Can Bruins Get A Top-Line Player With 7th-Overall Pick? | The Skate Pod, Ep. 439

Can Bruins Get A Top-Line Player With 7th-Overall Pick? | The Skate Pod, Ep. 439

Welcome in to episode 439 of the skate podcast. I am Brian Deliz joined by Bridget Pru Scott Mclofflin and today friend of the show Chris Peters. Chris is the content manager at Flow Hockey. He’s an NHL draft and prospect analyst. Chris, we appreciate you coming on this year of all years because for a change the Bruins are drafting in the top 10. you’ve talked to us in the past when they were drafting at the, you know, back of the first round, but there’s lots to discuss today. Yeah, there sure is. Uh, thanks for having me back. It’s good to good to talk to you guys again and and yeah, it’s pretty pretty crazy to see, you know, we’re not used to seeing some of these teams that are that are high up in the in the in the draft rank or in the draft position and certainly not the Bruins. And uh you know the good news is is that when you’re not good there is some potential for reward and being within the top 10 this year is a good place to be because this is not a very strong draft. Uh but it is you know t more comparable when you’re talking about the top 10 15 prospects. Yeah Chris I I I want to start there. I like to kind of start more general. And so you mentioned obviously being on the top 10, good place to be, much better than being lower. But realistically, what kind of even before we get to names, like what kind of prospect can the Bruins expect at seven? Are we talking about players that have first line upside or do we need to have more realistic expectations where, hey, if you get a good top six forward, you should be happy with that? Yeah, I think in general you’re you’re expecting within the top 10 to be able to draft a player that that projects into the top six of your forward group and potentially into the top four of your your defense group. This year’s draft um is pretty centerheavy. Um it’s not very good on the blue line. there’s not a lot of uh variety in terms of, you know, the the the high-end guys in in this draft, but you’re still in a range at seven where there is the potential that you have either of those kind of options. Um, so I I would say that, you know, for me the this draft, it really thins out after 12. Um, and and I think that there’s, you know, there’s kind of the the the guys that are at the top that are um, you know, we’ll talk about them more in depth, but it’s it’s it’s Matthew Schaefer, Michael Misa, Anton Frell, James Hagens, um, you know, and and you could throw in Porter Martone, and and other players into that mix. Um, but yeah, and then then it’s kind of that next group. And so that’s kind of what we we’d probably end up talking about. Although one of those guys that I just mentioned could easily slip um further down the draft board just depending on what team’s preferences are. But I think in general this draft is it’s not a very exciting one in terms of the amount of guys that have the track record that you would expect for a a you know this a a draft you know a draft class like what we’ve had in the last couple of years. Um but at the same time every single team has the opportunity to mine value um with good scouting with good evals with players that fit their identity that with players that give them a chance. So you know I think that you’re you’re looking at you know a long way of saying that yeah I mean I think that you are going to be able to land an impact prospect probably the prospect that would move to the top of the Bruins prospect chart. uh it’s not deep so it’s not and it’s not very good at this point so that isn’t a high bar to clear but at the same time you know landing a player that makes that significant of a difference is going to go a long way for a team I and I want to follow up on the center part of that because though Don Sweeney and I’m pretty sure every GM will tell you uh they’re going to draft the best player available the Bruins really need a center in their system and you said it’s a center heavy draft how many of the centers available in the top 10 do you think have first line like number one center upside? Um I think there’s probably one or two of them. Um you know I don’t think that you uh you know outside of MISA you know it gets a little bit harder to say. You know James Hagen still has tremendous upside. He didn’t have an amazing year at BC. You know when you think about who goes number one well Mlin Celibbrini had the year that he had last year. Adam Fantelli had the year he had before, you know, guys that were were top two picks and James Higgins didn’t have anywhere really close to that in terms of production, but I’m still a big believer in the player. And so, you know, he might be a guy that could potentially have that number one center upside. Um, you know, there’s guys like Caleb Doyet who’s a really well-rounded center who can do a lot of different things and and he might not have the outright dynamic skill set to be a number one center, but he has a lot of the tools that would allow him to play a lot of minutes for a team. Um, you know, and same with like guys like Anton Fandell, who’s been a little bit up and down this season, but in in Sweden in the pro league in the all fency in the second division, you know, he helped his team get promotion in the SHL and also was pretty good for most of the season. He was, you know, has the highest points per game average for an under 18 player in that league’s uh history among, you know, players that played as many games as he did. So, I I do think that there’s still the possibility that some of these guys round out into being a number one center. Um, you know, to me, Misa has the best upside to do that at this point. Um, but it’s it’s certainly not a sure thing for even him. I think you when you look at this draft class, you don’t see the guys that have all the tools, right? You know, I think maybe Matthew Schaer is in terms of what you look for in a defenseman is the guy that is the closest to having everything. Um, but like even Misa, you know, there’s there’s times where his compete might go in and out. There’s times where, you know, you’d like him to be more aggressive. He is a a physical player. He’s I I think he’s got a good motor. I think there’s a lot to like about him. He’s obviously highly skilled. Scored 62 goals. Um, but, you know, there were times where his game didn’t look as good. And so, you know, all of these players, they’re young. They’re going to continue to develop. It’s hard to say for now. Um, but I think, you know, if you’re looking, especially if you’re outside of the top five and you’re looking to draft a number one center, and there’s only 32 of those in the league, um, you’re probably not going to, uh, so, you know, it’s it’s that that I mean, it’s not to say that somebody couldn’t be. Obviously, eventually, you know, you have Patrice Berseron who who becomes a number one center. There are guys that develop over time. Um, you know, so I I wouldn’t I wouldn’t rule it out, but I just think it’s hard to draft with that in mind just because of how high the bar is to clear to be a number one center in the NHL. So, just to keep it general again before we dive in and kind of base off this conversation because we do hear a lot that it’s not not the deepest draft and what’s challenging