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The Boston Bruins were primed to make a huge splash during the 2015 NHL Draft with three consecutive picks in the top 15. The first selection, Jakub Zboril, was met with a consensus approval from fans and media alike. The Jake DeBrusk pick one selection later was met with some chatter from media and fans. The most controversial pick was easily the third pick, however. Zachary Senyshyn, a player most people projected to be a second or third round player at best, was selected with the 15th overall pick.
“I was on the fourth line for the majority of the year. There was a lot of battle for ice time. You had to battle with these older guys to kind of battle for their ice time and battle for their jobs, which has really helped me coming into this camp.”- Zachary Senyshyn
The young 18-year old was met with criticism the instant his name was called, but that hasn’t seemed to bother him. Senyshyn was able to produce offensively, scoring 26 goals and 45 points in 66 games. The impressive thing is that those numbers ranked second among rookies in the OHL, and Senyshyn played 4th line minutes the entire season. At 18-years old, he is already 6’1, 192 pounds, and has room to grow both physically, and mentally.
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Senyshyn has shown that he is competitive and resilient so far in development camp, and that goes a long way when fighting for ice time. “The Boston Bruins staff really believes in me and I believe in myself. So I think that this week, kind of being able to show what I can do, and hopefully going forward, and proving myself and proving myself not just to myself and to the staff but to the Boston Bruins fans. I’m really excited to show those fans what I have to offer.” (Quote from Boston.CBSLocal.com)
The Bruins 15th overall pick from the OHL has a lot to improve upon moving forward if he ever wants to make the jump to the NHL, and if he wants to be successful while there. It’s still to early to determine whether or not he was a bust or a steal, but Bruins fans should be cheering for the latter, rather than believing the former.