Ranking the Bruins top prospects for 2017-18

After years of failing to deliver top-end players through the draft, the Bruins are back on track.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 6 years ago
Ranking the Bruins top prospects for 2017-18
Keystone Press

In his latest article for Last Word on Hockey, hockey writer Ben Kerr takes a look at the prospect pool for the Boston Bruins and attempts to rank the team’s brightest young players in order of who could have the biggest impact on the team in the coming years.

While youngsters like Brandon Carlo, Frank Vatrano and Austin Czarnik can already be considered graduates from prospects to players, the team is stocked with talented young players looking to make an impression at training camp this fall.

According to Kerr, the Bruins’ top 3 prospects in order are:

  1. Charlie McAvoy
  2. Anders Bjork
  3. Jake DeBrusk

McAvoy will almost certainly play big minutes on the Bruins blue line in 2017-18. The former 14th overall pick of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft has all the physical tools and smarts to be a very good NHL defenseman and will be given the opportunity to prove himself immediately. He’s an excellent skater with innate offensive instincts. Put bluntly: this kid’s a game changer.

Bjork, like McAvoy, just capped off an outstanding NCAA career. Don’t let the name fool you, the winger with a Swedish name actually hails from Mequon, Wisconsin and he’s ready to move onto the pro level after three outstanding seasons with Notre Dame.

Another 14th overall pick, this one from the 2015 NHL Draft, DeBrusk is a strong winger with excellent goal scoring and two-way ability. While it’s unlikely he’ll ever be a dynamic offensive talent at the NHL level, DeBrusk did put up nearly 20 goals and 50 points in his first pro season with the Providence Bruins last season, so anything is possible.

For the rest of Kerr’s list, check out his article at Last Word on Hockey.

Source: Ben Kerr