Boston Bruins 2022 Draft in Review
Jul 17, 2022 20:53:04 GMT -5
Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and 2 more like this
Post by Boston Bruins on Jul 17, 2022 20:53:04 GMT -5
With their first round pick (8th overall) the Bruins selected centerman Matthew Savoie out of Winnipeg in the Western Hockey League. Standing 5'9” and weighing 180lbs, this right hander is a scoring machine. Even though some may believe he is undersized, Mr. Savoie shows a dynamic offensive ability in all aspects of his game. Skating, Shooting, Play Making are all areas which he excels and the ceiling is very high for all offensive numbers. The one thing we failed to mention is his defensive game and that is with good reason. It's a bit of a work in progress. When talking with Matthew, he acknowledges that his lack of size will make it harder to contain bigger opponents, but he is committed on working hard to get back and help in his own zone and use his positioning skills to force attackers away from the net and force turnovers. Boston believes that this gentleman will be a bonafide number one center in this league and is looking forward to seeing Matt grow, along with all the young core of this Bruin team.
With the second round pick (39th overall), Boston chose Lane Hutson, Defense from the US National Development Team. Blessed with impressive mobility, NHL-level passing and a workman-like attitude consistent with all smaller players, Hutson definitely has the tools to overcome his lack of size. Described as somewhat of a “unicorn” by U.S. NTDP U18 assistant coach Nick Fohr, he is a well-rounded player who defends well and generates offence despite being the shortest and lightest defenceman on the team. As one of the smaller defensemen in this year’s draft class, Lane Hutson will face an uphill battle to make it to the NHL. However, with the continuing success of players like Jared Spurgeon (5-foot-9), Quinn Hughes (5-foot-10) and Cale Makar (5-foot-10), who get by on elite skating, edges and hockey IQ, he might just have a chance at stardom one day. Why? Because Hutson has all that in his toolbox as well.
Some may say there is a theme here with the Boston Draft, but as one may already see, the NHL has a shift heading towards smaller and more skillful players and Boston hopes these trends continue as they went away from size in this draft. When specifically asked, GM Healy point blank answered with “Skill. Boston needs to continue to build on skill. We have seen what happens when we put a team that too much size on the ice, it hurts us. We need a better mix of skill and these to individuals bring a lot of that to this organization.”