certainly for for someone in your position where you’re supposed to be analyzing and projecting at the end of the day 17 18year-old kids. It’s you’re only able to look at the here and now and you’re doing your best to project. But does does a draft ever surprise you? Does a draft class ever surprise you where in their 17 18 years that you’re you’re you guys are projecting this is a very deep draft and it and history tells a different story and vice versa. Yeah. I think to the even to the point where I I I’ve stopped I I try to stop generalizing that much on on you know how good a draft is because you can look and you say wow I really like all these players in the top 10 and then oh well actually six of them panned out you know like that’s the kind of thing and and if six of them did pan out that’s actually pretty good. Um but yeah, but I I mean I think that there’s always the possibility. The fact is that drafting at 18 um in the NHL or just below 18 uh does leave a lot of wiggle room for development. It leaves a lot of time and and you know, we won’t know the full makeup of a class until much later in the process. And I think that there are plenty of times where where we’ve said, “Hey, this isn’t a very good class.” Like, you know, you go back to the draft where it was Nico Heir and Nolan Patrick were the top two prospects, yet Kale Mar was number four and is one of the best players in the world, you know. So, that’s the kind of thing that that can happen in a draft and you’re just like, “Oh, well, we didn’t think that this draft was going to produce anything and then it produced the Kale Macar.” That very well could happen with this draft. I mean, I think like guys like Anton Fandell and James Hagens maybe underachieved relative to what I think their full capabilities are. And so with that, you know, there’s that potential for that bounceback. Like I fully believe that James Hagens is going to have a massive season at BC next year. Um, you know, and and and and rightfully so. I think that, you know, he’s going to have uh that year of development and now it’s more his team with Ryan Leonard and and Gabe Perau gone. And so like how does that situation change James Hagen’s overall development? It could go positive, could go negative. We don’t really know. So, I think it the one thing I will say is that, you know, if your scouts and if your team has done all that they’re supposed to do, and I’m sure that they have, um, you know, maybe not everybody agrees with what they end up doing, but at the same time, like they will have had that that feeling and and NHL teams like, you know, people can listen to us in the public as much as they want to and and and think about, you know, what the players are. I can tell you definitively for doing this as long as I have, the teams have more information than I do um on every single player. They have more resources. They have more eyes on it. They have more opinions. They have more experience. And those are all the things that they put into drafting a player, whereas mine is more of a name on a list. So, I always say I I I put in a lot of work into what I do. All the people that do this put in a lot of work into what they do. However, there is only so much we can do relative to what teams are doing. The amount of money that is put into making these selections in terms of the miles traveled, the uh the work that doctors do and the combine, the strength and conditioning coaches and what they review in terms of the physiological makeup of the player. There are so many different things that go into picking a player um that that is why it’s still imperfect because nobody has found the exact formula to draft the perfect player. So um I do think that this draft has the potential to mine some diamonds out of it. Um as every draft does and so we’ll have to wait and see and and whoever does it will feel very very lucky for doing so. I’m gonna I’m gonna have to give our our Bruins fans listeners a minute to like get up, go for a walk, take a deep breath because they they think the Bruins put zero effort into drafting and have no clue what they’re doing. So that they might be shocked to hear that these teams actually put a lot of work into this. Um well, yeah, think of all the scouts that they sent. Like I see scouts at college hockey games constantly and I try to pick their brains and obviously that’s a huge part of what you do, Chris. you you go. But for for people who want to follow it, like we’ve we’ve had trouble trying to track down like good information on on prospects because obviously we spend most of the season on NHL and for myself and and Scott sometimes too like college and NHL takes up a lot of our time. So we don’t we we’ve had a hard time finding stuff from Fendell and and and different guys especially the further you get away from from this area it’s harder to find. Is there any resources that if somebody wanted to follow prospect like is there analyt an analytic site like how do you go about like getting the this the information like some of the deeper dive information or is it something you just have to kind of go get your eyes on it? Yeah. So I I mean obviously doing what I do, if I didn’t have video resources, I wouldn’t have much luck doing this um because I could cannot get to as many games as one would need to get to in order to evaluate the players. Um I do go to a lot of the big events like the under 18 world championship. I went to the CHL NTDP prospects game, the World Juniors, other things like that that have like a collection of prospects that I can watch in bulk. um which is helpful. But for the most part, there’s very very very expensive software or companies that that h provide video um that that do this. Uh I I have used them. I have also pieced together subscriptions to all the junior sites. Um flow hockey where I work, we have the USHL, so I watch a lot of that as well um through through our own site. And then um you know there’s there’s other places to watch the CHL and and try to watch those games. Um sometimes I’ve been lucky enough to share uh share with some people on their uh their software and then I have had my own software at times as well. Um so it just kind of changes year to year in terms of what’s what’s available and how much things cost. But I, you know, I think most most uh most video systems that you would pay for to watch players are and also have analytics tied into them um is upwards of, you know, five, you know, basically five figures in terms of how much it would cost to to get that. And it’s a humongous resource. It’s great to have. Um and when I have had it, I feel like it helps. But I’ve also, you know, you got to do some shoe leather. get get out there and see what see what’s out there. So, you know, the other thing that’s changed, too, is in my job that I have now at Flow Hockey where I’m also the content manager. Um, you know, it does make it so it’s harder for me to get to games live. Um, I I’m in USHL country. I try to get to as many as those as I can. Uh, when there are NHL draft eligible prospects in colleges, I try to get to those games as well that are within driving distance. Um, and then obviously I’m I’ll make special trips when needed. Um, you know, I’ll go to the combine, different things like that. Do you come out to New England? It’s been it’s been a few years now since I’ve done it. Um, usually