Bruins Add Size and Power at Center in NHL Draft

On Friday night, the Boston Bruins welcomed Dean Letourneau to the franchise with the 25th overall pick in the first round.

The 18-year-old Letourneau most recently played at St. Andrew's College, a preparatory school located in Aurora, Ontario, Canada. Being drafted out of a Canadian high school is a road rarely traveled to the NHL, as Letourneau is the first player to be drafted from a Canadian high school in the first round since 2012. In 56 games at St. Andrew's, he lit up the scoresheet for a staggering 127 points on 61 goals and 66 assists.

Letourneau is already committed to the Boston area, as he will join the Boston College hockey team this fall. The Boston connection had linked Letourneau with the B's prior to the draft. There will be some questions about his rawness given his unorthodox path, but his time at one of college hockey's powerhouse programs should help him fine-tune his skillset.

Although center was undoubtedly an area of need for the Bruins entering the offseason, Letourneau is several years out from being NHL-ready and won't be an immediate addition to the Boston lineup. His freshman season at BC will provide a more informed NHL ETA.

The Bruins currently have nine players on their roster who played either their high school or college hockey in New England.

Letourneau checks in at 6'7", 214 pounds. His combination of size and offense has drawn comparisons to Blake Wheeler (a former Bruins first-round pick) and Tage Thompson. Letourneau was the 23rd-ranked prospect per NHL.com.

Jim Bay of The Hockey Writers provided some insight into what Boston fans could expect from Letourneau's game:

"While his size is an added bonus, Letourneau plays with great skill. He is an explosive skater with great agility, displays great skill with the puck, and has a lethal shot with a high rate of power. Letourneau has been working on his strength, his first three strides, and his play from the puck, which would make him an all-around dominant player. Letourneau is universally praised as a good teammate and is always positive, yet he is also highly competitive in practically everything he does."

- Scouting report via The Hockey Writers

The Bruins acquired the 25th pick from Ottawa as part of a trade on Monday that sent goaltender Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators. The pick originally belonged to Boston and came full circle. The Bruins had traded their first-rounder to Detroit at last year's deadline, Detroit then traded it to Ottawa in the Alex DeBrincat deal, before the pick returned to its original owner in Monday's trade.

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