NHL Draft Lottery Instant Reaction | Bruins Beat

NHL Draft Lottery Instant Reaction | Bruins Beat

We’re We’re on the air. We’re live. Perfect. We’ll let people trickle in. I imagine people will be rather angry and they have every right to be angry. I’m Evan Marinowski here on a live Bruins beat. Man, I can’t remember the last time, Joey, we did a a good live episode of something. It probably be like, you know, game seven against the Leafs last year where it was upbeat and good. Uh I’m Evan Marinowski. That’s Joey Capone. Uh Joey, we’ll we’ll skip the intros. Uh because obviously we know what we’re talking about here. Bruins fall to number seven. Worst case scenario for the lottery. They’re going to pick seventh uh in this upcoming draft. Could have picked first. Could have picked second. Third and fourth were never really on the table. Sixth they were they had the best odds for. Um and they also had pretty good odds for fifth. Seventh they only had like 14% odds for and they fall to seven. Mainly because now it’s a new system this year. The Islanders jump to number one. Insane. And Utah jumps to four, which is just bananas. And you wonder like you can get into the rigged stuff. You know, the Islanders, it’s New York and Utah is the newest expansion team. And it’s like, hm. Well, if it was rigged, we would have simply no idea, Evan, because in case you guys missed it, in case you’re only tuning in to the postgame show and didn’t actually watch the draft lottery for some reason, the way that they did it was they pull the balls, create a four-digit pin that correlates with a lookup table. That number then hacks a safe, and then you have 30 seconds to get through the safe. You have to get through the laser room. There are heat sensors inside of the vault. It made no sense. They could have just pulled four numbers and been like, “Uh, yeah, no, that’s that’s the Islanders. Actually, it’s the Rangers. The Rangers are first overall.” Would have made no difference. We had no way of knowing. I guess you could have looked up the table yourself. I don’t know anybody who was sitting in front of the TV with the lookup table in front of them this evening, but uh I my guess is 95% of people were not. Uh but yeah, I mean, the rigged stuff is obviously going to come right to the top. And I’m sure that’s probably part of the reason why they decided to do it this way in front of people because they were getting some kind of allegations about that. Bman said, “Oh, some somebody brought it to me as this novel idea. We had some event planner come in and he brought up this cool idea of having it on TV.” Yeah. It’s like I No, I think you were kind of under the gun a little bit that things seemed to be going the right way for the league a lot and you were doing it behind closed doors. just he expected the Bruins maybe to be on the benefiting end of that big market team kind of down and out but obviously not the case. This is worst case scenario and it’s not awful but it’s not good because we’ve talked about this a lot on this show. You know, number one and two are pretty set. I think it’s pretty clear with the Islanders getting number one pick, Schaefer is probably going to go to them. Uh the Sharks are right there at two. I do wonder if the Sharks move up and try to get Schaefer from the Islanders because the Islanders could use Schaefer, but the Sharks could really use Schaefer. We talked about this a lot where it’s like the Sharks don’t have a need at center. They don’t need Misa. I do also wonder, Joey, do you entertain trying to trade the seventh pick and other things for the second pick and and for the Sharks? because I will say the way this draft is shaking out, there are some good D there at the end of the top 10 going into 11 and 12. Um, so I wonder about that. Um, that’s where I’ll start. We’ll get into who they could pick at seven. I think the most realistic thing is they they they pick seventh, but I think there’s a legit case you need a franchise center. Misa looks like it. I don’t see Hagens, Findell, or Denoier who you really wanted one of them this whole time. It’s like, well, if you get five, you’re going to get one of those guys, and you’re happy. You take any of the three, and if you get two, you get Misa. Uh, you probably weren’t going to get you weren’t going to get three or four. Um, and if you get six, like, maybe one of those guys is there. Um, I don’t foresee how that happens. Now at seven, do you make a case that you put a package together and go get that second pick? I mean, a package like that would entail what? You know what I mean? Like to get up to the top of a draft that’s so topheavy. I mean, I remember a Razer being on this show and saying, you know, as long as you’re in the top six, you’re in a good spot. That’s really Yeah. He’s like, that’s really where you want to be in this draft. Anywhere beyond that, it gets thin really quickly. So, the teams that are up there know what they have. Um, and any kind of package, especially with the Bruins, uh, prospect pool. I mean, you’re you’re looking at trading probably