I wait till they come to me and I’ve been lucky that they’ve that that, you know, I’ll have BCBU. Uh, but the way that things are going right now in college hockey, I’m going to probably have to spend a lot more time in college hockey because I think we’re going to see a lot of high-end draft prospects out of the CHL into college hockey in the next couple of years, which will be a lot of fun. So, there’s a lot of different ways to do it. I think if let if you’re a beginner, if you’re somebody that’s never that’s never done it before that you you know the best thing is is you know try one subscription make it flow hockey um and you know try try one thing where you can watch a lot of games and you know take a look at NHL Central Scoutings list and say okay well why do they think these guys are here let me see if I agree with that like those are the kinds of things that you can do uh to kind of help train your eye a little bit and then use things like elite prospects and other things where you know the the even the best analytical data that is that some of these companies are producing is not is not 100%. A lot of teams have in-house analytics for prospects but again there are limitations to that. So um until we have a perfect system we’ll still continue going through this in an imperfect way. So the the the long the short answer is there are a lot of different subscriptions that you need and there are a lot of different things that you can look at. Um, and if you don’t want to do all that, just read those of us that do it for you. Um, guys, just just real quick before we get into the the Bruins stuff because and just the prospects because you just touched on on college hockey, Chris, and and just can you talk about where it’s going and how it’s gotten to this point? because you look at the prospects we’re going to be talking about and you mentioned James Hagen scoring a you know a point per game at BC and that’s obviously not what Adam Fantelli did or Min Cabrini but he’s obviously being compared to CHL players that are scoring you know a point and a half per game and if James Hagens was in the CHL he’d be doing the same thing and I just I feel like over time college hockey D1 college hockey has been viewed as lesser than uh the CHL when it comes to pure talent and I think that that might still exist for sure, but it’s a different league when you talk about the maturity and the age and the physical strength of the players. NCAA D1 hockey is probably a harder league to play in, especially for an 18-year-old. And which is why you start to hear rumblings about Gavin McKenna going to NCAA D1 next year. You why would that player go there if it wasn’t better for his development? wasn’t a more challenging league where he’s just completely tearing up the CHL. Yeah. So, you know, it’s it’s an interesting discussion and I think that it’s only going to become more of a discussion, but I do think that the perception is changing dramatically and I really think it started more when Jack Eel was at BEu. And I think that that that was a a watershed moment where it was an elite prospect. Scott’s loving it. It’s like, you know, it’s it’s it was a watershed moment in that an elite player. This was at a time where where some Americans were going to the CHL for their draft season. Jack Eel said, “No, I’m going to go to BEu. That’s what I wanted to do.” And and I’m going to go tear it up. And and when he had the season that he had, he won the Hobie Baker. And it was like it was an eye openening moment for a lot of players. And that really started a trend towards more American players going to college hockey. and there have been very few top American players that were went to the CHL and became first round draft picks in the NHL um after that. So that that kind of shifted the tide a little bit. What I think is going to happen now is that it’s recognized by agents, by NHL teams, by the players themselves that there is a significant difference between what college hockey offers and what the CHL offers. It’s not no longer viewed as a second option or a second tier. it’s viewed as a comparable tier which I think in some ca but in like cases like Gavin McKenna it is the hybrid between pro and junior um and and that is a very significant development in the last couple of years and I think it it it goes towards Mlin Celabbrini coming Adam Fantelli Owen Power those guys making the choice to come to college hockey instead of going through the path all Canadian kids um and that was another that was the second wave of the watershed moment for what Eel kind of started and now what what is happening. So, I do think you’re going to see a lot of CHL players explore college hockey. Um I think that Gavin McKenna I will be I’ll probably be more surprised if he’s not in the NCAA next year than if he isn’t. But it’s still not determined. His season is still ongoing. He has not taken a visit with a team. He’s not going to do anything with the team until his season is over, which might not be until after Memorial Day. um as as Medicine had has a real chance to go to the Memorial Cup. So, but but I think that the perception has significantly shifted. It very much was viewed as a second tier option, a backup plan for Canadian players. That is no longer the case, especially now that if you can go to the CHL and you can go to college, now you can do both. There’s no choice to be made. Um and it’ll be interesting to see now how many American kids decide, well, I’m going to go play in the CHL for a little bit. uh or you know and and that’s what we’re gonna have to kind of contend with in the next phase is how does this shift the dynamic between the two levels and it is a huge moment in in hockey development. This is dating back 30 32 years but do you think do you think Paul Korea as a Canadian playing in Hockey East back in the day had maybe a similar effect at the time? You know I I I’ve never really kind of crunched the numbers. Um, but I mean back then it was like guys like Korea was like, “Okay, you’re not a hu you’re not a big guy, you know, like maybe you come play college hockey like Yeah. St. Louisie and and and others, you know, like I think yeah, that that he he was a big thing for showing Canadian players the way. But I mean, like, you know, he wasn’t even the first, you know, big-time prospect. Like Joe Murphy was a number one overall pick out of Michigan State. And like there’s been a lot of different uh things, but still it was just it I think it was a cultural thing, an exposure thing. Um and you know, seeing guys like Mar and all the others that have come through and especially the defenseman development that’s happened in college hockey over the last few years, that’s been a that’s been a significant change. So the other thing that I’d say too is back in Korea’s day, it wasn’t as accessible as it is now. Now all these players, they can like TSN Plus has college hockey on on their platform. Yeah, they have to listen to me sometimes, unfortunately. Exact. Well, no, that’s a great thing. It’s a great thing. And then, you know, and also on top of that, you have um you know, College Hockey, Inc. doing the work that they did to to work things out like and Gary Mar, Kale’s dad, became like their their their evangelist in in Alberta for a while, you know? So, it was just kind of like there’s such a belief in what’s happening