No one is oblivious to the narrative surrounding Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney. He continues to get opportunities like the one he is currently in with Team Canada at the Winter Olympics, but some Bruins fans believe that he is the reason the team isn't still at the top of the Atlantic Division. While I don't agree with some of his moves, it's hard to ignore that some of his work has been good.
First of all, there aren't many trades that Sweeney hasn't won during his Bruins tenure. His shortcomings are normally at the draft table, but for some reason, he is able to negotiate a deal with the best of them. It's the one thing that has kept the Bruins afloat after some subpar drafts. However, just when people were ready to give up on Sweeney's drafting decision-making, he has quietly had some wins at the table.
Dean Letourneau is looking like a solid decision in the first round of the 2024 draft after some scary moments in his first season after the selection. He isn't the only player from that draft making noise, as Elliott Groenewold is quietly having a breakout season at Quinnipiac, including leading the nation in plus/minus with a +40 rating.
E's on one this year 🤯#BobcatNation x #NCAAHockey pic.twitter.com/QBjMTq6sDH
— Quinnipiac Men's Ice Hockey (@QU_MIH) February 18, 2026
Groenewold leads the nation by a whopping +11, with the next closest being Charlie Stramel of Michigan State University with a +29. While plus/minus is an outdated stat in the analytics world, being that much better than your next closest peer shows that Groenewold is doing something right.
If Groenewold can maintain this for the rest of the season, he'd become the first player with a plus/minus above +40 since the 2015-16 season, when Drake Caggiula, Brock Boeser, and Nick Schmaltz had incredible seasons at the University of North Dakota. No defenseman has been able to hit the +40 mark since the calendar turned to 2000, with the most recent to come close being Brian Dumoulin in the 2009-10 season.
The Bruins would take a Dumoulin-style career from the 2024 fourth-rounder. That type of career would involve 13 seasons in the NHL with 762 games played. He isn't the flashiest defender or an elite top-pairing guy, but he has been a solid depth piece for five different teams and has two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Groenewold's offensive game has also been rounding out. He already surpassed his freshman season point-total by seven and has four more regular-season games remaining to add to that total. The Bobcats are also one of the nation's top teams, which should put plenty of eyes on Groenewold's growth as the playoffs get closer.