits the mold of the new-age defenseman, with some strong offensive skill to go with size.
Frédéric Brunet is a flashy puck-rushing Dman with a tremendous mobility, slick puck skills and a gleaming confidence.
— Andy Lehoux (@Andylehoux1) January 13, 2022
Less than a month away from being a first time draft eligible (8/21/03), the overager could be an exciting option for the late rounds of the #2022NHLDraft 🏒 https://t.co/FQBLLthfl6 pic.twitter.com/czancXpj6c
The Kraken, meanwhile, used the No. 91 pick acquired from the B’s to draft Weston, Mass. native Ben MacDonald. A left-shot center, MacDonald played at Noble & Greenough last year, and will spend next season in the BCHL before joining Ted Donato’s Harvard Crimson beginning in 2023-24. (He’s basically the exact kind of player you thought the Bruins would pick based on their history, but they instead traded that pick out to Seattle to gain a fifth-round pick they didn’t have.)
The Vladar trade tree wasn’t the only one extended by the B’s on Friday, as the team selected London Knights defenseman Jackson Edward with the No. 200 overall pick acquired from the Senators in the Zach Senyshyn-Josh Brown trade.
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Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. He has been covering the Bruins since 2010, and has been a member of the Boston chapter of the PHWA since 2013. 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.