here. And the good news is like I I think the best thing is that if everybody figures out how to work together on this and not against each other, we could have a significantly improved development system across North America that will eventually create more players. So I my hope is that there will be more collaboration than competition. Um but it’s going to probably be there’s going to be some growing pains here in the next little bit. And and since that echel since because I was in college for that and he just absolutely crapped on everyone. It was so like he put up like I think like eight or nine assists one game against UMass and one one of the first broadcasts I ever had and it was just it was crazy to watch what he did. And I do feel like since I was in college which was was right around that time. You also see way more European guys come and choose this instead of playing, you know, like uh Mikuel Agorov instead of playing in Russia or in Sweden, he comes and he plays for VU. Yeah. And and he was a guy that actually his parents that was their whole plan like they wanted him to go to America to go to college, get an education, and then see what happens, you know. So, um, you know, I I think it was I’m trying to think there was, uh, Rouslan Istikov, who played for, um, for Yukon for a little while, said, “I want to,” he saw Clayton Keller in the World Juniors. He said, “I want to play wherever that guy’s playing because that’s who I want to play like.” And he came to Hockey East. So, it’s pretty cool to see how that’s happened over the last few years. Yeah. All right, Chris, we got to get to some some potential Bruins here at seven. Uh, so you you mentioned, you know, trying to watch these guys and I’ve tried to do that with a bunch of these top 10 players. So, prior to U8s, loved a lot of what I saw from Anton Fondell, he was he was kind of he was becoming one of my guys. Then I watched several of those U8 games live. I know you were down there in Texas for it and he was disappointing. He quite frankly wasn’t very noticeable. seems like it might hurt his draft stock. So, how a like how do you kind of balance those things where he has this success playing against men in a pro league then disappoints against his own age group in really the last competitive games he’s going to play before the draft? So, how do you kind of, you know, look at those two things? And then B, how far is is he going to fall? Is is there a chance he’s there at seven for the Bruins and would he be a good choice then? Yeah, it’s interesting. I think he’s I think he’ll there’s a chance he would be there. Um you know the Bruins as much as any team had a whole big contingent at the under 18 worlds. um watching that every GM that with the exception of New York who does the Islanders who don’t have a GM um was that that’s picking in that top eight was was it in Texas and so if any general manager that was their first viewing of him they would have come away very unimpressed but I think a lot of the Swedish scouts have really been banging the drum for him um and based on his pro season. So, how do you balance that when he do he has a great season, a historic season really for an under 18 player in the Alfenkin and then a completely lackluster um U8 worlds. Now, to put that in context, he did arrive late. He was with Jarden in throughout the allenskin playoffs. Uh the qualification, they win, they win it. um and instead of staying behind and partying with the team and everything, he immediately got on a plane, arrived two hours before the game against USA and then played in that game. Um I think probably the first two games you could give him a little bit of grace on the jet lag situation. After that really, you know, he should have been better. Um they tried moving him around. They tried to put him with better players and like it just didn’t work. He didn’t have it. Um, I’ve seen him at his best and that was to me some of the worst hockey I’d seen from him, the most disappointing hockey. So, it was a bad time for that. You do have to take into account the full picture and I think that any team that’s drafting him is going to take full account of, hey, why why wasn’t he good there? Um, and that’s that’s going to be a thing. Um what they’ll probably come back to is that he’s a 6’1 center with, you know, good strength, skill, scored at the professional level. You know, 25 points in 29 games, uh in in Jart. He did start the year injured. Um there’s been a you know, up and down. He did not make the World Junior team. He might not have even been the best draft eligible prospect for most of the season on his team. That would have been Victor Ecklund, who’s another player that’ll, you know, potentially be there as a winger. A little bit smaller, but has that drive and he’s probably quicker. They’re both pretty decent skaters. Um, but yeah, so I mean, I think you have to take all those things into account. So, yes, I would say he’s still an option. Um, B, I think there’s a a chance he gets there. I think there are teams that do like him that are ahead of the Bruins that that could potentially take him. Um, but at the same time, like if he does fall to seven, that’s that’s some real, you know, real hard thinking that you’re going to have to do on is the offensive upside really what we saw in pro or are we going to have to worry about consistency every time? Um, and and other things like that. And I think there have been some questions about fitness and other things like that as well. He he had injuries and illness this year. Um, so there’s a lot of things that you kind of have to discuss, but those are that’s what those scouting meetings are for. I’m sure that they’ll have uh teams that are picking in the top 12 15 will have a really long book on Anton from Dell. So, it’s really difficult to predict the the way that these draft selections are going to go. You can read any mock draft and any prospect ranking and they’re all all over the place. So, I’ll do my best here. I feel like at seven, I feel like one of uh Denier or O’Brien may be there for the Bruins along with Brady Martin potentially who is the other player from U8 Worlds whose stock rose as opposed to falling. And then I I do think Roger McQueen will most likely be there if we’re talking centers due to his back injuries number one. And and also Chris, I’m curious if it wasn’t for the back injury where you think McQueen’s stock would realistically be because I do think the injury is what’s preventing most people from having him because it his his skill set, his size and skill set combination to me is more unique than any other prospect in the draft. But I do feel like if I’m just guessing, I feel like one of Denier, O’Brien, and then potentially Brady Martin and Roger McQueen would be available for the Bruins to select if it were between that combination of prospects. Where do you think the Bruins would be best maybe selecting? Well, I I think the best guy of that group is Denoa. Um I don’t know that he’ll be there at seven. And I think that he’s a guy that there’s a he’s he’s also going to be the last draft prospect that everybody sees this year because his team is playing deep into the playoffs in the QMJHL. Um you know they’ll Monton will have a chance to go to the the Memorial Cup uh you know in Ramuski. So that’s you know he’s he’s going to be a guy that I think