The Boston Bruins took a quick stop near the bottom of the league to add some solid pieces to their prospect pool.

The Bruins are a bit of a mushy-middle team at the moment, but they always seem to find their way to being one of the NHL's better teams. They have a few pieces in the pipeline that could help if they hit. 

With the NHL off-season in full swing, we have the perfect opportunity to look at each team’s prospect pool, going in alphabetical order, which means it's Boston’s turn.

In our annual Prospect Pool Deep Dive series, Tony Ferrari will dig into each team’s top prospects, the strengths and weaknesses of the pipeline, a quick overview of their latest draft class, where each team's positional depth chart stands, and who could be next in line for an NHL chance!

The Bruins are fighting to keep themselves in position to be a contending team, and they are going to be relying on a combination of pro scouting, an area of strength over the years, as well as development from the prospects they have in the system. They have a couple of players who should find their way into the NHL and many who will need some development and the right opportunity. 

James Hagens is the main event for Bruins fans. The dynamic, skilled playmaker got a taste of NHL action at the end of last season, but his first season as a pro comes this fall. His fluidity on his feet as a skater is such a difference-making aspect of his game. His hands and feet work cohesively to create small advantages and space for himself, allowing him to use his elite vision and passing to set up his teammates. He should be a Calder Trophy candidate heading into next season. 

The up-and-down development of Dean Letourneau has been interesting to see. His first NCAA season was a disaster, to put it kindly. Three points in 36 games was hard to come to terms with for Bruins fans who just saw their team draft him in the first round. Realistically, he went to college a year too early and should have spent a year playing junior hockey. He bounced back in a big way, though, putting up 22 goals and 39 points in 36 games this past year. 

The 6-foot-7 right winger has some really nice skill and puckhandling ability as well as a good shot. His hands around the net are an asset that should help him at the pro level as well. His skating remains a bit of an issue, as does his overall pace, but with his length and skill, he should be able to find a role in the NHL after another year or two in college. 

After a very good season in the USHL this past year, Cooper Simpson is heading to the NCAA with North Dakota next season. The explosive skater is such a treat to watch when he is at his best, combining his slick hands with blazing speed. He needs to refine some things, but he showed plenty of promise with Youngstown this past year. With continued physical maturity, he could be a dangerous left winger at the NHL level. 

Another North Dakota player that the Bruins will be paying close attention to is Will Zellers, a highly skilled left winger who plays with plenty of speed. He’s a really exciting player to watch because of his skill. He still needs to add some more of a physical edge to find success at the pro level. 

One of the Bruins' wild cards in their prospect pool is Dans Locmelis, the Latvian center plays a pro-style game. He had a good first full season in the AHL. He is a player who works hard, plays a detail-oriented game and doesn’t try to do too much. He could use a bit more skill and speed to get to the next level, but he might end up being that key bottom-six guy that always seems to be an important piece for the Bruins. 

The back end is a little unimpressive, but they’ve managed to find some solid pieces in a group of middling prospects. Elliott Groenewold has been patrolling the Quinnipiac blueline in the NCAA for a couple of years now, showcasing his mobility and physical defensive play. He showed improved play with the puck this past year as well. There might be a solid depth defender in a year or two. 

A staple on the Providence Bruins blueline over the last couple of years, Frederic Brunet has been developing into a pretty nice two-way defender. He has continued to use his mobility and offensive instincts, but he’s also been maturing on his own end, simply making better decisions. 

They are hoping that Loke Johansson can find his way back to regular shifts in the AHL. The heavy hitter spent most of last season in the ECHL, but the Bruins have high hopes for the Swede. If he can get his game back in order, he could be a really interesting defensive piece. 

James Hagens (C/W), Fraser Minten (C), Matthew Poitras (C/W), 

Round 2, 56th overall - Yuri Ivanov, G, Spartak Moscow Jr. (Rus.)

Round 3, 88th overall - Nils Bartholdsson, RW, Rogle (Swe.)

Round 4, 104th overall - Matvei Kotkov, RW, Yaroslavl Jr. (Rus.)

Round 4, 122nd overall - Oscar Olsson, LW, Orebro Jr. (Swe.)

Round 5, 157th overall - Jacob Vandeven, D, Komoka (GOJHL)

Round 6, 170th overall - Roberto Leonardo Henriquez, G, Green Bay (USHL)

Round 7, 216th overall - Cullen McCrate, D, Fargo (USHL)

The Bruins had quite an interesting draft class. They started things off in the second round by drafting Russian netminder Yuri Ivanov. He was a netminder who wasn’t regarded this highly, but Ivanov was one of the youngest netminders in the draft and had an excellent second half of the year. The 6-foot-2 netminder was even better in the playoffs. He’s athletic, and he’s shown the ability to be a force in net when he is dialled in. 

