Boston Bruins Draft class 2023: Grades & thoughts on draft selections
By Zachary McMahon
The Boston Bruins picked five players on Day 2 of the Upper Deck NHL Entry Draft at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. This is after the Bruins being quiet on Day 1 with no first round pick due to the trade for Garnet Hathaway and Dmitry Orlov that sent the pick to the Washington Capitals. The Capitals would then trade the pick to the Maple Leafs with Erik Gustaffson in exchange for Rasmus Sandin.
They didn’t pick until the third round due to the second round pick being sent to the Anaheim Ducks in the Hampus Lindholm trade, which also cost them a first round pick last season.
Due to the Bodton Bruins losing Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno earlier this week, and Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron both aging. The Bruins needed attackers for the future that will continue their success.
The Bruins picked centers for their first three picks in the draft. This is one of the things that the Bruins have struggled for the last 15 years as they failed to draft and develop them. However, they were able to get away with it because Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci have been productive for so long.
Two recent draft picks — Matthew Poitras (second round, 2022) and Brett Harrison (third round, 2021) have developed nicely and someday could be solid NHL role players at center.
Poitras has been playing for the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League for the last two season where he has scored 40 goals. Poitras had signed an amateur contract with the Providence Bruins in April for the remainder of the season, however he would not appear in any games for the Bruins affiliate. He is expected to play for Providence for the 2023-24 season.
Harrison played one game for the Providence Bruins last season after signing an entry-level contract with the Bruins where he earned an assist. He also split time with the Oshawa Generals and the Windsor Spitfires which are both based out of Ontario.
So this proves that it was not very surprising to say the least that the Bruins decided to spend their first three picks on centers.