more than likely it’s still possible because as you mentioned everything’s all over the map. I don’t really think there’s there’s not a 100% consensus even on number one. Um, so I think that that kind of changes the the the the dynamic of things. Um, but I’ll go piece by piece here. And the first is like, you know, if it is DOA, I think that he is uh he would if if he’s available, I would take him. Um, I think that he’s the best uh all-around center of the draft. I like like that he plays defensively. He’s got ten tenacity. Um, you know, I thought he should have probably gotten consideration for the World Junior team this year. Didn’t. Um, uh, but he is always one of the most noticeable players that I watch when I’m watching a game of his. He is quick. He’s got a motor. He competes. And then on top of that, he has skill and he’s young. He’s still, you know, he’s one of those guys that that has done a lot of great things, but he, you know, he’s he’s he’s still just 18 years old, just turned 18 last month. um and is a leading player on one of the best teams in junior hockey in the Monton Wildcats. So, I think that he’s a guy that that makes a lot of sense for me. Um you know, Jake O’Brien is another player, big-time riser late in the season. He decided not to go to under 18 worlds. I don’t think that’s going to hurt his stock at all. Um but, you know, he had 98 points this year. Uh had a strong playoff. Uh he’s he’s got a ton of offensive upside. Um he’s got good size, too. Like all those things really really solid. Um, and then you know guys like Frenell could could be there. Um, but the interesting wild card is Roger McQueen and I think you’re right. If he was not injured, we would have a more complete picture of what he is. Um, and not only is he injured, but we believe it’s, you know, a back injury and if it’s a back injury for a player at his size that could lead to much longer longer term issues. And it does sound like the trend is the fear of the injury in terms of what he’ll ultimately do. Now, that could change at the combine if he gets every gets a look at from everybody, everybody kind of has an idea of what he’s going to be like. If he doesn’t get a full checkup and and and doesn’t get cleared or or or their flags, then he’s probably going to fall a lot farther than outside of the top 10. Um, but you know, he’s he’s a really interesting option if if healthy because as you mentioned, he’s got the size, he’s got the skill set, and he has um, you know, I think he has the profile that that fits, you know, the Bruins identity. Um, you know, in terms of, and it’s not just like, you know, we’re not talking about 1970s Bruins. We’re just talking about being playing hard, heavy hockey, um, but also having skill. Um, and so I think that that’s that’s really where he uh, you know, could be a fit. But again, I think the risk, especially for where the Bruins are at in their process of building or rebuilding, um, that might be a risk too great to take it. It’s one of those where, hey, if he wasn’t injured, there’s a good chance we’re talking about him in the top three. There’s a good chance we’re talking about him even contending for the number one pick just because of that size and what he showed early in the season. but because he didn’t play all year and we have a small sample and we have the concern about lingering injury problems then it’s he’s going to drop a lot farther. So, um yeah, so I think that those those are the guys that you know in large part are going to be uh available there. Um Brady Martin I I think it might be a little bit early for him to go in that range. However, he’s incredibly physical, he’s quick, he has good skill. Um, I just think that there’s probably like there’s some conversation about is he really a center just kind of the way that he plays. I think he’s more of a forchecking winger. Uh, I think that would be where I’d prefer him to be. Um, a scoring winger and a forcheing guy. So, I think if you’re looking for centers, you probably are are not going that direction, but I know there is a lot a lot a lot of love for Brady Martin after what he did at the under 18 worlds, what he did all season. best body checker in the draft, probably one of the pound-for-pound one of the strongest players in the draft, if not the strongest. Um, so there’s a lot to like there. Uh, but I would also say, as much as there’s a center desire, I would not completely rule out the possibility of of the Bruins landing one of the top defensemen because also you’ve got 6’6 Ready MKA who has huge upside, has a lot to to work with. So there there are options beyond the center that could be there that could be enticing. Um it just kind of depends on what you prioritize and who you have higher on your list. If MK is higher than any of these centers, that’s who you take. But if not, I think you got a lot of good options there. Now, did you do like I know a lot of the guys did this like immediately following when we found the draft lottery like redid their their mock drafts. Who did you have the Bruins taking at seven? Yeah, I if memory serves correctly, I’m pretty sure I did mock Roger McQueen to the uh to the Bruins because of that. And I think after a few more days of thinking about it, I would probably redo that one. Um just because I think it’s one where they can’t miss on it and there’s too much of a risk to miss. I think that it’s a huge boom bust. Like he could be the best player in the draft. he might not play enough to know, you know, like that’s that’s the kind of thing that we’re we’re dealing with. And you think about going back to even you don’t even have to go very far back to see where risk can can bite you because the Columbus Blue Jackets took Kaden Lindström fourth overall last year. He didn’t play at all this season for injuries that kind of were lingering from last season that we all knew about um and that they knew about and they took on that risk. I think that if you’re the Bruins in particular where there’s so much need, it’d be a lot harder to take that risk. So, I probably would uh go a different direction from my immediate thought even though I think he’s such a perfect fit. Um I did put in the the mock draft that the caveat is he would have to have a perfectly clean bill of health at the combine. I’m just not sure that that’s going to happen. Good to know because that’s actually one of the players that when we’ve when we talked about we we couldn’t really seem to find much consensus. Some people had him mocked like late in the first round. Some people had him in the top five. We thought maybe somewhere between, you know, seven and 10, which would make him right there for the Bruins. And uh so he has probably the highest risk in that range, but maybe the highest reward, too. Like it’s it’s so tempting like if you’re it is if you really want to, you know, say, “Okay, well, we unfortunately the balls didn’t bounce our way. We didn’t get two. We didn’t get five. We didn’t get six, but maybe we have this shot to get, you know, a number one center if we just take this big risk and or, you know, however they perceive the risk. He had a good year the year before, too. He like the year before he though, wasn’t he? He missed time that year, too. I think he he did he did a little bit, but yeah, he did. There was there were some injuries last year. He got he ended up getting