Centerman Alexander Khokhlachev has been ranked by ESPN as the No. 1 prospect of the Boston Bruins for the 2015-16 season. The full scouting report, written by Corey Pronman, can be found on ESPN.com (ESPN Insiders only).
Landing at No. 2 was goaltender Malcolm Subban, who has been with the Bruins’ organization since the 2013-14 season when he played entirely in the AHL, posting 15 wins and 10 losses. He played in just one regular season game last year with the NHL Bruins against the St. Louis Blues, allowing three goals in the loss. Several 2015 draft picks fill the third and fourth slots, with Jacob DeBrusk finishing ahead of Jakub Zboril with the No. 4 rank.
Below is a complete listing of Pronman’s Top 10 Bruins Prospect Rankings:
10 Matt Grzelcyk (Defenseman – Boston University)
9 Joe Morrow (Defenseman – 15 GP w/ Bruins)
8 Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson (Centerman – 45th overall pick in 2015 Draft)
7 Colin Miller (Defenseman – Arrived via Milan Lucic trade w/ LA)
6 Brandon Carlo (Defenseman – 37th overall pick in 2015 Draft)
5 Linus Arnesson (Defenseman – 60th overall pick in 2013 Draft)
4 Jakub Zboril (Defenseman – 13th overall pick in 2015 Draft)
3 Jacob DeBrusk (Left Wing – 14th overall pick in 2015 Draft)
2 Malcolm Subban (Goaltender – 1 GP w/ Bruins)
1 Alexander Khokhlachev (Centerman – 4 GP w/ Bruins)
Six of the ten prospects are defensemen, which, as evident, shows how cognizant the Bruins are that their defense will have big holes to be filled once big names like Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg retire. While the Bruins await free agency decisions to fill their current holes on defense, names on this list could pop up on the starting roster if general manger Don Sweeney is not able to sign UFA’s Cody Franson or Marek Zidlicky. Though there is the potential that Sweeney can sign either free agent defenseman close to the start of training camp, the current projected defensive pairings could include guys like Morrow or C. Miller.
As for Khokhlachev, the centerman played in a pint-sized sample last year with the NHL squad, playing in just three games. One of his shinning moments occurred on Nov. 21st against the Columbus Blue Jackets, scoring the only shootout goal in the win. In Providence last year, he played in 61 games, scoring 15 goals and adding 28 assists (43 pts.), and while in the playoffs with his AHL squad last season, he played in all 5 games, scoring 2 goals and 1 assist.
A name that did not appear on the list was right winger Zach Senyshyn, who was Boston’s 15 overall pick in this year’s draft. Senyshyn was perceived as an odd choice to the NBCSN crew covering the draft and where skewering the 15th overall pick. Bob McKenzie was the first to voice his opinion, calling Senyshyn a reach. Pierre McGuire and Craig Button were next to suggest that there was greater talent the Bruins passed on, such as winger Kyle Connor.
Of the ten players on this list from ESPN, one could eventually become a gem for Boston. None of them are necessarily poised to be the next big thing in Boston anytime soon, but these are top-end prospects that all have great potential ahead of them.