It's Mock Draft season, and no one knows what direction the Boston Bruins will go in with their seventh-overall pick. It'll mostly depend on the other teams around them, as the players who were reportedly on the Bruins' radar are beginning to climb in the rankings. The Athletic's NHL staff conducts several mock drafts leading up to the event, and their edition from Wednesday morning has Boston being very active.
Jake O'Brien is still their choice
The Athletic chose Jake O'Brien as the Bruins' choice at seventh overall in their initial mock draft, and they are sticking with him as the best option. It's no secret that Boston is interested in adding to their center-ice depth, and many feel the center from the Ontario Hockey League would check many boxes.
O'Brien has good size, an abundance of talent, and an elite hockey sense that could serve him well. New head coach Marco Sturm spoke glowingly about Patrice Bergeron in many of his answers at Tuesday's introductory press conference, and adding a two-way center with a lot of the same qualities as Sturm's former teammate might be something that interests him.
The only concern for the Bruins landing O'Brien is that the Utah Mammoth has also shown interest in the center. The Athletic has Caleb Desnoyers going to the Mammoth at No. 4, but it's starting to look like it'll be draft night before we get any clarity on how the seven centers projected to go in the top ten will roll out.
Bruins trade for a second first-round pick
The Athletics seems to believe that the Vancouver Canucks might not have much interest in holding on to their 15th overall selection in this draft. If that's the case, they feel the Bruins could make a trade to acquire the pick and Nils Hoglander, with Pavel Zacha and Marat Khusnutdinov going the other way.
It would make sense that if the Bruins are picking a center at seven, they have some expendability with the centers currently on their roster. Zacha was a good center to have for his chemistry with David Pastrnak, but after seeing how Elias Lindholm and Pastrnak gelled toward the end of the year, Zacha could be the center that heads out of town.
Zacha has two years left on his contract, and if the Bruins are heading into a mini-retool, there are no guarantees he will stay past those years anyway. If Boston has a chance to add to their prospect pool at this draft, they have to consider all possible options.
In this hypothetical, The Athletic has the Bruins taking Jackson Smith from the Western Hockey League. He is a big body who projects as a top-four defenseman. Smith uses his size to be a physical presence, but he also has high offensive upside and could easily be a powerplay quarterback in his prime.
Sacrificing Zacha and Khusnutdinov, while adding a future top-six forward and top-four defenseman, would be a dream scenario for the Bruins' organization and their fans at this year's draft.