hurt right at the U8 Worlds like immediately as well last last season which was unfortunate because that would have been my my best chance to get some really good live looks at him. But you know yeah I mean he he was close to a point per game uh in his draft minus one and then you know he was over a point per game this year but only played in 17 games and three playoff games and was only okay. He actually a lot of what he did, the damage that he did was early in the season and people were like, “Whoa, this guy’s going to be a super stud.” And then unfortunately he gets hurt. So, a lot of things there, but yeah, I mean, I think that when you’re when you’re in the Boston Bruins position, you’re as much a risk manager as you are an evaluator because of where they’re at right now in their development as an organization. Um, it’s almost like flipping the page. If you flip the p if you miss that one. I mean, think about having three draft picks in a row, first round draft picks in a row and and not really hitting that well on that. Oh, trust me. It gets talked about still. It’s 10 years ago. Never I Yeah, I I didn’t mean to bring it up, but I meant it’s it comes up. Don’t worry. 2015 comes up. Cam Cam Neily brought it up himself. So, yeah. Wasn’t great. still I I still can’t believe like in the course of his answer he brought it up when that wasn’t even specifically what the question was about because he’s still thinking about it too. Um so well so like and along those lines too of the you know the Bruins can’t miss. Now obviously last year was was different. They’re picking 25. Uh but they did take an upside swing on Dean Laterno who every everyone knew saw the physical attributes 67 um you know good skater good hands but a lot of development that needed to happen. Everyone knew that was a project pick that was for the long term. They weren’t trying to get a guy who’s ready in two years to make an impact. Obviously his freshman season at BC disappointing. No goals, three points. uh you know we got to see quite a bit of them and just not a lot of minutes. I mean games he was playing six or seven minutes sometimes. Where do you stand on Dean Latero now a year out? Like is this is that upside that you know we all thought might be there going into last year’s draft? Is that still there or are we already like bracing for this guy might be like a fourth liner at best? So, I would say for one, last year was didn’t go the way it was supposed to go for Dean Lerno on a number of fronts. You know, Will Smith decides to sign with with the San Jose Sharks, there’s a need for center. I think if you’re Boston College, you can’t skip over a kid that just went in the first round, right? You can’t say, “Nope, go do what he was supposed to go play for Sou Falls in the USL last year.” That was the initial plan. That’s where he should have been. Uh we know that now the benefit of hindsight he was not ready for college hockey. I watched a few games and the pace was not there. The decision-m was not there. I am not going to judge his upside on that season. The jump from where he was playing to college hockey is insane. And I didn’t love the idea for anybody that that was what that that they were going to have him skip that step and play the role that he did. I don’t think it was helpful to him. It certainly wasn’t helpful to BC last season. We’ll see if it it I I’m not going to but I I am not I’m reserving judgment on where he can go because I do believe that there’s still a very good hockey player there. I think it’s a player that knows where he is and now he’s knows what to expect with college hockey. He can play a more elevated role next year. He’s going to have to. He really doesn’t have a choice. If after next season we’re seeing a few, you know, another down year, then I’ll start to get a little more concerned. But again, I’m not going to panic about him as a player. He was a guy that I thought, you know, late first, early second was a good range because he’s such a unicorn in terms of his size and skill profile. And so I think they got him where they should have gotten him. And now it’s a chance for him to develop. So Charlie Strael was picked in much earlier than Dean Lerno a couple drafts ago by the Minnesota Wild. He had, you know, a decent draft season, not a great season after that, but then he transfers to Michigan State and he had an a breakout junior season and he’s returning for a senior season. I have a friend of mine that will always remind me that big guys take longer, and it is absolutely true. the de for whatever reason the development process for forwards that are 6 foot five or taller in most cases is that they will need three to four years of pre-NHL development before they’re going to get there. Alexi Pro who’s playing for the the Washington Capitals right now he had to go through the gradual process play most of his junior career play in the AHL then make the the Washington Capitals and become an impact player. And it took him till this year to become an impact player. He’s 6’5, you know, like. So, I would say don’t panic and don’t judge based on one season. Patience was always the plan with Dean Lerno. As you said, he’s a project and he’s still a project and he’s going to be a project for two to three more years and he’s going to be a project even through, you know, to the a and maybe he doesn’t pan out. We never really know. There are guys like, you know, Riley Tuy and others that have kind of come through the system. And, you know, Riley Tuy drafted out of high school, big kid, took a while, did play some NHL games, but never really became somebody that was like a first round caliber of talent. Um, that could be the case for Dean Lo, but it also could be maybe he’s well on his way and by his senior season, he’s, you know, a 40 to 50 point player in college hockey, which would be a great outcome. Um, so I think there’s still a lot of runway for him to find that game. And I think so Dean is actually one guy that I’ve gotten to see a lot because I like working for Hockey East and and broadcasting those games and h and we have a weekly show where we go through a bunch of stuff and he’s very wellliked there. I will say that. Um, they were calling it the Dean Pot because instead of the Bean Pot because I mean the like the BC kids, they they really latched on to him. I will say he’s he’s not mean at all. Like he needs a little bit more meanness in this game. Yeah. And I think one of the main reasons why guys who are that big take so long to develop is because you’re going from such a like you’re when you’re 13 or whatever, you’re all right around the same height and then you make this huge jump. You go over a foot and then you’re trying to figure out your body and like your your coordination has to catch up to your height. And so I I feel like I see that a little bit like still figuring out how to like his like new long arms areo like hand eye and everything is supposed to be and I feel like I was watching him kind of figuring it out in real time sometimes when we were watching him play. Right. Right. And I think you know the thing is like if you’re looking for him to be a nasty burly crossch checkck you in the teeth big man that’s not his game. No gentle guy like absolutely. not even his person. It’s not at all in his personality. And that was maybe one of the knocks on him in his draft