more picks than players, uh, to get up there. Uh, and that whole 3, four, five, six area is mostly projected centers. It’s hard to look ahead right now. It’s it’s hard not to get uh blinded by the present because they are so centerheavy right now and they have like six on uh you know the NHL club uh to look ahead and say well they will they will need a franchise center they will need you know a 1C at you know at some point I don’t I don’t know Evan I what do you think a package to move up to call it three or four if you’re looking at like Fondell or Hagens to move up there. What does a package look like? Well, for three or four, it’s a little bit less. I mean, well, you know, not crazy less, but you are doing a little bit less. I mean, I look at like I pitched this back in I think it was before the season when they were having the the Swayman negotiations. And I’m not saying to do this, but like you’re wondering what a package is. San Jose could use a number one goalie. like you know if they’re going to pass over getting a number one another number one center which they don’t need like Swayman might make sense in that. Now the re the realistic part is you’re not trading Jeremy Swayman for that. The realistic thing is you know even if you had like Dean Lerno from last year the Sharks don’t need a top another center in the system. They have CBrini. They have Will Smith. So that’s not really needed. Um you know do they look at like a lowrise? Do they look, you know, if you did the seventh overall pick plus, do you do next year’s first? Do you do like a lowrise? Um, you know, you try to get creative with that. Do you trade more picks? I don’t know if it’s worth it. Like it it just comes down to how much they value a Michael Misa. Like if you’re doing with San Jose, like if you really believe Michael Misa is like, “Okay, we we were dying for that number one or two pick. We think he’s a franchise altering player. We will trade all those picks.” Then that’s what you do. I don’t think that’s the right thing to do though. No. And and if you’re looking at a guy like Mason Lauri with the Bruins draft history being what it is, I mean Cam Ney would dispute this, but it it hasn’t been all too great. Uh and you have a guy who is an NHL player, which in the Bruins book right now is a win. Uh to roll the dice once again and say, “Yes, we drafted, developed, and created an NHL player, and now we want to roll the dice again because we think this time we got an even better one.” and like we’re really sure of it. Uh I think you would have some fans kind of turning up their nose at that idea of of uh putting so much stock into granted a number two overall draft pick. But it is certainly putting a lot of eggs in one basket. I don’t think that I foresee just if we’re going with the straight gut check, I don’t think they trade out of the spot. No, I don’t think I think this I mean it’s the highest draft pick they’ve had since what 2011 that they’ve been in the top 10. 2010 say was that was 2010. So yeah, and this is again like you know and you look at you know Chicago at three um you know they’re going to get probably one of Hagens, Frenel, Denier, Utah and this is another thing and we’ll get into sort of who they could pick at seven. If they were five, you wonder like, all right, if a team in the top five in or in the top four, takes Porter Martone, big right-winger, six foot three, good player, because you know, NHL Central Scouting has him really high, a lot of people value him as a top five pick. If if one of those team does, if one of those teams does, uh, you’re getting, you know, a chance at two of the three of Frenel Hagens or Denier most likely. Um, but now you’re at seven. And I think again unless team, you know, you need a prayer for one of Hagens, Fendell, or Denier to fall to you at seven, I just can’t envision that happening. Hagens was a, you know, potential number one pick at the beginning of the year, so skilled, an elite playmaker. Yes, say whatever you want about his size. You people who’ve been complaining about his size for three or four weeks now would now give your arm, give your right arm for James Hagens. I don’t think that’s happening. Anton Frenell, who I really liked. Really came to like elite shooter, big kid. You’re not getting him. NYA, another one like a good two-way center, great skater, you know, good vision, all that stuff. He ain’t coming. I can’t imagine he falls to seven. There are some rankings that have him lower. So maybe teams reach on a Jake O’Brien, who I think now is going to be who you hope is there at seven. Um, you know, maybe a team takes a Martone earlier, a Brady Martin. Does a team take a big swing on Roger McQueen, 6’5 centerman who was out for a lot of this season with back issues, which is not great at 18 years old. Like, does a team take a swing on that? Teams do go off the board. I just I don’t know, man. like yeah I don’t think you’re getting you know Misa’s the top of the class number one center and then it was Hagens Frenel Denoier one I have them as Frenell Hagen is my own ranking