Colton Roberts, D//Vancouver
Like Will Zellers, Colton Roberts could be long gone by the time the Bruins draft if they don’t end up with an earlier pick via trade. Roberts turns 18 in June, so you can chalk him up as a prospect whose birthday is later than many. But he’s 6’4 and a respectable 194 lbs, and there is still a lot of room for him to grow even more.
For a larger player, he’s quite the total package in both skating and ability to create sequences. He’s not a defenseman who will put up a ton of points, even with a sound offensive game, but he will find open teammates, let them go to work, and they’ll put up big numbers on the stat sheet.
His defensive game must improve, and if he can eventually get it to match his offensive prowess, Roberts has a bright future, even if he may wind up as a mid-round pick.
Heikki Ruohonen, C/K-Espoo
Size was arguably the main criterion behind who I added to this list, and you can say the same for Heikki Ruohonen, whose 6’1, 196-pound frame is already NHL-built. He was an alternate captain for Kiekko-Espoo and a points-producing machine, scoring 20 goals and another 27 helpers in 37 regular season games this past year.
A high hockey IQ and a simple game make Ruohonen a solid prospect here who should go in the fourth round or later. While that simplicity foreshadows an NHL ceiling as a lower-liner or even a fourth-liner, there’s a good chance Ruohonen will develop into a player to help his future respective team win a championship, and he could be a long-term asset for whichever organization becomes his home.