A 6-foot-3 mountain of a power forward from Norwell, Massachusetts. It wouldn't be shocking if Don Sweeney, Cam Neely, and the Boston Bruins front office already had his name on the back of the black and gold jersey that will be handed out at the KeyBank Center on Friday night. However, with Casey Mutryn anywhere from 21st to 55th in public draft rankings, the Bruins cannot take the bait.
Mutryn checks all the boxes for a Sweeney-led front office, and that's what should be very concerning for Bruins fans who are hoping for a bit more high-end skill coming into the organization in this draft. He has tons of size, plays the game on the edge, and will be attending Boston College for the 2027-28 season. The Massachusetts native was built in a lab to play in Boston.
Do not get me wrong here, if Mutryn somehow falls to the Bruins second-round pick at 56th overall, or the Bruins put together a strong package to trade up to get him in slightly higher than that range, it'd be a great success by Sweeney. In that scenario, they already hopefully drafted a high-upside defenseman or skilled forward in the first round, and have the space to draft this tailormade Bruins forward.
The pros and cons of Casey Mutryn
Mutryn has good size and physicality, and a decent offensive touch, but there's nothing spectacular about the forward who had 46 points in 62 games at the NTDP this past season. He captained the USA at the World Under-18s and recorded five points in five games, demonstrating tremendous leadership qualities.
The problem is that a player of his size, with his work ethic and offensive ability, hardly ever projects to anything more than a third-liner when he actually fills out and reaches the pro level. There is no shame in being that type of player, and there are plenty of fan favorites who carve out a niche playing that role, but it doesn't scream 23rd overall to me.
McKeen's Hockey, a trusted source on prospects, didn't give Mutryn the most glowing endorsement. When trying to figure out a comparable for the power forward, Brock Otten came up with Dakota Joshua and Tanner Jeannot as potential starting points, and that's really all you need to know about whether the future Boston College Eagle is worthy of being a reach in the first round.
Add us as a preferred source on Google