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Top-10 Prospects : Bruins (1-10) |
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The Bruins have managed to keep a good prospect list despite being a contender through asset management. While they don’t have any “ringer” anymore in this group, I still feel it’s strong and has a few real surprise players.
As per usual this list doesn’t include players with 50+ NHL game experience or a player who played the vast majority of this shortened year and became a “legitimate NHLer.” This means Dougie Hamilton who would be number one easily is off the table.
1. Ryan Spooner : Centre, 45th Overall, 2010, 21 years old, 5’10 182lbs, Providence Bruins in the AHL
Spooner is an elite skater who has a ton of offensive ability. Brian Huddle was ranting and raving about him for a long time and after the AHL rookie season Spooner had, his point was valid. Spooner led the Bruins in points with 57 in 59 games and showed his creativity and elite one vs one skills. Spooner’s issue is that he’s terribly small and while his defensive game is improving, it isn’t Claude Julien level yet. With that in mind, plus the fact that the Bruins boast Krejci and Bergeron solidified at centre, you have to wonder if he will get the Tyler Seguin treatment and be shifted to the wing. His excellent hands and playmaking ability is something the Bruins could really use, so next season he will either start in the AHL or make Boston.
Potential : Top-Six Playmaker
2. Joe Morrow : Defenseman, 23rd Overall, 2011, 20 years old, 6’1 206lbs, Texas Stars in the AHL
It’s hard to believe a top prospect can get traded two times in one year that has nothing to do with production or off-ice issues, but that’s what happened to Morrow. He was traded for Brenden Morrow then after the season had ended he was a part of that big package deal for Tyler Seguin…in fact there are three prospects on this list from that deal. He had a very strong rookie season in the AHL and was much more comfortable as the season wore on. He is a great skating offensive defenseman who can run a PP effectively and has a strong shot. The interesting part is that Morrow plays with an edge you don’t expect from a player of his style. He has major upside as a puck mover. Now obviously like all offensive defenders he still has work to do in his own zone, something pretty much every 20 year old in the AHL needs to work on. Next season he will play in Providence fulltime…unless he’s traded again.
Potential : Top-Four Offensive Defenseman
3. Malcolm Subban : Goalie, 24th Overall, 2012, 19 years old, 6’1 187lbs, Belleville Bulls in the OHL
The middle brother of the trio, Subban is one of the most athletic goalie prospects in the game and the constant comparisons to MA Fleury are pretty apt (whether that’s good or bad…). He is extremely fast in his net and has amazing reflexes. He’s had three very solid seasons in the OHL including having the best SV% and GAA in the OHL this past season. The concerns over Subban’s game are that he isn’t a conventional goalie and doesn’t play the style the NHL seems to be in love with right now. Regardless with so much natural athleticism he has a solid foundation as a goalie. Next season he will play in Providence and challenge the number 10 on this list for the starting role.
Potential : Starting Goalie
4. Alexander Khokhlachev : Centre/Left Wing, 40th Overall, 2011, 19 years old, 5’10 186lbs, Windsor Spitfires in the OHL
Khoklachev like Joe Morrow had a rollercoaster season as he ended playing in three separate leagues. First he decided to defect to the KHL for one season to develop against professionals during the lockout for Spartak Moscow, then he returned to Windsor after the U20 tournament, lastly he ended in Providence after Windsor failed to make the playoffs. He’s a very similar player to Spooner, he has that top-end speed that bursts by players and has excellent offensive talent in both scoring and playmaking. Yet he’s a small player and he’s been known to play on the perimeter at times and disengage. He can make individual plays that are highlight reel levels of awesome with his elite hands. Defense and size are the detractors and getting him to engage those elite skills more consistently. He’s the most talented player in the Bruins prospect system right now, just needs to put everything together. I’m also wondering at what position he will play at the next level, he was a centre at the U20’s for Russia, but played wing in both the KHL and in Windsor for his final year (previously was a centre). He’ll play in Providence next season.
Potential : Top-Line Scorer (Though whether he reaches it is still dubious)
5. Reilly Smith : Right Wing, 69th Overall, 2009, 22 years old, 6’1 182lbs, Texas Stars in the AHL
Smith played half the season with Dallas, but I would still consider him a prospect at this point as pretty much everybody got a shot when the Stars began dumping players. As you can already guess Smith was part of the Seguin deal. He was a scoring star in the NCAA and has shown that he’s a sniper with grit. He’s strong at both ends of the ice and backhecks and forechecks with the best of them. He’s got great top speed and is an excellent puck player, both with it and when causing turnovers (he takes the puck away from players a lot). He was always a long term prospect when drafted just like his brother Brendan Smith of the Wings, so he still doesn’t seem to have the ideal NHL frame yet. Next season he will likely find his way on the Bruins third line though with one opening in the top-six…
Potential : Second Line Sniper
6. Anthony Camara : Left Wing, 81st Overall, 2011, 19 years old, 6’1 201lbs, Barrie Colts in the OHL
If you had to make a guess at who could be the Bruins next Lucic it’s this guy. Camara was drafted for his fighting ability, grit and penalty killing, yet has developed into a very good complimentary scorer. Much like Lucic, Camara had a breakthrough final season offensively in the CHL posting 36 goals in 50 games. He has pretty good hands for the kind of player he is and he likes to get into the dirty areas. It’s hard to say exactly what kind of role he will play in the NHL as this breakout in scoring could be a bit of an anomaly. The fact that he is so strong in other facets of the game should see him find an NHL future, whether he can make it into a top-six or be a bottom-six contributor will be more clear in the next few seasons in the AHL.
