If you watched any Boston Bruins hockey over the past couple of years then one thing was clear: They were losing skill in their lineup and they didn't have a prospect pool they could draw on to improve it. David Pastrnak is the lone player on the current roster with "elite" skill, and there aren't many players who come anywhere close to the superstar.
Don Sweeney was adamant in his press conference this week that the Bruins would be targeting the best player available with their selections, and it's clear now that what he meant by that was that he would also be going after high-end skill. Instead of opting for safe picks like they normally would, the Bruins' scouting staff identified skill, along with some luck, and added some offensively gifted players.
The scouting staff had the good fortune of some better picks than they usually get after the Bruins cratered this season. Once Boston started to fall in the standings, scouting director Ryan Nadeau shifted his focus to the top half of the draft. Along with that shift likely comes a change in the "organization's philosophy," according to Ty Anderson.
"I think having more picks, and having some higher picks, allowed us to probably look at some players with a bit more offensive ability and upside that sometimes in the area where we tended to be picking we didn't have some of those players available or the players that were... there's alot of risk associated sometimes with that player. Whether they're undersized, whether they're physically underdeveloped, or whether there's just a real major lack of detail in their game. Where there are other players sitting there at the same spot, where you really appreciate their attention to detail, their heaviness, their hardness. We didn't shy away from some of that. I just think we ended up in a spot this year where we could really take some swings at some higher upside offensive players that maybe in the past we haven't had as many swings on that kind of player."Ryan Nadeau, Director of Scouting
It's a welcome sight for Bruins fans that the organization is beginning to target more skill. The main thing right now is for things to begin to get better after the ugly end to last year. While the team could still go through some rough times, last year's results and on-ice product were unacceptable.