years. Like, well, he’s big, but he’s not mean. And it’s like, well, yeah, but he is big and if he scores, I mean, like, that’s that’s a good thing. So, I I think he’s still finding what he’s going to be as a player. And but and I agree. I’ I’ve spoken to him before. I think he is a great kid, you know, from my little experience with him. and you know, if he has a positive outlook, if he takes, you know, his medicine from this season, which is a tough pill to swallow when you don’t score a goal, um, and you scored 61 the year before, um, I think that that’s, you know, he’s he’s going to be better for it in the long run. Um, but yeah, I mean, I think I think this was I hope that this wasn’t a year of loss development. Uh, I don’t think it was because I think that the guys at BC do such a great job, but it’s it is going to be next year is people are going to be looking and saying, “Okay, when’s it happening?” Um, and but I think more for I’ll be I’ll be paying more attention in his junior year. Yeah, I think psychologically is the question for me. Did it damage his confidence as opposed to being in the USHL and then going and so as long as it didn’t damage his confidence too much, then that’s that that’s my biggest concern. But as far as the USHL goes, I do want to bring up a Bruins prospect that is very interesting to me and he’s a recent prospect now coming over in the Charlie Coyle trade and that’s Will Zeers, third round pick from Colorado, USHL player of the year, forward of the year going to North Dakota next season. That’s a player who took the gradual steps necessary before going to college hockey. You mentioned earlier that the Bruins don’t have an impressive prospect pool. That’s of course we all know that. What what kind of prospect do the Bruins add in Will Zeers and should Bruins fans be excited about his potential upside? I think personally I’m very curious to see how he does at North Dakota next year. We talked about the the jump to NCAA D1. Um what are your thoughts on Will Zeers? Yeah, it’s going to be interesting because you know I I I think Zeers, you know, the skill he has a great shot. He’s he’s got quickness. You know, I think if if he turns out, you see Jackson Blake playing for the Carolina Hurricanes right now, who went to North Dakota and who was a standout USHL scorer. If that is the outcome of Will Zeers, which is possible, that’s an incredible outcome. Um, I think that that would be, you know, like kind of a best case scenario for him. I I think he’s more of kind of like a middle six scoring depth guy who can play with some some energy, but he’s not, you know, he’s not big. He’s he’s he’s 510. he’s he’s a little light, you know, he can be a little perimeter at times. And so those are the things that he’s going to have to work on. And really at at North Dakota, you don’t really get that option to be perimeter. You know, I think that that’s that they’ll they’ll get him going more. I don’t I don’t I’m not trying to say that sometimes perimeter is like code word for soft. I don’t think that’s the case. I I that’s not that’s not really, you know, I I I don’t really concern have much concern about his his overall compete level. Um, I have a lot of respect for the fact that, you know, he did so well at Shadic, but then did take the year in the USHL in order to be more prepared. I think, you know, North Dakota wanted him to take that year and he took it and then he was the USHL MVP, which is unbelievable. Great thing for him. Um, I’m going to reserve judgment on terms of his overall pro outlook until I see him in college hockey because I think that this year in the US is bit of a down year um overall in terms of the quality of competition. Um, but I do think that he showed a lot. Um, unfortunately for him, like his team, like they had one of the highest scoring teams, but they couldn’t stop anybody. Um, and so they were kind of a middle of the pack team this year. Um, and so we’ll we’ll wait and see, but I I got a lot of time for Will Zellers. I think that, you know, he’s going to be a guy that you probably let, you know, marinate in in school for three years. Um, let him continue to get stronger. But, you know, he is an improve like that’s a that’s a nice ad for a prospect system that’s pretty barren. um especially when it’s a college guy where you have more of a runway to kind of wait to sign him and see what he’s going to be. Um but I think that was a nice asset to add to the mix and and you know the Bruins have been pretty solid in terms of their their USHL scouting over the last several years. I think that they’ve gotten some really good players out of that mix. Obviously Mason Laurai and and and others that are that are going to be you that kind of came up through that same system. So, I I I think that this was a a pretty, you know, a pretty solid uh pickup for them. And while I don’t think he’s going to be an A or, you know, like maybe not even a B prospect, I I do think he’s a prospect that has a real opportunity to play NHL games down the road here. And anytime you can add a player that you think’ll play for you, it’s a good thing. All right, Chris, I know we we got to get you out of here in the next couple minutes. Uh just one one last question for me and these can even just be names if uh if you don’t want to expand but the Bruins do have two second round picks as well now not their own so it’s not high in the second round they have St. Louis’s so middle of the round and Carolina which might be later. Uh any any favorite second round prospects for you just to just to keep an eye on for people to maybe get to know? Yeah, you know, I think I think there are some guys that that could potentially slip a little bit later into the second round that were at that under 18 World Championship. I think it’s not a strong year for the Americans. We’re not going to see very many Americans picked in the first round, but that means that there’s probably going to be quite a few of them available in the second round. And, you know, I I think one guy that that would be interesting for me is Jack Merte um from the national team development program. He scored over 20 goals this season. Future future BU terrier. beacher be future BU terrier. Um he loves to score goals. He’s got size. He when he’s when he is playing he did not have a good under 18 worlds, but I have seen him play at the top of his game and he at times was considered a potential first round pick this year. I don’t think that’s going to happen anymore. Um but I do think that he has, you know, he’s about 6’1. He’s got some heaviness to his game and then he can shoot. So that’s a guy to kind of look for as you as you go a little bit further. Um, one guy that we saw at the uh, U8 Worlds playing for Canada. Uh, who is a guy that again bit more of a project, Matthew Guard, he was on Canada’s fourth line at the U8 Worlds, but he showed flashes of some skill. He’s big kid. He’s heavy. Uh, he’s he’s about 6’5, so he’s he’s he’s not small. Um, but if he had a little more offensive upside, I think he’s a guy we’d talk about as a high second round pick. I think he’s probably going to be more like a later second round pick. So, that’s another player that I would watch out for. He he stood out to me enough times with Canada who ended up winning the tournament um that I think that that’s a guy that I’ I’d circle for kind of later in