Bruins
The Bruins could use upgrades at center and on the right side of defense.
Don Sweeney pushed back on Wednesday when asked if the Bruins are honing in on one particular position with the seventh pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
“We’re taking the best player,” Sweeney said at Warrior Ice Arena before later adding: “I think I’m going back to saying that we’re looking for the most impactful players. Now, impact can come in competitiveness and come in hockey sense and come in skill.
“It can come in scoring. When you can combine them all, obviously you get the perfect storm. It’s not a positional decision for us.”
After years spent dealing away first-round picks for win-now results, the Bruins’ prospect pool is in desperate need of an influx of blue-chip talent.
As such, it should come as little surprise that Boston’s GM is not focusing on just one player or one position of need for a franchise that needs young, cost-controlled talent at just about every area of the depth chart.
Still, with Boston holding onto seven picks in the first six rounds of the NHL Draft — including a pair of second-round selections — the Bruins have a prime opportunity to start to replenish their pipeline this weekend.
Here’s a look at Boston’s top needs in the 2025 NHL Draft:
A top-six center
The Bruins have some solid pieces to build around moving forward — be it a franchise winger like David Pastrnak, a top-pairing defenseman in Charlie McAvoy, and a promising netminder in Jeremy Swayman.
But as the Bruins try to build up a new generation of talent and open up a new contention window, both the floor — and ceiling — of whatever team Boston is trying to build up can only go so high if the team can’t identify and develop a legitimate top-six center.
The Bruins could look to address those pressing needs down the middle in free agency (Jack Eichel in 2026?) or via trade, but it remains to be seen if those scenarios will even present themselves over the next few years.
If the Bruins are viewing a miserable 2024-25 season as a one-off and don’t intend on picking in the top-10 again in 2026, this might be Sweeney and the Bruins’ best shot at adding a homegrown, elite talent down the middle.
And given the glut of options present in the top 10 of this projected draft class, the odds are good that at least one or two intriguing pivots will be up for grabs when Boston gets on the clock at No. 7.
Could the Bruins opt for a physical force like Brady Martin? Caleb Desnoyers has all the makings of an effective two-way difference-maker for the long haul as well.
A 6-foot-5 center like Roger McQueen has top-line upside, but also has some injury concerns.
Jake O’Brien has the playmaking acumen to be a featured star, while BC standout James Hagens would represent a massive coup for Boston if the skilled pivot falls to No. 7 overall.
It wouldn’t come as much of a surprise if the Bruins also utilize other draft picks in the later rounds to give themselves as many chances at the dartboard to add talent down the middle.
But holding onto that No. 7 selection gives Boston its best shot in over a decade of adding a franchise center to the system.
A right-shot defenseman
The Bruins have a star blueliner on the right side in McAvoy. But after him, the Bruins’ options are slim.
Andrew Peeke is a solid third-pairing regular, but the Bruins are going to need to identify a long-term option to slot into the top-four grouping following the trade of Brandon Carlo in March.
Given their cap space, the Bruins could target a right-shot defenseman in free agency on July 1. But with Boston operating with two second-round picks this year, the Bruins should have a prime opportunity to add a big-bodied defenseman who could develop into that featured role over the next couple of years.
Projected second-round targets like Peyton Kettles, Max Psenicka, and Carter Amico would all fit the bill as imposing, mobile defensemen capable of logging heavy minutes in the NHL ranks.
Speed and skill on the wing
Much like the state of Boston’s depth chart beyond McAvoy on the right side, the Bruins aren’t exactly stacked on the wing after moving past Pastrnak.
After trudging through a miserable 2024-25 season where Boston labored every single night when it came to generating offense, the Bruins need to add some scoring punch to their system.
If he’s available at No. 7 and the Bruins are sticking with the “best player” approach, 6-foot-3 winger Porter Martone would be an appealing add as a legitimate top-line talent who could step into NHL minutes sooner than several other prospects in this draft class.
But if the Bruins do opt for a center in the first round, there could be several talented forwards in the second and third rounds who could turn heads in a couple of years.
For a Bruins franchise seemingly obsessed with size and grit, targeting undersized wingers like 5-foot-7 Cameron Schmidt and 5-foot-7 L.J. Mooney might raise some eyebrows. But it’s tough to ignore the speed and scoring touch, especially if they’re available in Rounds 2-3.
The Bruins have been knocked in recent years for being far too safe with their draft selections — targeting players who eventually slot into more bottom-six roles. It would be a welcome departure if the Bruins opt for a bit more risk with a player whose dynamic skill set is tough to ignore.
A goalie project
If Swayman rights the ship in 2025-26, the Bruins can breathe easy knowing that they have a franchise netminder in place for the long haul.
But if the Bruins want to build a sustainable contender, identifying a long-term partner to pair with Swayman a few years down the line could be beneficial for Boston.
After plucking up Swayman in the fourth round of the 2017 NHL Draft, the Bruins could try to find similar value this year with a netminder like Semyon Frolov in the third round.
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