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Boston Bruins Re-Draft: 2007 NHL Draft

By Brandon Share-Cohen

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Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The 2015-16 NHL season is almost underway and with the Bruins coming off of a very busy draft a few months ago, it seems appropriate to re-draft previous years for the Bruins based on present-day knowledge. The premise is simple; the draft falls the exact same way it did within any given year, and the Bruins would draft the best available player on the board, regardless of positional need at the time. Please read with suspended belief as the draft positions clearly would have fallen differently if the players were taken out of order; this is just a fun little exercise.

The third year that will be re-drafted will be the 2007 NHL Draft.

1st Round:

Actual Pick: Zach Hamill – Center
Re-Draft Pick: Kevin Shattenkirk – Defense

Honorable Mentions: Logan Couture, Ryan McDonagh, Max Pacioretty

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    • The Boston Bruins had an absolutely abysmal draft in 2007. While it’s easy to judge the players as of 2015, it isn’t always so clear come draft time. The Boston Bruins selected center Zach Hamill and that was probably the last time Bruins fans ever heard his name with any significance attached to it. The NHL is a very hard league to draft in, but it’s hard to not feel uneasy when players like Logan Couture, Ryan McDonagh, Mac Pacioretty, and especially Kevin Shattenirk, all fell just a few picks later. Kevin Shattenkirk is one of the top offensive defenseman in the entire NHL and is more than capable enough to play a top-2 role in the defensive zone as well. The Boston Bruins could have drafted Shattenirk, but will forever have to deal with the fact that Zach Hamill is a draft pick that just never panned out, having only played in 20 games in his career and registering 4 points. His last NHL game was in the 2011-2012 season.

    2nd Round:

    Actual Pick: Tommy Cross – Defense
    Re-Draft Pick: PK Subban – Defense

    Honorable Mentions: Wayne Simmonds

    Tommy Cross is another player who never became anything at the NHL level, and doesn’t appear to be in line for a promotion from the Providence Bruins any time soon. The Boston Bruins could have drafted Montreal Canadiens superstar defenseman PK Subban, who, whether you love him or hate him (the latter will probably be the case for most reading this article), is a former Norris trophy winner, and all-star. PK Subban is one of the most gifted offensive-defenseman in the entire league, and although his defensive game is sub-par at best, it’s improving season by season…..although his $9,000,000 makes it easier to swallow the fact that he didn’t end up on the Boston Bruins.

    3rd Round:

    Actual Pick: None
    Re-Draft Pick: None

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    4th Round:

    Actual Pick: None
    Re-Draft Pick: None

    5th Round:

    Actual Pick: Denis Reul – Defense
    Re-Draft Pick: Jake Muzzin – Defense

    Honorable Mentions: Chris Terry

    The only really notable player to be drafted in the 5th round after Denis Reul was Jake Muzzin. As a legitimate top-2 defenseman in Los Angeles, Muzzin has become a very well-rounded player for the Kings since 2007 and has helped the Kings in their Stanley Cup wins. Jake Muzzin has played in 208 regular season games, Denis Reul, on the other hand, has played in zero. With the Bruins coming off of such a good draft in 2006, the 2007 draft has got to make Bruins fans feel sick. With a new General Manager in Don Sweeney running the show, hopefully Boston can avoid drafts like 2006 in the future.

    6th Round:

    Actual Pick: Alain Goulet – Defense & Radim Ostrcil
    Re-Draft Pick: Carl Hagelin – Left Wing & Nick Bonino – Center

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    The Boston Bruins continued their trend into the 6th round of the 2007 NHL draft by selecting two more players who never saw any NHL games. Alain Goulet and Radim Ostrcil are two names that were probably never mentioned by Bruins fans again following the 2007 draft. Two players that have stood out so far in their careers that the Bruins could have drafted are Anaheim Duck (and Ex-New York Ranger) Left Winger Carl Hagelin, as well as Nick Bonino, now of the Pittsburgh Penguins, formerly of the Vancouver Canucks, and Anaheim Ducks. Both players have put up decent numbers in their careers and have been valuable players for their teams based on different facets of the game, like speed, and all-around compete level.

    7th Round:

    Actual Pick: Jordan Knackstedt – Right Wing
    Re-Draft Pick: Carl Gunnarson – Defense

    Honorable Mentions: Justin Braun

    After six picks in the 2007 draft, the Bruins can claim 20  man-games played. Carl Gunnarson has played more than anybody else coming out of the 7th round of the 2007 NHL draft with 365 games played. The 7th round, as expected, didn’t have much coming out of it, but Gunnarson would be a significant improvement on Knackstedt, or really any of the picks made in the 2007 draft by the Bruins. Again, Bruins fans should hope this never happens again, as a draft this bad is absolutely unacceptable, regardless of if the blame is on the scouts, the general manager, or the ownership.

    If you have any differing opinions, or if you agree, let me know in the comments below!

    Feel free to follow me on Twitter @FansidedBrandon where we can discuss all things Bruins and sports!


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