The Bruins' prospect pool is being viewed as the NHL's worst.
The Boston Bruins have had a very successful 2023-24 season. They clinched their eighth straight playoff berth and are looking to go on a real run this year.
Due to the Bruins' strong regular-season success over nearly the last decade, they have not been afraid to part ways with first-round picks and their notable prospects in big-time deadline deals. Since 2019, they have made only two selections in the first round. Because of this, they do not have many notable names in their pipeline, and it's now led to them getting some harsh but fair criticism.
In ESPN's latest prospect pool rankings, the Bruins were rated the worst in the entire NHL.
As ESPN's Rachel Doerrie notes in the piece, notable youngsters Mason Lohrei and Matthew Poitras moved on from their prospect status. The same can be said for rookie Johnny Beecher. With these three previously being among the club's top players in an already weak prospect pool, it is understandable that the Bruins are being rated so lowly.
While the Bruins' prospect pool is being ranked poorly, they still have some promising players in their system.
Fabian Lysell, the club's 2021 first-round pick, took a big step forward this season with Providence, posting new career highs with 15 goals, 35 assists, and 50 points. There's an expectation that he will get NHL time next season.
Georgii Merkulov is one of the AHL's best players this season, recording 25 goals and 59 points in 61 games with the Baby B's. He also appeared in his first four NHL games this season but failed to record a point.
Other players in their system who may have the the potential to become NHLers later on include Brandon Bussi, John Farinacci, Oskar Jellvik, Brett Harrison, Frederic Brunet, Jonathan Myrenberg, Michael DiPietro, and Jaxon Nelson.
Ultimately, the Bruins have some players worth watching in their system, but it's hard to envision many of them becoming high-impact NHLers. As a result, the Bruins' No. 32 spot in ESPN's prospect pool rankings is, unfortunately, pretty understandable.
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