Bruins swing trade, draft defenseman in fourth round of 2024 NHL Draft
Originally slated to begin their Day 2 of the 2024 NHL Draft with the No. 122 overall pick, the Bruins decided to move up to the No. 110 overall pick on Saturday by way of a trade with Minnesota.
The trade was more than your normal pick swap, too, with fourth-line winger Jakub Lauko (and the No. 122 overall pick) sent to the Wild in exchange for the No. 110 pick and veteran AHLer Vinni Lettieri.
And with the jump up the draft board, the Bruins selected left-shot defenseman Elliott Groenewold.
A 6-foot-2 blue liner, the Vermont-born Groenewold posted five goals and 16 points, along with a minus-1 rating and 77 minutes in penalties, in 57 games for USHL Cedar Rapids in 2023-24. Groenewold’s season was also enough to earn him USHL All-Rookie Second Team honors.
“As the off-puck defender, Groenewold’s high-pace, high-aggression style stands out,” EliteProspect’s 2024 NHL Draft Guide wrote of Groenewold. “He locks down threats around the net, jumps into passing lanes, and diffuses multi-variable situations with ease. When defending the rush, he pivots early and surfs across to force the attacker wide.”
The 18-year-old Groenewold, who also played for the United States in the World Junior A Challenge this past season, is slated to join Quinnipiac University (and with fellow B’s prospect Chris Pelosi) this year.
Lauko, meanwhile, will depart the Bruins organization after five seasons in the system, and on the heels of a 2023-24 campaign that included two goals, 10 points, and 176 hits in 60 appearances for Boston. A speedy nuisance, Lauko’s calling with the Black and Gold was in his penalty-drawing game, as Lauko drew 23 penalties in 83 games over the last two seasons. Breaking it down on a per-60 rate, Lauko’s 1.8 penalties drawn per 60 ranked 19th out of 439 forwards with at least 700 five-on-five minutes played.
And if Lettieri sounds familiar, it’s because he was with the Bruins in 2022-23, with 23 goals and 49 points in 48 games for AHL Providence, along with one NHL appearance for the Bruins. The 29-year-old Lettieri posted five goals and nine points in 46 games with Minnesota a year ago.
