Boston Bruins: Analyzing and grading the selection of forward Trevor Kuntar

Let’s take a closer look at the Boston Bruins’ third-round selection of forward Trevor Kuntar in the 2020 NHL Draft.

With their third-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, the Boston Bruins selected forward Trevor Kuntar at 89th overall. Kuntar was one of the older players in the draft and is already 19 years old.

For the last three years, Kuntar has played for the Youngstown Phantoms of the United States Hockey League (USHL). Over this time, Kuntar has played in 148 games and scored 93 points (49 goals and 44 assists).

On top of this, the Williamsville, New York native also has played in five playoff games but failed to register a point in any of these contests.

The word on Kuntar is that he’s a dedicated and hardworking player. At 6-foot and 203 pounds, he already has the size to be in the NHL and thrives in the dirty areas such as in front of the net and in the corners.

Kuntar’s hard work can be seen through his improvement from 2018-19 to last season. He went from just 36 points (19 goals and 17 assists) in 61 games to 53 points (28 goals and 25 assists) in just 44 games.

Although Kuntar thrives in the O-zone, he seems to struggle a bit defensively. Over his three seasons in the USHL, he has an overall plus/minus (+/-) of -18. However, this can be fixed with the right coaching as most young forwards struggle in their own zone.

What grade do the Boston Bruins get for selecting Trevor Kuntar in the third round?

Kuntar was originally committed to continuing his hockey career at Yale University, however, with the outbreak of COVID-19, he decided to play for Boston College instead.

With Kuntar committed to college hockey for at least this season, it’ll be at least a year until we see him in the NHL. However, the odds are it’ll be at least a few years before we see him in the NHL.

The Bruins are set for at least the next few years at forward, especially center and left wing which are Kuntar’s two positions. Additionally, there are quite a few prospects that are in front of Kuntar.

So, I expect Kuntar to be playing college and AHL hockey until he’s around 23 years old. However, once he’s ready, he should fill into a bottom-nine role nicely.

It’s just uncertain if he’ll ever reach the NHL and how good he’ll actually be. We’ll have more of an idea of his floor and ceiling in a couple more years. So, I think a grade of B- is fair.

Grade: B-