Bob McKenzie of TSN released his mid-season rankings for the 2018 NHL Entry-Level Draft. Given the Boston Bruins triumphant season, it’s fair to envisage a late-round black and gold selection. Sean Torney and I take you through eight potential selections.
24th Overall- Mattias Samuelsson
The Bruins potential first selection of the 2018 NHL Entry Level Draft could be the Voorhees, New Jersey native.
At just 17 years of age, this left-handed defenseman stands at 6’4″ and 216lbs. A frightening prospect in terms of size. His career progression to date has been through the US National Team Development Program.
He has certainly inherited some of his father’s size, Kjell Samuelsson (6’6″, 235lbs). The difference here is that many scouts are convinced Mattias has a serious offensive upside.
In terms of this season, Samuelsson has 15 points in 31 games, 6 goals and 9 assists. It’s interesting to note here that Samuelsson withdrew his commitment to sign for the Michigan hockey team and has opted to team up with his brother at Western Michigan.
I personally think that Samuelsson won’t fall this far in the draft, teams need blue-chip defenseman, and he is in the top-six available in this draft class. If he is still on the board by the time the Bruins are on the clock, don’t be surprised to see the B’s announcing his name.