The Boston Bruins aren't going to have the luxury of thinking too far outside of the box at the 2026 NHL Draft, unless they shock everyone with a trade that changes around their picks, as they did in 2024 when they made sure they could grab Dean Letourneau.
The Bruins will likely have a run of skilled forwards to choose from with the 23rd pick, including players like the Ruck twins, Adam Novotny, Mathis Preston, JP Hurlbert, and Maddox Dagenais, with an outside chance of one of the defensemen, like Tommy Bleyl or Xavier Villeneuve, falling and giving Don Sweeney something to consider.
The second round gets a bit more interesting, and gives Sweeney some options to draft players with higher-upside skill that teams will stay away from because of other issues in their games. With the Bruins taking a better approach to drafting or acquiring skilled prospects over the past two drafts, there are some options for them in the second round.
Ryan Roobroeck
Ryan Roobroeck is polarizing enough that he could potentially fall to the Bruins with the 56th pick. However, it feels extremely unlikely that not one team will see the upside of his scoring touch and take a chance on him in the top 50. If Boston wants Roobroeck, they'll need to trade up, but it might just be worth it.
Roobroeck has been a lethal scorer over three years in the OHL, posting 28 goals in his rookie season, before following it up with 41 and 30 in his next two seasons. He battled through injuries this past season, which lowered his goalscoring totals, but scoring 30 in 49 games is nothing to turn away from.
Concerns remain about his pace and overall commitment levels away from the puck, but when he gets the puck on his stick, Roobroeck scores, and that's exactly the type of player that has been missing in the Bruins' lineup. There is a reason why Morgan Geekie's hot stick became such a favorite in Boston over the past two seasons, and Roobroeck could eventually serve the same purpose.
Lavr Gashilov
Lavr Gashilov might not be a name that jumps off the page as a prospect, as he has played in Russia throughout his entire career and hasn't been in any of the more popular international tournaments. However, as Alexander Zharovsky taught everyone this past season in the Montreal Canadiens' prospect pool, it could pay off to take a chance on some of these unknown Russians.
Zharovsky had 50 points in 45 MHL games in Russia during the 2024-25 season, before the Canadiens took him 34th overall. He became one of the brightest young prospects in the KHL this past season with 42 points in 59 games, and is now looking like another bright young player in the Canadiens' system.
Gashilov was actually an even better producer in the MHL in his draft season, recording 69 points in 51 games. He is more of a playmaker with just 16 goals and 53 assists, but he has some high-end skills that Boston could use. At 6-foot-2, he is reportedly a bit more hesitant to take contact than you may like to see, but if he could figure that out, he has the potential to be another Russian steal.
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