Potential : Third Line Grinder
7. Peter Cehlárik : Left Wing, 90th Overall, 2013, 18 years old, 6’2 198lbs, Luleå in the Elitserien
ehlárik dominated the SuperElit in Sweden before getting a call-up to the Elitserien to play for Luleå where in 8 games he was fantastic posting 3 goals and 6 points and a +8. Despite playing only 8 games he was awarded the Most Points by an U18 junior in the Elitserien. He’s got some great passing ability and a strong wrister off the rush. He skates very well and has nice quick turns. There is a little bit more hype surrounding him after his performance at the U18’s where he tied for the lead in points for the Czech’s with 7 and added 2 goals. He ended up being the second highest U18 scorer in the SuperElit behind only Nylander who will be competing for the 1st overall selection in 2014. I really liked him as a sleeper in this past draft.
Potential : Top-Six Scorer
8. Matt Fraser : Left Wing, Undrafted, 23 years old, 6’2 209lbs, Texas Stars in the AHL
Fraser was another piece of the Seguin deal and is a poster boy for the late bloomer. The past two seasons he led the Stars in goal scoring with 37 (2nd in the AHL) and 33 (2nd in the AHL) showing not only a very good shot but the kind of ability to score from any angle all around the net. Fraser is the kind of player that loves being around the net and he has excellent hand-eye. He’s an average skater who does play with an edge. The player he reminds me of is Troy Brouwer, a guy who works hard and isn’t terrible in his own end that just knows how to score even if he isn’t the guy running the play. After two such dominating AHL seasons he will probably get a look with the Bruins at some time next season.
Potential : Second/Third Line Complimentary Scorer
9. Torey Krug : Defenseman, Undrafted, 22 years old, 5’9 185lbs, Providence Bruins in the AHL
Krug in terms of skill is probably around 3 or 4 on this list, but that size is just too much of a factor to get over. The list of defensemen under 5’11 in the NHL can be counted on two hands, the list of top defensemen under 5’11 can be counted on one (Campbell, Enstrom and…?). People that watched the playoffs got to see a taste of the game Krug brings, he’s got some dynamic offensive capabilities plus a shot that you just don’t see in guys that small. He was one of the best offensive defenders in the AHL before his call-up and was fourth in points and fifth in goals. Despite the title of offensive defenseman he isn’t actually all that bad defensively, he’s a pretty smart player with a good stick and excellent skating to get him out of trouble. He is however easy to manhandle which is why one might presume he isn’t strong in his own zone. He’s feisty for a small guy, which might get him in trouble…though that doesn’t seem to be a problem for Marchand. He definitely needs a strong defender beside him to succeed…luckily the Bruins have a ton of those. He’ll probably play with Boston fulltime.
Potential : Top-Four Offensive Defenseman
10. Niklas Svedberg : Goalie, Undrafted, 23 years old, 6’2 179lbs, Providence Bruins in the AHL
Svedberg made the jump to the AHL from Sweden and had a pretty seamless transition. He was considered the best goalie during the regular season making the First All-Star Team and winning the Goalie of the Year award, even though his playoff performance was less than stellar. He’s an aggressive goalie that plans as far on the edge of the crease as possible. He has some issues with rebound control and like many European goalies he has that tendency to kick them out violently. He is ranked as the 6th best goalie prospect by the Goalie Guild. Could be a candidate to backup Rask in a few years.
Potential : Starting Goalie?
Notables :
Maxim Chudinov (Questions over whether he will ever come over to NA, regardless he’s a very skilled two-way defenseman who loves to play physical and go over the line in that regard, was a KHL All-Star at 22 and while he had a down year this past season he still has top-four potential…if he ever leaves…)
Jared Knight (Fiesty small goal scoring forward, hasn’t had the offensive development many would have hoped after being drafted 31st overall in 2009, only got to play 18 games last season and looked out of sorts in his first pro year, his future should be more apparent next season once he gets a full year of pro hockey under his belt)
Matt Bartkowski (A solid defensive defenseman who plays physical, there’s nothing really special to his game and he should be a 6-7 defenseman in the NHL, will probably make the Bruins next season)
Seth Griffith (Undersized offensive player, has played a huge role in the Knights back to back OHL championships especially in the playoffs where he has the reputation of raising his game, defensive issues and size issues are the problems here)
Thanks for reading.
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