Chiarelli aims higher in draft
Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli figures he'd like to move up a slot or two in the opening round of the NHL's amateur draft Friday night in Montreal.
The Bruins hold the No. 25 pick in the first round, which begins Friday at 7 p.m., and Chiarelli said the organization has identified a player that might still be available slightly ahead of Boston's current drafting position.
''Our guys have an eye on one player,'' noted Chiarelli, when asked during a media confereence call this afternoon if he would attempt to move up the totem pole. ''I don't know if we'll get him.''
Chris Kreider, the standout winger from Boxford who is slated to enter Boston College this fall, could be the player. Kreider, ranked the 14th best skater in North America by the NHL's Central Scouting Bureau, likely will be chosen in the thick of the first round, perhaps as high as No. 10, but possibly in the mid- or late-20s.
Kreider, 18, just finished his junior year at Phillips Andover Academy, but will enter BC as a freshman, after officially graduating from Masconomet Regional High School. The speedy left winger attended Masconomet for his freshman and sophomore years before transferring to Andover, where he was both a hockey and lacrosse standout.
''I'll be happy any which way,'' said the 6-foot-2 1/2 inch Kreider, a huge Bruins fan. ''It certainly would be special if it's Boston. I'll be ecstatic to be picked in general, but sure, if it's my hometown team, that would be special.''
The Bruins also could have their eye on Zack Kassian, perhaps the toughest customer in the entire draft. The 6-foot-3 Kassian, though, is more likely to be nabbed in the top 12-15 picks. The rockjaw right winger collected 63 points in 61 games this past season with Peterborough (OHL) and he also picked up 136 penalty minutes, a number that compares favorably with the 148 PIMs that Milan Lucic averaged during his two seasons with Vancouver (WHL) prior to cracking the Boston lineup as a 19-year-old.
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If Chiarelli could somehow get into position to get Kassian, that would right there make the draft for the Bruins.
This guy is just as tough and skilled as Lucic. Imagine having both Kassian and Lucic patrolling the wings in Boston.
Kassian would make a great RW on Lucic line for the next ten years
kreiders a beast. i played him in high school when he was a freshman for masco. all i remember is that he was 14 at the time and was real big, real fast, and probably the best player in our league. i can't even imagine how good he is now. masco won the league title that year. trading up for a pick would help our cap situation greatly if we move a roster guy. bruins could get a higher pick in the draft and also be able to sign kessel. if it means signing kessel, i'm all for it.
Reading between the lines, I would surmise that the Bruins have decided signing Kessel is out of the question and are dangling him as the piece to move up high enough to grab the prospect they seek. Kessel should net us a top 10 pick and perhaps a piece more that could be packaged for a mid 1st round pick. then voila, you have both prospects discussed above
Enough with the American college kids on this team. Lets start getting back to basics and taking hard nosed Canadian Hockey league players ala Lucic.
Why not move try to move Kessel now why his trade value is still high. He is a streaky scorer and is brittle at best.
As a fan of the Big Bad Bruins and players of the like (O'Reilly, Jonathan, Neely, Lucic), I would be ecstatic If the Bruins could snag Kassian. If they don't and he is still on the board, the Habs will SURELY pick this kid up. Love his game.
Wouldn't mind seeing Kassian in a Bruins sweater, and his numbers were identical to Lucic's when they were at the same point in juniors, but where Lucic excels, the playoffs, was not the case this year with Kassian. He disappeared on the Petes.
I too love Kessel, but wouldn't mind seeing him swapped to Vancouver for Cody Hodgson. The Sedin twins are likely gone, they've got the cap space and they can move Kessel back to his original position, center, and maybe he won't get so banged up. Hodgson would be a great replacement for Savard when he flies the coop after next season.
The Bruins need a puck-moving defenseman and there are some world class skating, offensively gifted blue liners in this year's draft.
Kessel could get us all the way up so we could take Victor Hedman. That'd be good.
Otherwise, Dmitri Kulikov, Oliver Larsson, Ryan Ellis, John Moore, Simon Despres - one of those guys might slip to the late teens, and it might be easy enough to move to the 16-19 range from 25...
John Moore is possibly the best choice after Hedman and Cowen for blueliners.
Ryan Ellis is too small, playing in the East with Ovechkin, Kovulchuk, Staal, Staal, and a few other big physical forwards you can not afford to have someone who will get brushed off like a gnat. Blacker would be a better choice than Ellis.
Matthew Clark might be a nice second or third round pickup.
It's too bad Cowen won't be around that late. Just the thought of having two defenseman with that sort of reach and stature on our blueline makes me grin.
Simon Bertilsson is worth a look too.
Dmitri Orlov, likewise.
For forwards, if 14-18 GM's prove to be total morons and Kane is still available he could be a lot of fun to have. Kassian + Lucic and Wheeler or Bitz = New 700lb line. Anton Rodin seems to have some decent skill. Richard Panik could prove to be a sleeper for this draft...
But after Kane, I think I want Carter Ashton in the spoked B most. just read his scouting report, and don't skip his favorites.
It would be way out of character for Chiarelli to pull off a trade that will spark a kerjillion comments here.
The last I looked the Bruins only had 4 picks in the 7 rounds this year. It would be nice if they could move up, but the price is always high. Moving a roster player or two is a way to create cap space. The higher the pick the more it will cost. Hopefully they will be able to move a couple of everyday players, sign Kessel and still get the pick they want.
Felix? Did you miss the trade deadline? There were hundreds of comments on that day. Given the utter lack of free agents of worth this year, I think we could see some dramatic moves.
There isn't really any depth at any position for high level players, and only about 10-12 quality players available:
Bouwmeester heads the list,
Hossa is probably second, Then the Sedins & Upshall.
There are two good goalies up for grabs, and then maybe five more players who could be expected to make a major impact.
I wonder what the Neely influence in the draft is. I think we all know that he'd draft power forwards all day long. And trade Kessel in a heartbeat.
I'd like to see us trade Tuuka Rask for a Bogosian, Pietrangelo, Hedman type of young, impact defender and then keep Kessel and draft the best player available, with a bias towards a puck moving defenseman... or a power forward.
We've got Regan in the system, and we can dish off a 3rd rounder to get a good backup goalie.
Not many comments about Kreider.This Boston crowd has a childs mentallity 1 way.Good luck ever bringing the cup back to Boston
It will be interesting to see how it all works out. I'm sure Mr. Chiarelli has more than one trick up his sleeve. :)
nhl1, do you come here just to insult everyone?
I'm hearing lots of trade rumors, do you think heatley is one of those missing pieces the team needs? i know he's being a brat right now but he'd really like to play for chia once again and I think he's a good team guy despite being selfish
Hey Krispy, sorry to hurt your feelings.Just wanted to hear more about that local home grown talent.I think Boston and the whole Massachusetts should be proud of a highschooler with a lot of talent going what looks like 1st round.
Who cares about Krieder, another dude that is a few years away from the NHL, when a player like Zack Kassian is availab.e
This blogger might want to review your comment before posting it.
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