Nils Bartholdsson was their pick in the third round, adding a player with some really high-end offensive tools. He’s a good shooter with some slick passing ability. He may not be the most fleet of foot, but he understands how to get things going once the puck is in the offensive zone. Bartholdsson is the highest upside player that the Bruins drafted, and he could be a really solid complementary winger at the NHL level. 

The Bruins went back to Russia in round four, taking winger Matvei Kotkov. He had a very good MHL playoffs as the MVP of the post-season, using his goal scoring to help his team to a Kharlamov Cup championship. A constant scoring threat in the offensive zone, Kotkov has a very strong shot, and he will fire it from all over the zone. He’s a good skater and a willing physical presence, but he’s going to need to round out his game and diversify his offensive game to reach the NHL someday. 

With their second fourth-round pick, the Bruins drafted Swedish power forward Oscar Olsson. He’s an interesting player because while he is a good goal scorer from around the net and he does a good job of playing in space, especially on the power play, there is a finesse element to his game that has flashed from time to time and remains enticing. Olsson is a long-term development project, and he will have to get a bit faster and more agile to reach his full potential. 

Boston selected one of the few junior A players taken in this year’s draft, Jacob Vandeven. The 6-foot-5 defender is physically undeveloped, and that showed up when he played in some games for the London Knights this past year. He has the right idea in his own zone, he’s just beaten to pucks, or he loses battles because of his lack of strength. Vandeven is a long-term project with a frame that they hope fills out. 

Possibly my favorite pick of the Bruins draft came in the sixth round, where they selected Roberto Leonardo Henriquez, a Dominican-Slovakian netminder who was playing in the USHL. The overage netminder was highly athletic and showed some really intriguing tools as a netminder. The biggest strength in his game is his skating, though. He moves so well on his feet that he’s able to give himself the chance to make just about any save needed. He could be as good as the netminder they took in round two. 

Finishing off the draft with another overager, defenseman Cullen McCrate. Heading off to Michigan State in the NCAA next year, the 19-year-old blueliner is the kind of player who simply tries to ensure that bad things don’t happen. He’s not a dynamic presence or the kind of defender that is going to make glaring mistakes. McCrate likes to keep things simple and easy. He’s a swing on a safe floor. 

The Bruins truly do not have a position where they are strong.

They have a couple of center prospects in Hagens and Locmelis that are solid.

You could argue either wing with Letourneau and Bartholdsson on the right and Simpson, Zellers and Cole Spicer on the left.

The reality is that many of those players, despite being top prospects in the Bruins system, are long shots or swings on skill that Boston hopes will work out. 

The Bruins have one single right-handed defense prospect in recent seventh-round pick, overager Cullen McCrate. With Max Wanner not receiving a qualifying offer, the Bruins have no one in their pipeline at the position with NHL projection, unless you really stretch McCrate’s projection.

It’s safe to say that while they have weaknesses all over their prospect pool with no real area of strength, the fact that they have a single long shot right shot defensemen is an issue. 

Although he didn’t blow the doors off at Boston College as a freshman, Will Moore had quite a steady season.

He had just 10 points in 33 games, but he played a really solid two-way game and brought plenty of effort throughout the year. His game has always been built around being able to tactically pick apart the opposition, simply making smart plays.

When he is at his best, he’s a very smart north-south center who can bring two-way effort. He could be a really solid depth center for the Bruins in a year or two. 

The Bruins are going to be in need of a true difference-maker from their younger players, and the player with the best chance of doing that is Hagens.

The former Boston College forward has been one of the most exciting prospects in hockey over the last couple of years, playing with the fluidity and creativity that thrive in the modern game.

His playmaking is as good as that of almost any prospect in hockey. If he can find his groove as a center, he could be the 1C that Boston has sorely lacked since Patrice Bergeron retired. 

LW: Cooper Simpson, Will Zellers, Oscar Olsson, Cole Spicer, Brett Harrison, Christopher Pelosi

C: James Hagens, Dans Locmelis, Will Moore, Cole Chandler, Kirill Yemelyanov

RW: Dean Letourneau, Nils Bartholdsson, Matvei Kotkov, Ryan Walsh

LD: Frederic Brunet, Loke Johansson, Kristian Kostadinski, Jacob Vandeven, Elliott Groenewold

RD: Cullen McCrate

G: Philip Svedeback, Yuri Ivanov, Roberto Leonardo Henriquez

For a deeper dive into the prospect pool with player rankings, check out the Yearbook and Future Watch editions of the Hockey News print edition! 

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