The Bruins drafted five prospects in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, one on Friday and the other four on Saturday. Overall, I think we’ll look back on this as a good draft. Every player will need at least a few years to develop before they are ready, but that is perfectly fine given the position the Bruins are in now. Here’s a round by round break down and a little more information on each of the five new Bruins
Round 1: 30th overall pick-John Beecher, C, USNTDP (USDP)
I hoped the Bruins would take Beecher despite it being a bit off the board. He possesses a good blend of the modern and old NHL’s. His playing style has been compared to that of Sean Couturier by some, and one can see why. He’s a big power forward (6’3”, 209 pounds) who can skate like few others his size. This season, he regularly turned defenders around with his surprising speed, which he also uses along with his reach and ability to protect pucks to generate numerous scoring chances. He makes his presence known when he is on the ice, by being physical and competing hard. He also has a heavy shot and is a great penalty killer. On top of that, he is next to impossible to knock off the puck and plays an excellent 200-foot game. Beecher’s offensive numbers this season weren’t eye-popping, with 43 points in 63 games, but he also had very little power play time and never played above the third line due to the USNTDP’s ridiculous talent and center depth. So, he likely has more offensive potential than what last season’s numbers show. Regardless, he is the type of player who doesn’t have to score to be effective and that is an attractive quality in a player. It’s also one of the many reasons he is highly unlikely to be a bust, and after further developing his game at the University of Michigan he will be a good player for the Bruins with serious top-six potential but worst-case scenario a solid third-line center.
Round 2: No picks
Round 3: 92nd overall pick- Quinn Olson, LW, Okotoks Oilers (AJHL)
Olson is a player who earns a lot of praise for his playmaking and skating abilities. He has spent the past two seasons with the Okotoks Oilers of the AJHL, and last season he put up 66 points in 54 games. He followed that up with 15 points in 13 playoff games for the team. He’s a dual threat with the puck, equally able to put a hard shot on net and score in a variety of ways as he is able to be a playmaker. He has soft hands, deceptively good speed, excellent vision, and can make high-end plays. His high hockey IQ and ability to read plays and correctly guess where the puck is going make him a threat in odd-man situations for a counter-attack. He brings a high energy compete level and is sound at both ends of the ice. He reacts quickly to plays and gets to open areas. Olson is also strong on the wall and corners and wins puck battles. He can deliver big hits and he uses his strength to battle hard regardless of whether he is in open ice, in front of the net, or in corners. He has a little bit of nasty in his game and is able to be deployed on both the power play and the penalty kill. The 5’11”, 170 pound left wing is committed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth next season.
Round 4: No picks
Round 5: 154th overall pick- Roman Bychkov, D, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (MHL)
Bychkov was the lone defender the Bruins took in this year’s draft and he was a reliable two-way defender at the junior level. He had a good season this year, tallying 15 points in 40 games to go along with a plus-17 rating. He’s a left shot, possesses good hands, and is a strong skater. He also moves the puck well and is comfortable playing in pressure situations. At 5’11” and 170 pounds, he is smaller for a defender, so he needs to and will likely add more muscle as he continues to develop and could still grow. He needs to improve his shot, but his strengths are his ability to read the ice and use his agility, stride, and edgework along with his strong stickhandling skills to push the pace. Bychkov has a good first pass in transition but prefers not to be the primary passer, as he then likes to jump in as the trailer. He’s willing to engage along the wall and is good at closing shooting lanes with his stick and even blocks shots, but he needs to work on his gap control. The Russian defender will have his work cut out for him though if he wants to crack the Bruins roster eventually, as there is currently a surplus of young, left-shot D that are all above him on the depth chart as of right now.
Round 6: 185th overall pick- Matias Mantykivi, C, SaiPa (Liiga)
Mantykivi bounced between three different teams this season but performed well overall. He recorded 36 points in 34 points as the assistant captain of the SaiPa U20 team, and 13 points in nine games with the U18 team. He was also loaned to Kettera in the Mestis league in Finland, where he tallied four points in 11 games and then added six points in 13 playoff games. The 5’11”, 161-pound Finnish center is a smart player who is described by longtime Bruin’s chief talent evaluator Scott Bradley as having very special hockey sense that could be elite one day. He has excellent hands, vision, and playmaking ability and is able to make plays in tight spaces. He utilizes his stickhandling and passing skills to create offense for both himself and his teammates and can be a dangerous passer on the power play. One thing he needs to improve is his skating and physical play. When asked, Mantykivi said he models his game after Pavel Datsyuk, specifically how he forechecks and his stickhandling and passing skills. Mantykivi has played with SaiPa teams for the past three seasons and is expected to return there next year.
Round 7: 192nd overall pick- Jake Schmaltz, LW, Chicago Steel (USHL)
Schmaltz tallied 18 points in 60 games this season while playing for the Chicago Steel of the USHL. He’s 6’1” and 167 pounds and will play for the University of North Dakota this upcoming season. He’s expected to grow a little more and pack on more muscle, which will only help him as he continues to develop. He’s a two-way player described as having a lot of upside. He killed penalties for the Steel and anchored their third line as they went deep into the finals. He plays a good defensive game but has shown little offense and needs to add it if he wants to be successful at higher levels. Not much is known about him otherwise, as he was a little off the board even as a seventh-round pick, but the Bruins seemed excited about him when they drafted them so they must see some potential (although seventh-round picks are always a long shot) to develop in the necessary areas and become a professional player someday.
Hockey Addict 