Does bringing back Milan Lucic make sense for the Bruins?
The Bruins did not have a pick in the first or second round of the 2023 NHL Draft, but they did make five picks in Rounds 3-7 on Thursday.
The first round did still have plenty of local flavor. Lexington native Will Smith went fourth overall to the San Jose Sharks, while Amherst native Ryan Leonard went four picks later to the Washington Capitals. The two forwards are both heading to Boston College this fall, as is their U.S. National Team Development Program linemate Gabe Perreault, who went 23rd to the New York Rangers.
Incoming Boston University freshman defenseman Tom Willander went 11th to the Vancouver Canucks, while University of Connecticut winger Matthew Wood got picked by the Nashville Predators at 15. University of Maine-bound winger Bradly Nadeau rounded out the Hockey East connections, going 30th to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Here's a look at the five players the Bruins drafted:
Round 3, Pick 92: Christopher Pelosi, C, Sioux Falls (USHL)
Pelosi is a 6-foot-2, 185-pound left-shot center. A New Jersey native, Pelosi played two seasons at Mount St. Charles in Rhode Island from 2020-22. He moved to the Janesville Jets in the NAHL to start this past season and had 10 goals and seven assists in 24 games before moving up to the USHL with the Sioux Falls Stampede.
Pelosi had 13 goals and six assists in 43 games for Sioux Falls, which certainly doesn't jump off the page, especially when a player like Jayden Perron (72 points in 61 USHL games last season) was still on the board.
However, it has to be noted that Pelosi profiles as a completely different kind of player than the 5-foot-9 Perron. Elite Prospect's draft guide (subscription required) highlights Pelosi's physicality and net-front play as his biggest strengths, writing that he "is a nightmare around the net, combining shooting skill, hand-eye coordination, and overwhelming physicality." They add that Pelosi "has skills of those hard-nosed, gritty lower-lineup forwards that always receive extra shine in the postseason."
Pelosi wasn't ranked in the top 100 by most draft experts and was projected as more of a mid-to-late-round pick, so that is sure to rankle those who hate when the Bruins go off the board. (We would note that Mason Lohrei was considered a reach in the second round in 2020 and is now considered anything but.)
Pelosi is expected to spend another season in the USHL before heading to Quinnipiac University, home of the defending NCAA national champions, in the fall of 2024.
Here's a little more on him and a couple highlights from people who follow prospects more than I do:
Round 4, Pick 124: Beckett Hendrickson, C/LW, U.S. National Team Development Program
Hendrickson is a 6-foot-2, 174-pound left shot who can play center or wing, but may project more as a winger. He played a little lower in the lineup on a loaded USNTDP squad, one that had four forwards drafted in the first round on Wednesday, and had 13 goals and 21 assists in 54 games. He had seven goals and nine assists in 21 games played against USHL competition.
Whereas the Bruins took Pelosi earlier than consensus rankings, Hendrickson looks like good value based on where he was ranked. Elite Prospects had him 58th, and The Athletic's Scott Wheeler and Corey Pronman had him 95th and 109th, respectively.
Elite Prospect's draft guide (subscription required) calls Hendrickson "one of the most skilled passers in the draft" and believes he could start producing more offense with more minutes and opportunities, something he should get this coming season when he heads to the USHL's Sioux Falls Stampede, where he'll be teammates with Pelosi. Hendrickson is committed to the University of Minnesota for the fall of 2024.
Pronman notes that Hendrickson's consistency and "so-so footspeed" are the two areas he needs to work on most.
Hendrickson's father, Darby, played 10 seasons in the NHL from 1994-2004.
Here's more from people who know more:
Round 6, Pick 188: Ryan Walsh, C, Cedar Rapids (USHL)
Walsh is an over-ager who went undrafted each of the last two years and turns 20 in August. He turned some heads this past season, though, finishing second in the USHL in scoring with 30 goals and 49 assists in 61 games. The only player ahead of him was Macklin Celebrini, who is projected to be the No. 1 overall pick next summer.
Walsh is a Rochester, New York native who played his prep hockey at Salisbury School in Connecticut before moving to the USHL and the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders last year. He is heading to Cornell University in the fall. He's listed at 6-foot-1, 174 pounds and is a right shot.
Elite Prospect's draft guide (subscription required) says Walsh's game "is all about the details" and that he "wins body positioning around the net, plays a give-and-go style, and never hangs onto the puck for too long." They also say he's good defensively and never quits on plays, but that there "aren't many dynamic qualities to his game" overall.
Others have highlighted Walsh's shot as one of his greatest strengths. More on Walsh:
Round 7, Pick 214: Casper Nassen, RW, Vasteras (Sweden)
You didn't think the Bruins were leaving a draft without taking advantage of P.J. Axelsson's Sweden scouting, did you? Nassen is a big winger (6-foot-4, 205 pounds) who led Vasteras with 40 points (23 goals, 17 assists) in 48 games playing in the J20 Nationell, Sweden's top junior league. He was also the team captain.
Like Walsh, Nassen is a 19-year-old over-ager who went undrafted last year. He is slated to play college hockey for Miami University (Ohio) beginning with the 2024-25 season.
Round 7, Pick 220: Kristian Kostadinski, LHD, Frolunda (Sweden)
The Bruins went back to Sweden to close out the draft, making Kostadinski the sixth player they've drafted out of Sweden in the last three years.
Like Nassen, Kostadinski is big, coming in at 6-foot-5, 214 pounds. He had two goals and eight assists in 43 games for Frolunda in the J20 Nationell and ranked seventh in the league with 69 penalty minutes, showing a willingness to mix it up.
Elite Prospect's draft guide (subscription required) notes that Kostadinski got better on retrievals and breakouts as the 2022-23 season went on and exhibited better gap control that allowed him "to punish opponents along the boards with his physicality." They also note that he has "a long way to go" as a skater and puck-handler, though.
General Takeaways:
The Bruins clearly prioritized size, with all five of their picks listed at 6-foot-1 or taller. They continued to target centers, taking pivots with their first three picks for the second year in a row. All four forwards have some power forward characteristics, particularly when it comes to getting to inside ice and battling around the net. Kostadinski marks a continuation of their recent trend of drafting bigger defensemen; the last seven defensemen they've drafted have all been 6-feet or taller, and all but 2021 seventh-rounder Ty Gallagher have been at least 6-foot-2. The Bruins did not make any draft-day trades.
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