you’re just you’re out of that range you’re just and you’re right outside of it too Joey like you’re you’re right there that’s what’s so heartbreaking yeah I mean your options are like you said sit and wait and hope that somebody falls into your lap and that somebody goes off the board which doesn’t seem like a And you need a couple. You’d need two. You’d need two teams to to go off the board, which is which is hard. It’s hard enough to get one. I mean, a lot of people are putting Martone at six. Like Martone falls to seven. I mean, he was like one of my more realistic I was going to say Martone to me, if Martone’s sitting there at seven and Jake O’Brien’s off the board, to me right now, if you’re a Bruins fan, the two you got to hope for. As of now, it could change. There’s a lot. We still have over a month. There’s still a lot more film to be watched and and and prospect breakdowns and all those different things. It’s Marone and Jake O’Brien. If you can get one of those, come out of this with like a B+. You take that. So, what’s your thoughts on Ekkund? Victor. I like Eklund. I like Victor Ecklund. I do. I just don’t know if that’s the guy I go for right now. um speedy, skilled, high compete, like that kind of guy. I I just wonder about, you know, and he did it against older guys in this in the same league that Anton Fidell did. Um I I hate to say it as of now, and this could change, I go for size. Like Ekkund is a better skater than Martone, no doubt. But from what I’ve seen, Martone can drive, play, big kid. Um, I think they’ll value that. Now, I do wonder though, Joey, they did take a six foot seven center last year in the first round. Do they go smaller? Do they go more skill? Maybe. I mean, I think it’s less about Marton’s size that appeals to the Bruins. I think it’s the fact that he gets that gritty label a lot and he gets that, you know, his play style more so than his size that feels Bruins, that feels like it would appeal to this front office. That’s why he stood out to me is that I trying to see it through Neilie and Sweeny’s lenses. I thought, “Oh, this guy jumps off the board to them.” Uh, and also is just a phenomenal player. Um, Ekkund, I need somebody to to talk to me like I’m a 5-year-old about why I feel the way I feel about guys coming out of the Swedish League. That I I look at I view them very differently than I do, you know, guys coming out of the Q or the OL. Uh, that it is a full-on professional league. I think it’s more or less that there’s a dumb part of my brain that just sees the stats and says, “Well, those are not simply as impressive as somebody having, you know, 100 points in 55 games in uh in the queue or whatever.” Um, I guess it’s my familiarity with the Swedish league, too, that I’m not sitting. Yeah, I mean, it’s it’s a pro league. They’re pros. Like, that’s the thing. And I think with NYA, one thing I’ve continued to say is like it’s nice. Um, but the queue is all, you know, it’s guys under 20 basically. Um, and that’s nothing wrong with that. That’s great. It’s it’s good hockey. guys come out of there. Same with the OHL, same with any Junior League, USHL. Um, but it doesn’t it it doesn’t fully compare to the NCAA and it doesn’t fully compare obviously to this to the second men’s league in Sweden, which is what Frenell and and Eklland, they’re on the same team, I believe. Um, so the fact that I mean, if you look at David Postrock’s stats, uh, his draft year, they weren’t anything phenomenal either. Uh but it does for for guys who are 18. I believe Frenell is first historically for that league which has Philip Forsber, Willie Knander, David Posternok. So that’s why Frenell I was really high on because it’s like all right there’s a guy who’s succeeding against men. Um, and you know, so I will say as you were talking, I pulled up, uh, Corey Prawnman from The Athletic, uh, is, you know, covering these guys extensively throughout the year, and he has a rankings and he puts them in tiers. He’s got tier one, Matthew Schaefer. Tier two, he’s got Michael Misa, Porter Martone, and Caleb Denier. Tier three, he has James Hagens at five, Anton Frenell at six, Jacob O’Brien at seven, Victor Ecklund at eight, Roger McQueen at nine, and you get into tier four. I I don’t think the Bruins, you know, Brady Martin is someone who uh was pretty good at worlds, so he’s been rising on draft boards. Um, and some of these other guys, Ratam Miraa, 6’5 defenseman, like they could rise up. But again, let’s focus on this tier three. You know, is there a chance, you know, again, Corey Ponman’s not Cory Ponman’s speaking for himself, but there are other there are teams who might feel this way, who might feel that Anton Frenell is a, you know, sixth or seventh on their board. Um, or that James Hagens is somehow fifth or sixth or they have, you know, um, Jake O’Brien better than those guys even though Jake O’Brien isn’t as good of a skater. So like I don’t think you’re like you’re not fully screwed but I don’t see a world like I just don’t see a world in which you’re getting Frenell Hagens or Denoier. Um and then again