Baby Bruins

The Boston Bruins paid heavily to move up into the 2013 NHL Rookie Draft by moving many high picks and other pieces, but ultimately, they achieved exactly what they wanted.

GM Arcesi released his press statement about the Bruins 2013 draft today.

Arcesi started the article off with the following:  “First off, I’d like to apologize for only getting this article out to the press at this time.  I wanted to get it out right away, but I had to wait until September to do so for the simple reason of…well, it was the summer time and vacation took precedence.  It had nothing to do with having something to write about for the September article.”   ;)   “I’d also like to apologize to the players that we drafted for taking so long to get this out.  Each one will be mentioned by name later on.  I also wanted to include a recent trade in the article and had to wait for the ink to dry on the contract, so to speak.”

“A lot of GMs probably thought that I paid too hefty a price to move up to 15^th overall in the draft.  I know even the Leafs GM thought so, and he was the GM I made the deal with.  Yes, I gave up two firsts, two seconds, a third and Nicolas Deschamps, but the truth is, I feel like I didn’t give up enough to get that pick.  The picks that I did give up will all be late round picks with the possibility of one of the 2^nd round picks being a higher pick and Deschamps, well, as much as we liked him here in Boston, there was no room for him to grow and no opportunity to make the NHL with our club due to our depth.  Nick is not a 4^th type of player and we spoke with him and he understood that since all of our big guns were signed to long term contracts, he was ok with being traded and hopefully one day he could make that roster.  We wish him well in the future.  But the guys we did draft…well, we’re extremely excited about them.  Sure, a team like Detroit got the best of the draft in all the early first round picks, but we feel like we made out like bandits with the players we drafted at 15^th and 20^th overall.”

When we drafted Curtis Lazar 15^th overall, I was giddier than a little girl at a sleepover with all her friends.  We feel that Lazar has untapped skills and almost limitless potential.  He’s a battler; a power forward in the mold of Milan Lucic, just a bit smaller. He has very good offensive skills and leadership skills in spades.  We expect him to be a Bruin in a few years and are looking forward to that opportunity.

Next up, was Hunter Shinkaruk.  Honestly, we were surprised that he was still left at 20.  He was the other guy we really wanted in the draft at that position and we’re extremely happy to add him to our prospect pool as well.  He will definitely need to add a bit of bulk to play in the NHL, but we know he can do that and can’t wait to have him in the NHL in the next few years.  Shinny’s a tenacious fore-checking winger with great hands.  He’s offensively skilled and willing to pay the price to score goals.  Both Shinkaruk and Lazar embody Bruin hockey philosophy.

In the 3rd round at 69th overall, we selected Jordan Subban.  We feel that this guy should have been drafted much higher, along the lines of an early to mid-second round pick…but we’re extremely glad that no-one had the foresight to select him that high.  He has a lot to live up to already with the last name of Subban, but, he’s got a good, heavy shot and solid skating abilities.  Subban just needs to work on his defensive responsibilities.

What the youngest Subban brother brings to the table is intelligence – he was named to the OHL’s Scholastic Team this year. He transfers that intelligence on the ice, where he plays a solid, smart offensive game.

We weren’t done adding prospects at that time.  Sure, the draft was over, but we wanted one more person…and we went knocking on Mr. Hondronokolis’ door to get him.  We made an offer that good ole Johnny couldn’t refust and we brought on right winger Zach Budish.  He is a complete player. At nearly 6’3", he certainly has size. Budish is a powerful skater who has remarkably good speed and acceleration for such a big man. He has great instincts, good vision, and makes very good decisions in all three zones. Budish utilizes his large frame and strength very well, including on the physical side and is quite difficult to move off the puck. He can deliver some solid checks without taking himself out of the play. He also has great hands and superb playmaking ability.  At 22 years of age, Budish is now ready to play at the NHL level and should dawn the spoked B in the next year or two.

We are extremely happy with the 4 new prospects that we acquired through the draft and trading and we’re looking forward to them all making the big leagues with us, sooner rather than later!

Let’s Go Bruins!!!