that that second round. And, you know, there could be opportunities to get swings as well. um you know, if you’re if you want to go defense, uh Simon Wong, who plays for Ashawa now, but started playing for uh um uh the King Rebellion in the OJHL this year. He didn’t look great in the O in the OHL, but he was awesome in the OJ. And then, wow, I just sounded like North Carolina with OJ. Um but anyway, uh he he really did um he’s a he’s a he’s a huge kid, too. he’s 66 and mobile and can skate. Um, and you know, if he I don’t know if he’s necessarily a stylistic fit, but like he’s got so much upside. It’s like gosh, I’ I’d love to work with a player like that. He is on the college track as well. Um, so you know, that’s that’s going to be an interesting one. And then the last guy I’ll bring up is a guy who was hurt uh for the under 18 worlds, but was probably one of the best players in the under 18 team most of the season. That’s Conrad Fondonder, who played for uh for the U8s. unfortunately was injured throughout most of the year. Um but when healthy he looked pretty good. I think that’s a guy that you know you could get value for somebody that slips down into the second round. Also heading to be you I believe Fond you are correct. I’m I am I am uh I am definitely playing to uh your your sensibilities here. I didn’t hear anyone who’s heading to UMass or Marramax. So take it easy. Take it easy. He talks a lot like he talks a big game when he knows he’s not going to see me for a while in the same room. Guys, we’re going to close out here. I’m just I think I speak for all of us, but I’m fascinated. And Chris, because of your your expertise and your and your day-to-day job, like when it comes to drafts, I’m very fascinated to look back at this draft in 5 10 years and see which one of these players actually or which couple of these players turn out to be the best ones of the draft because, as you said, there’s no consensus and there especially when you break it down to the tiers and the subjectivity is crazy. I mean, Matthew Schaefer is a consensus, you know, projected first overall pick, and he only played 17 games, which an amazing 17, but what you aren’t able to see is how somebody handles a full season. Uh, James Hagens was projected first overall as recent as January. Michael Misa goes two points per game. He’s a mid-season world junior snub. Schaefer 17 games, surpasses him as number one. And then, uh, beyond them, it’s like Fondell’s stock might be dropping. and uh a Brady Martin stock might be rising and then denier or Brian McQueen Martone Eklan doesn’t matter whatever rankings you look at there they fluctuate so you know I’m just very curious to see in 5 10 years which one of these players does pan out or which couple players do pan out yeah you know I I am too and I I think the thing is is that you know there’s a chance that James Hagens we were right about him at the beginning of the year and he is the best player to come out of draft, there’s a chance that it’s it’s somebody that we haven’t even mentioned one time in this in this process. I mean, how many people were saying that Patrice Berseron would be one of the best players ever out of his draft class? You know, like those are the kinds of things that happen. Development is not a straight line. It goes in es and flows. Guys are going to have great seasons, bad seasons. And that’s and that’s kind of why the risk of drafting Matthew Schaefer at number one is we didn’t see the es and flows. All we saw was the great stuff, you know, and and which is good. I mean, the fact that all the games that he played this year were really, really good. Um, you know, but but again, it kind of comes back to who’s it going to be? And it very well could be Matthew Schaefer. It could be somebody way out way out of left field. But I do know that, you know, this year the the biggest difference is we didn’t have a Mlin Celibbrini or or a Connor Baddard to completely pull away from the pack and we didn’t even have to talk about that player anymore and we could focus on all these other guys um in the public sphere. Well, good good news for hockey fans is that the scouts are talking about all those guys all the time. So, they’re probably going to find that diamond quicker than some of us will. And then maybe some of us will have a list that has a guy that went higher or, you know, we listed him in the right spot and the teams didn’t pick him in the right spot. You know, that that that happens plenty as well. So, in exact science, but very fun to follow. And I’m also very very fascinated to see how this class and probably next year’s class uh pans out uh given the fact that, you know, there’s a lot of unknowns and a lot of uncertainties with uh with these players. I think we all are hoping that we don’t have to be talking top 10 pick next year. So maybe don’t have to worry too much about next year’s top 10 class if the Bruins are uh you know maybe back in the playoff picture or at least or if you’re if you’re trending that direction you just tank even harder and and hope you get Gavin McKenna. Exactly. If you’re going to be bad next year is the year to be awful. So do that. And the good news is the draft lottery is a sure thing as we’ve seen everything. So um but uh Chris we appreciate your time very much so. That’s Chris Peters of Flow Hockey, Bridget Scott. Thank you guys. Thank you all very much for listening. Enjoy your weekend and we’ll talk to you on Monday. Hey guys, thanks for watching Escape Podcast. If you want to see more of our videos, visit our playlist. Not in front of a screen. You can listen to us on Spotify, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Don’t forget to follow us on social media. And if you enjoyed this video, please don’t forget to give us a thumbs up, subscribe to our channel, and leave a comment.

We are joined by prospect analyst Chris Peters of FloHockey for an in-depth discussion on this year’s NHL Draft prospect pool and what options the Bruins have at pick No. 7. Plus, checking in on the development of Bruins’ prospects like Dean Letourneau and Will Zellers.

For more from Chris Peters (Content Manager, FloHockey), follow @chrismpeters on twitter

Follow us on Twitter: @TheSkatePod | @smclaughlin9 | @briandefelice_ | @bridgetteproulx | Email us at skatepod@weei.com

Leave your questions in the comments and we will answer as many as we can!

Jump to:
00:00 – Could Bruins get a 1C with 7th-overall pick?
21:00 – Options for Bruins at Pick No. 7
22:00 – Thoughts on Anton Frondell’s finish and if he could fall
26:00 – Best center options in Bruins’ range
36:00 – Letourneau check in
44 – Will Zellers development
47:00 – 2nd round options

Follow The Skate Podcast on the Audacy App or wherever you get your podcasts: https://link.chtbl.com/TheSkatePodcast
Don’t forget to subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/weeivideo

📡 LISTEN LIVE ➡️ https://www.audacy.com/weei/listen
📺WATCH LIVE ➡️ http://weei.com/watch
💻WATCH LIVE ON TWITCH ➡️ http://twitch.tv/bostonweei
Download the Audacy App today and stream your WEEI wherever you are! ➡️
https://go.audacy.com/y-listen-live-weei

FOLLOW US:
TWITTER – https://twitter.com/WEEI
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/weeisports/
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/WEEI/

Thumbnail images courtesy of Getty Images/USA Today Network.