Let's be honest, drafting under Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney has been, well, suspect at best. There is a reason why the Black and Gold have one of the lowest-ranked prospect pools throughout the NHL.
There are several factors that have played a big role in the ranking, with the lack of first-round picks ranking near the top. Sweeney has never been a GM to shy away from using draft capital at trade deadlines in previous seasons to bolster his roster for a run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This year was different.
The Bruins struggled through a season that the front office and fans are not used to, a last place in the Atlantic Division, and tied with the Philadelphia Flyers for last place in the Eastern Conference. All of that led to the seventh overall pick in the first round of the 2025 Entry Draft in Los Angeles on Friday night. When the dust settled on late Saturday afternoon, many thought that Boston had a good draft. How good? Well, let's look at some of the grades they received.
Bleacher Report: A+
The Bruins are keeping James Hagens in Boston. Hagens slid to the seventh pick despite being the No. 4 prospect on the final B/R board. In his first year at Boston College, Hagens was a point-per-game player. He hits top speeds like few others in his class and has incredible vision to set his teammates up for success, evident by his 26 assists in 37 games. Hagens feels like the right pick for the Bruins, who are in rebuild mode.
Daily Faceoff: A-
Hagens does a lot of heavy lifting here, but I love it. I can see him becoming Boston’s No. 1 center – especially since he’ll have a chip on his shoulder after falling to No. 7. I think Moore can be a decent third-line center, or at least a solid support winger. Pettersson had a good year in the Swedish U-20 league, so it seems like Boston is betting high. Cooper Simpson disappointed me at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, but was so impressive in USHL competition. I’m excited to see him head to North Dakota.
FloHockey: B+
Walking out of the draft with an elite playmaker at the center position is always a good feeling. Hagens is going to be a critical piece of the new era of the Boston Bruins and a good weapon to add to the arsenal that includes core piece David Pastrnak. Will Moore is another high-upside forward with some size and will be joining Hagens at Boston College next year. Liam Pettersson, picked 61st overall, was not a player on my radar to be picked that high, but he had an interesting season where he worked his way up from Sweden’s U18 level all the way into some SHL games this season and will be one to watch closer next season. Additionally, Cooper Simpson was one of the best players in the Minnesota high school ranks, moved to the USHL for a brief stint and scored seven goals in nine games. He can definitely fire it. In the end, Boston made seven total picks and vastly improved one of the league’s shallower prospect pools.
ESPN listed Hagens as a winner in their winners, losers article as a winner because of two reasons. One, the love he got from his hometown New York Islanders, who did everything they could to try and move back higher into the first round to grab him. Two, he was drafted by the Boston Bruins, keeping him at home as he likely returns to Boston College for another year with the Eagles.
In the end, this is setting up to be a successful weekend for the Bruins, who are creating a pipeline with Boston College had two of their prospects picked by the Black and Gold again, Hagens and William Moore. This has the potential to be one of the better draft classes Boston has had under Sweeney. How many A's has Sweeney got with his drafting? Not many.