Boston Bruins: Potential 2018 First-Round Draft Selections
31st Overall- Alexander Alexeyev
At number 31, Alexander Alexeyev rounds out the first round in Bob McKenzie’s NHL Draft player rankings. Alexeyev is a Russian defenseman who plays for the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL. In 2016, Alexeyev was drafted 3rd overall in the KHL entry draft.
Alexeyev is off to a very productive season for Red Deer. Through 37 games, Alexeyev has 31 points, with 25 of those coming off assists. Alexeyev has some size to him at 6’3’’, 190 lbs., which is comparable to the size of Boston Bruins’ defenseman Paul Postma, who, coincidently, was born in Red Deer.
Although the Bruins seem to be in good shape in defensive depth with eight defenseman on the active roster, Alexeyev wouldn’t be a bad draft selection. Of the Boston defenseman 26 or younger, only one of them, Brandon Carlo, is taller than six feet. Alexeyev could add more size to a young defense core, which is important because Zdeno Chara isn’t going to play forever. Because of that size, I could see Boston using a late first round selection on Alexander Alexeyev.