Dean Letourneau was an outstanding add to the Bruins prospects pool
When the Boston Bruins traded back into the first round shortly before the 2024 NHL Draft, it was a foregone conclusion they were hitting a home run.
The Boston Bruins are one of the NHL’s most successful franchises for a reason, and it’s because they know how to build a winning program. And if there’s one player I was ultra-excited to see a team take a chance on in the first round, it’s Dean Letourneau.
Yes, Letourneau comes with some risk, as he didn’t play the highest levels of competition while at St. Andrew’s College, and he ended his pre-draft career with just two USHL games, but that’s about as far as I can honestly critique this pick. In other words, I’m nitpicking, trying to find at least a flaw or two that really aren’t there.
Sure, competition may have been lighter, but 152 points and 75 goals in 70 regular season games are what they are. I wouldn’t call it as much lighter competition as much as it was Letourneau taking advantage of the situation, and if he didn’t, he wasn’t going in the first round.
Dean Letourneau was an excellent addition for the Boston Bruins
Dean Letourneau was also an alternate captain for St. Andrews, so we already know he’s an outstanding leader going into his freshman season at Boston College. But his 6’7, 214-pound frame is the first characteristic Bruins fans will notice following his epic productivity, but it gets even better.
Sometimes, we could be under the impression that a player with Letourneau’s stat sheet can be one-dimensional, but that’s also not the case, as he puts his large frame to use as a physical player. Overall, there’s a lot to like here, and he will face and get used to the more intense competition at Boston College, which is another reason I called the lack of it at St. Andrews a “nitpick.”
Overall, general manager Don Sweeney added who could now be the Bruins prospect pool’s most intriguing player, and one who could serve Boston very well once he turns pro.
(Statistics powered by Elite Prospects)