The bad at drafting perception is a hill I will have to die on.
Just thought I would revisit the topic in a separate thread. I took a look at the Sweeney/Neely draft picks in the 1st and 2nd round to assess whether the Bruins are good, bad, or just as expected given their draft position. I also added low round picks that did impact NHL rosters.I’m not gonna get into the Bruins draft history, but these picks are all much more likely to be hits than misses no matter who is making them.
Good to great picks:
Carlo (37)
McAvoy (14)
Swayman (111)
Expected value given the position:
DeBrusk (14)
Lauzon (52)
Frederic (29)
Lindgren (49)
Vaakanainen (18) [Borderline bust]
Studnicka (53) [Could go up or down yet]
Vladar (75) [Not really sure how to grade goalies]
Busts:
Zboril (13) [Still could improve, but that knee injury was serious]
Senyshyn (15)
Forsbacka-Karlsson (45)
TBD:
Axel Andersson (57)
John Beecher (30)
Mason Lohrei (58) [Could become a good pick]
Fabian Lysell (21) [Ditto]
Part of the issue is that once you remove Sweeney's first year, when he had 3 1st round picks, the highest picks he had to work with were 14 (McAvoy) and 18 (Vaak). The picks traded for Lindholm will be lower than either. If Lohrei and Lysell are part of the next good Bruins run, then Sweeney's draft history will look quite strong.
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