2016 NHL Entry Draft: Boston Bruins To Draft 14th and 29th
2016 NHL Entry Draft: Boston Bruins To Draft 14th and 29th Overall Later This Month
The Stanley Cup was awarded to the Pittsburgh Penguins after their hard-fought series win over the San Jose Sharks. While the Boston Bruins may not have made the playoffs, they had a horse in the race the entire time….a horse they were most certainly betting against all year.
In June of 2015, the Bruins traded away newly-acquired goaltender Martin Jones to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for their 2016 first round draft pick and college prospect Sean Kuraly. While the Bruins were likely hoping for a higher pick when they made that trade, it’s hard to argue their logic when trading away Jones. Hindsight is always 20-20, but it would be ridiculous to suggest that the Bruins made the wrong call, regardless of Jones’ success this season.
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When the Bruins originally acquired Jones as a part of the Milan Lucic trade last June, they acquired a goalie who had a total of 34 regular season games worth of experience at the NHL level. While his numbers were very impressive throughout those games, posting a sub-2.30 goals against average in each season, the return that the Bruins received was a no-brainer given the fact that they already had a franchise goaltender in Tuukka Rask. Additionally, both the Los Angeles Kings and the San Jose Sharks have considerably better defensive groups than the Bruins do, and Jones’ success would not have been guaranteed in Boston.
The Bruins are now set to make the 14th and 29th selection on the first day of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft which will take place on June 24th. There will be a lot of options for general manager Don Sweeney and his team that night, some of which were highlighted here. If Sweeney decides to keep both of his selections and draft with all of his team’s current allotted picks, here is a look at how their draft could look.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are officially on the clock with the first overall draft pick, and Don Sweeney and the Boston Bruins had better be prepared for anything. The days leading up to the 2015 NHL Draft were busy for the Bruins last season, and with a second-consecutive missed playoff bid this season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Sweeney make even more splashes this year.