There are 170 players on colleague Corey Pronman’s list of the NHL’s top 23-and-younger talent. Fabian Lysell is the only Bruin.
Not only that, but the 2021 first-rounder is the list’s Mr. Irrelevant, at No. 170. For perspective, Jack Hughes, the first pick in 2019, is No. 1 and one of seven Devils on the list.
This comes after Pronman’s NHL pipeline rankings were released and ranked the Bruins No. 32.
Here are four explanations for the franchise’s prospects plight:
1. Trading first-round picks
The Bruins were idle in the opening round of 2022. They had traded their selection to Anaheim as part of the Hampus Lindholm package.
This followed a pattern.
The 2022 draft was the third time in the past five years that the Bruins were without a first-rounder. They wheeled their 2020 pick, also to Anaheim, as part of the Ondrej Kase deal. In 2018, their first-rounder was part of the price the Rangers set for Rick Nash.
General manager Don Sweeney made all of these deals to reinforce the present. He also had the future in mind.
Shortly after acquiring Lindholm, the GM signed the defenseman to an eight-year, $52 million contract. Sweeney was interested in extending Nash, who was on the last year of his contract. Kase had one year left on his deal, after which he’d be restricted.
Only one of the three plans worked out. Nash retired after 2018 because of a concussion. Kase suffered his own head injuries and was not qualified following the 2020-21 season.
Meanwhile, the Bruins lost in Round 1 last year after acquiring Lindholm. They ducked out in the second round in 2020 and 2018.
In comparison, while the Bruins selected two first-rounders in the opening round over the past five years (Lysell in 2021, John Beecher in 2019), the Sabers have picked nine. That cluster includes two No. 1 selections: Owen Power (2021) and Rasmus Dahlin (2018). Both should be long-term top-four defensemen. They rank No. 20 and no. 7 on Pronman’s list, respectively.
With so few kicks at the first-round can, it’s no surprise the Bruins are experiencing limitations.
2. Competitiveness
The Bruins have qualified for the past six postseasons. Sweeney added veteran help prior to each trade deadline: Drew Stafford (2017), Nick Holden (2018), Nash, Tommy Wingels (2018), Charlie Coyle (2019), Marcus Johansson (2019), Kase, Nick Ritchie (2020). Taylor Hall (2021), Curtis Lazar (2021), Mike Reilly (2021) and Lindholm.
In sum, the Bruins’ partings for these assets include three first-round picks, one second-round pick, two third-rounders, two fourth-rounders, one fifth-round pick, one seventh-rounder, and prospects Ryan Lindgren, Ryan Donato, Axel Andersson and Anders Bjork. It is a high volume of futures.
The Sabres, meanwhile, missed the playoffs in each of those years. In fact, they haven’t played in the postseason since 2011. It was practically a requirement, then, for the Sabers to finish No. 1 in Pronman’s ranking of the NHL’s pipelines. Misery has its perks.
For additional perspective, the Lightning have made the playoffs the last five years. Like the Bruins, they have picked twice in the first round in this segment (Nolan Foote in 2019, Isaac Howard in 2022). Tampa Bay has one player in Pronman’s U-23 rankings: Howard, No. 158. The Lightning are No. 31, one slot ahead of the Bruins.
Lightning GM Julien BriseBois, though, can waggle his fingers and flash two championship rings from 2020 and 2021. Sweeney cannot.
The sparkle of Stanley Cups goes a long way in mitigating possible future turbulence.
3. A critical graduation
Jeremy Swayman is developing well. The 2017 fourth-rounder could become the team’s next ace.
But Swayman, 23, is now a year too old to qualify in the U-23 criteria. At no. 40, Spencer Knight is Pronman’s highest-ranked goalie. You could make a case that Swayman and Knight are currently comparable.
4. Questions on some pick placement and development
Two players fall into this category: Jakub Lauko (No. 77, 2018) and John Beecher (No. 30, 2019). Neither has played an NHL game.
At times, the speedy and feisty Lauko has looked like a possible No. 3 NHL left wing. But injuries have been an issue. Lauko played a career-high 52 AHL games last year, scoring three goals and 13 assists. It remains to be seen whether Lauko’s bad health luck and muted production will lead to a regular NHL role.
Beecher’s first NHL training camp is upcoming. The left-shot center has also had poor injury luck. As a University of Michigan junior, Beecher scored six goals and nine assists in 34 games, albeit primarily in a checking role. He focused on improving his shot this offseason. While size (6-foot-3, 210 pounds) and speed are Beecher’s strengths, the Bruins await whether offense will be part of his pro portfolio.
Time will tell whether Lauko and Beecher grow into NHL players. They are, respectively, 22 and 21.
If they fall short, the debate will be if they were drafted too high or if they didn’t develop properly. Sometimes, it’s a matter of both.
What does it mean?
The Bruins have done their best to keep their gloomy prospect situation from affecting NHL performance. They intend to push for the playoffs for a seventh straight year in 2022-23 if they can survive the early absences of Matt Grzelcyk, Brad Marchand and Charlie McAvoy. The bargain returns of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci should help in that regard.
But the Bruins’ window of championship contention is closing. It may be shut already.
They are desperate for the next wave of high-end contributors to replace Bergeron, Krejci and Marchand. At this point, imminent help is not on the way.
Getting the band back together wasn’t just about buying time for young players to develop. It was the only option Sweeney had to finalize the roster.
“We’re a really competitive team,” Sweeney said after signing Bergeron and Krejci. “We want to improve our team this year. I think we have to get healthy. You have to stay healthy, then you try and take a run. But we’re going to be fine from the standpoint of the number of really good players we currently have and the age band they’re in. It’s the next wave that you have to grow and cross your fingers that you’ve hit on.”
(Photo of John Beecher: Anne-Marie Sorvin / USA Today)
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