The first major event of the 2022 NHL offseason takes place this Thursday and Friday in Montreal with the NHL Draft.
The Bruins do not have a pick in Thursday’s first round after trading it to Anaheim for Hampus Lindholm, so their first pick this year will be 54th overall in the second round -- barring an unlikely-but-not-impossible trade up into the first. The Bruins also have a third-round pick (91), fourth-round pick (119), sixth-round pick (183), and two seventh-round picks (200 and 215).
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While general manager Don Sweeney has been widely criticized for his drafting -- rightly so when it comes to some of his first-round picks -- the Bruins have actually landed quite a few good-looking prospects and/or NHL-caliber players in the second round in recent years.
Going back to 2014, the following players were all second-round picks for Boston: Ryan Donato (254 NHL games, traded for Charlie Coyle), Brandon Carlo (403 NHL games), Jeremy Lauzon (142 NHL games), Ryan Lindgren (194 NHL games, traded for Rick Nash, now a top-pairing D on the Rangers), Jack Studnicka (stock down right now, but Boston’s top prospect not too long ago), and Mason Lohrei (now their No. 2 prospect behind Fabian Lysell).
The point here is that you can find talented prospects and NHL contributors in the second round, and the Bruins have… even if some of them have made those contributions for other teams due to trades.
With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of 10 players the Bruins could target with their second-round pick this year. We’ve focused in on centers the most since it remains the Bruins’ weakest position prospect-wise, but there are wings and defensemen to keep an eye on as well.
Cameron Lund, C, Green Bay (USHL)
Lund is a Bridgewater, Mass. native who is heading to Northeastern this season, and he comes from a program in Green Bay that the Bruins are familiar with (Lohrei and 2019 draft pick Jake Schmaltz both played there). Lund, who previously played for Cushing Academy and the Boston Jr. Bruins, put up 25 goals and 25 assists in 62 games as a first-year USHL player. He’s 6-foot-2 and is regarded as a creative, playmaking center who’s a good skater, but sometimes inconsistent. At Northeastern, he’ll be teammates with fellow center Jack Hughes, who could also be a Bruins target if he slips past his late-first/early-second projections.
Ryan Greene, C, Green Bay (USHL)
Another Green Bay Gambler heading to Hockey East next season. Greene, who is committed to Boston University for the fall, finished one point ahead of Lund for the team lead with 19 goals and 32 assists in 59 games. Like Lund, Greene has good size at 6-foot-1 and still has some filling-out to do. He’s considered a well-rounded center who may not do anything exceptionally, but does everything pretty well. That gives him a decent floor as a prospect, and if his offensive game continues to grow at BU, he could end up with middle-six upside.
Filip Bystedt, C, Linkoping (Sweden)
(UPDATE: Bystedt was, a bit surprisingly, a first-round pick, going 27th overall to the Sharks Thursday night.)
OK, enough of the Hockey East guys (for now). Another pond the Bruins like to fish from is Sweden, where three of their first four picks hailed from last year. With that in mind, we can’t help but notice that Bystedt is ranked in the 40s or 50s in a lot of pre-draft rankings. The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler describes Bystedt, who is listed at 6-foot-4 and 204 pounds, as “a big boy who moves well (especially when he builds a head of steam through the neutral zone) and thrives in puck control, with the skills of protection out wide to his body that you expect in a player his size.” Kind of sounds like Charlie Coyle, doesn’t it? You could do worse in the mid- to late second round.
Danny Zhilkin, C, Guelph (OHL)
After a few years of not drafting out of Canadian major juniors, the Bruins returned to the OHL to take Brett Harrison and Ryan Mast last year, and both had good post-draft seasons. There are a few interesting OHL players projected to go around this range, including Zhilkin. The 6-foot-1 pivot is regarded as a highly skilled player who hasn’t quite turned that skill into elite offensive output just yet (although 55 points in 66 games last season is nothing to sneeze at, even accounting for OHL inflation). If it translates more over the next couple years, Zhilkin could go down as a second-round steal.
Adam Ingram, C/LW, Youngstown (USHL)
A skilled player who can shoot, Ingram carried Youngstown’s offense this season, as his 55 points in 54 games were 12 more than anyone else on the team, and his 26 goals were nine more than anyone else. He slowed down in the second half, however, and his stock has dropped a bit as a result. The potential is there, though, especially if he’s able to bulk up effectively and add more strength to his 6-foot-2, 165-pound frame. Ingram is heading to St. Cloud State University this fall.
Julian Lutz, LW/RW, EHC Munchen (Germany)
Lutz is a 6-foot-2, 187-pound wing with good hands, speed and a great shot. So why would he still available at 54? Because he missed most of last season with a back injury and just doesn’t have as many games under his belt, at such a crucial stage of development, as so many other prospects. That means he profiles as the type of player who could wind up being a steal, though. And with the Bruins looking to add more pure talent to their prospect pool, they could be the team that bets on Lutz.
Rieger Lorenz, LW, Okotoks (AJHL)
Wheeler describes Lorenz, who is 6-foot-2, 194 pounds, as “a driven, puck-protection player who wins lanes in possession, forechecks to get it back when he doesn’t have it, gets to high-danger areas … and then can finish plays when he’s there with a hard and accurate shot.” For a Bruins team that wants to be able to score more gritty goals, that’s the kind of profile that might catch their eye. Lorenz is heading to the University of Denver (former home of new coach Jim Montgomery) in the fall.
Devin Kaplan, RW, USA U-18 (NTDP)
Kaplan didn’t produce at the same rate as some of his U.S. National Team Development Program teammates (38 points in 53 games), but that’s why six or seven of them will go in the first round and he’ll likely go in the second or third. His size (6-foot-3, 205 pounds) and skill with the puck make him an enticing upside bet, though. He will need to improve his skating and consistency at Boston University, where he’s headed this fall and where he’ll get to work with former Bruins assistant coach Jay Pandolfo and former Bruins skating coach Kim Brandvold.
Noah Warren, RHD, Gatineau (QMJHL)
Want a big, physical defenseman who defends at a high level and skates well enough? Then Warren’s your guy. He’s listed at 6-foot-5, 224 pounds, and there could easily be at least a third-pairing shutdown role in his future. The question is whether there’s enough offense and puck-moving ability for him to be more than that. He did chip in 24 points in 62 games this season, and Wheeler notes that he “started to come out of his shell with the puck.” If there’s more growth there, Warren could end up being good value. (We also like fellow Gatineau defenseman Tristan Luneau, who has more offense in his game, but we expect him to be gone by 54.)
Simon Forsmark, LHD, Orebro (Sweden)
As we’ve come to expect from players who are developed in Sweden, Forsmark draws praise as a good two-way player who isn’t flashy, but does everything pretty well. He’s listed at 6-foot-2, 191 pounds, and he played 41 games at Sweden’s pro level this past season, which is pretty impressive in and of itself (Fabian Lysell played 26 going into his draft year, for reference). He didn’t bring much offense at that level (3 points), but he did in 23 games at the lower level against players his own age (27 points).
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