2024 Draft Recap: Boston Bruins
Mammoth center Dean Letourneau headlines what turned out to be another skimpy Bruins draft class
NASHVILLE (The Draft Analyst) — Those familiar with my work know how I feel about draft report cards, even if I’ve been guilty of feeding that beast throughout the last 10 years. But my thoughts on the latest 2024 results will be more than broad brush strokes, as pinning the rose on 12 uninterrupted months of in-depth analysis from both the team and prospect standpoints requires more than the standard letter-grade marking scheme acting as the rubric. Rather, draft hauls will be evaluated and labeled on the following criteria, which I think are both fair and reasonable:
Strong — Any four of potential franchise player(s) drafted; needs addressed; first-round caliber picks in the second or third round; multiple home-run swings in later rounds; point-producing sleepers; the majority of prospects were in top-line/top-pairing/starter roles (Ex. Buffalo’s 2022 draft)
Above-average - Any three of needs addressed; multiple home-run swings; acknowledged consensus favorites; the majority of prospects were in top-line/top-pairing/starter roles; making more with less; first-round quality in the second or third round. (Ex. Carolina’s 2023 draft)
Average — A solid first- or second-round pick but mostly unspectacular thereafter (Ex. Colorado’s 2020 draft)
Below-average — Quantity over quality; over-drafting of higher-round picks/reaching; four picks or less with no first-round selection; obsession with overagers (Ex. New York Rangers’ 2018 draft or Ottawa’s drafts from 2021-2023)
Poor — Any three of unpopular reach in the first round, no picks in the first or second round; needs not addressed, obsession with overagers, leaving upside on the board for projects, or bucking popular consensus choices (Ex. Arizona’s 2020 draft)
Outlook
Few pipelines seem as misunderstood as that which belongs to the Bruins, who continue to produce NHL talent despite lacking the annual compliment of draft picks and all while slotting deep in the few rounds they were able to retain. Perennial title contention will do that to a franchise, but Boston’s player development methods seem to be bridging the talent gap that usually pushes the premier draft options to unattainable reaches. But that isn’t to say the B’s have more blue-chip prospects than they can handle, making it imperative that they maximize the return on only their second first-round selection in the last five years. The system’s center depth was more robust than enviable, while shortages in scoring wings and playmaking defensemen ripened the conditions for addressing them with at least half of their four picks.
MORE: 2024 NHL Draft Report (PDF Download)
Traded picks
The 25th pick nearly accumulated a transcontinental flight’s worth of mileage, as it went from Boston to Detroit (Tyler Bertuzzi), Detroit to Ottawa (Alex DeBrincat), and then back to Boston following last week’s Linus Ullmark trade. But that wouldn’t be the last of it for GM Don Sweeney, as he and Minnesota GM Bill Guerin agreed on a rare mid-round swap that involved picks and roster players, with the Bruins moving up from 122 to 110 to take multi-purpose defenseman Elliott Groenewold while sending 24-year-old checker Jakub Lauko to the Wild for 29-year-old minor leaguer Vinni Lettieri. Minnesota would add a layer of intrigue when they used that same Boston pick to take puck-moving defenseman Aron Kiviharju, who at the beginning of the season was considered a surefire first-round candidate.
Draft Picks
Assessment: Average Draft
An average draft class for the Bruins is never a bad thing when you consider a decent post-first-round hit rate from grabbing Jeremy Swayman, Mason Lohrei, and Matthew Poitras. The prize of the class unsurprisingly is 6-foot-7 center Dean Letourneau, who tore the Canadian prep circuit to shreds and is known more for his speed than physicality. Groenewold, who will play for Quinnipiac next season, is a tough competitor who also has good mobility for having a larger frame, fitting the mold of recent left-shot defense prospects who donned the black and gold on draft day.
Speedy center Jonathan Morello has the making of a good college player, but both he and Letourneau have the USHL in their sights for at least one season before joining Clarkson and Boston College, respectively. And it wouldn’t be a Bruins draft without the obligatory pick from Sweden’s J20 Nationell, where physical defender Loke Johansson teamed with Gustav Sjoqvist to form one of the circuit’s most physical pairings. It’s going to be a while until any of these kids are playing for Boston’s AHL affiliate in Providence, but the Bruins’ long-term player development strategies are hard to criticize. If there are two complaints, and the first is a big one, it’s that Boston is both thin on the wings and may need to promote Brandon Bussi from the goalie pool to act as Swayman’s backup, but neither goaltending nor wingers were drafted despite mid-tier names remaining on the board.
MORE: 2024 Draft: Round 1 Pick-by-Pick Analysis and Grades
Favorite picks
None of Boston’s four picks should be considered steals, let alone prospects who made me jump out of my chair while taking in their league play. Letourneau may develop into something impactful off the hop for Boston College, which has to wait for him to complete a full USHL season before arriving at Chestnut Hill, presumably as a freshman top-six center since consensus 2025 top pick James Hagens is a near-lock to be one and done after this upcoming draft season. I am somewhat partial to Johansson, however, as he held his own after making the jump to the Allsvenskan and I might go as far as saying he’s got a mean streak on the same level as 2023 seventh-rounder Kristian Kostadinski, who defended angrily for Frolunda J20.