The NHL Draft Combine has an interesting wrinkle this season, as the changes to the draft format have made the event a prime opportunity for teams to meet with the top prospects. In prior years, the teams might've met with their targets in the days leading up to the draft, but the decentralized format has changed the way they'll operate.
The league reportedly plans to return to the old draft format next season. Still, for this year, all the buzz is about insiders reporting on which teams are taking the prospects out to dinner, which should give a general idea of where the players could be selected.
Jake O'Brien has been a name that some are projecting for the Bruins to take with the seventh overall pick. He has risen to that range with his play this season and fits the bill for the type of player the front office cherishes. O'Brien is a reliable two-way center who might not blow you away with his ceiling but should be a solid professional wherever he ends up.
It looks like other teams see that vision for O'Brien and might take him off the board before the Bruins get a chance to draft him. Cam Robinson from Elite Prospects reported that the Utah Mammoth and Philadelphia Flyers have taken O'Brien out for a meeting during the combine. If O'Brien was as well-spoken in the meetings as he has been in his interviews with the media, he likely left both organizations impressed.
This news may leave some Bruins fans disappointed, but it's not the end of the world. O'Brien was more of a safe option for Boston after the talent at the top of the draft was taken. The top five is where the real superstars lie, and O'Brien being taken earlier than expected opens the opportunity for Boston to get some value at No. 7.
Matthew Schaefer will go in the top two, but the order of the forwards is still up in the air. The five forwards with the highest upside are Michael Misa, James Hagens, Porter Martone, Anton Frondell, and Caleb Desnoyers.
If O'Brien steals one of those spots ahead of the Bruins, that means at least one of those five forwards will fall to Boston. Don Sweeney and the front office won't complain about any of those options if it is how the draft plays out.