as you said you go into the the next crop like we’re talking about uh Victor Ecklund uh as someone right there. Um you know I think a lot of people are scared of Roger McQueen. That’s where you get a little little antsy with the injury history this season. Um, good good player for sure. Um, I I I go back to it. I think it’s Marton. I think it’s Jake O’Brien. Jake O’Brien solidifies the need more. Jake O’Brien, I’ve heard some people say, might be the best playmaker in this draft. So, like, it’s not bad. He’s not the best skater. That’s why he’s under Fendel, Deno, and Hagens. He’s not quite at their level of skating. That’s okay. Again, like I’d rather the better skater. There’s a reason Matthew Schaefer’s number one. It’s cuz he’s an elite skater. Um, you can work on it, but it’s it’s what you get at number seven. A lot of the talk around O’Brien, too, is that he’s still improving. That he was always like a past first good hands kind of player and he developed a shot this year. Um, so to see like growth and development still happening, you know, at this age, uh, is obviously huge. What I was just pulling up, Evan, I’m just looking at the draft order because it’s been out for about 11 minutes and I don’t have it memorized. I don’t have I have it on my phone right here. Actually, I took a screenshot of the screen. So, there you go. I am so desperate to find something that that uh moves us up in some way. You know, looking at who’s above the Boston Bruins and seeing, well, is there is there a team here that’s going to pull a Dman early? You know, is somebody going to go for, you know, Jackson Smith or Murka early and can, you know, leave some of these guys on the board? And it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter who’s ahead of them. the the best players come off the board. The best players available 90% of the time are going to come off the board. Yeah, I don’t think there’s hope there in looking in in that direction is what I’m saying. Not that I see so far. Like Utah is going to make that pick. Utah is going to make that pick. San Jose I think is you know they’re going to make that pick as well. Chicago I it needs it. Like Chicago, I think is now instead of getting a defenseman, which is, you know, I think something they could have used, now they’re going to get, you know, do they take Hagens to play with Baddard? Do they, you know, they’re probably going to take a number two center. Um, or do they go with Porter Martone as a bigger winger to play with Bedard? I don’t know. Like, but again, they’re making that pick. Nashville needs it. They just signed a ton of free agents. They need to bolster their prospects. Also, like as a New England guy, as editor of New England Hockey Journal, I’d love to see Nashville take James Hagens and pair him with Teddy Stigga, who they picked last year. They’re playing together at BC this year. I would love to see that. Um, and Philly needs those picks. So, like I don’t see, you know, this isn’t 2010 where the Bruins were really good, made that Phil Kessle trade, ended up with second overall pick, and it’s like, all right, maybe they won’t make that pick. Um, you know, I wonder like not that the Bruins would trade with the Islanders. I wonder if the Islanders trade back into that next mix. Um, they need I think they need a defenseman, but like San Jose needs one more. That’s why I go back like does San Jose try to trade up for the Islanders pick? Um, does a different team who loves Schaefer? I mean Schaefer is a fantastic skater. Like you know, do teams view him as like a Kale Mar or Quinn Hughes type? I don’t. I think he’s more of a two-way guy. I think his speed’s awesome. Um I a lot of his stuff I watch he’s phen Matthew Schaefer doesn’t even matter for Bruins fans right now. Phenomenal off the rush. Um how much how often is a NHL defenseman creating a ton of offense off the rush. Not as nowhere near as much as the OHL against, you know, younger kids than you face in the NHL. Um so I don’t know. It is crazy that uh just so many of uh you know these you know draft preparation summaries and whatever are all about speed and generating um chances on the rush and all that uh and then you see clips and you’re like oh well because this person obviously belongs in you know at least the AHL if not you know into the N like there it is men amongst boys kind of situation where you see them and you’re like oh everybody’s going to say that they’re fast and they generate because yes they are faster than everybody that they’re on the ice with. Uh, that being said, I mean, Misa and Schaefer, I think, yeah, they stand out. Yeah. On another level. And what’s tough is like there was that dream of the Bruins getting the number one or two pick. There was, it was possible. And even when they went to commercial break with the number two pick, uh, it was like, oh my god, like there’s a chance. Yeah. And Misa was the dream. Like Misa doesn’t really have any holes in his game. high compete, good a great skater, great hands, good vision, good shot, like checks all the boxes, size of a guy that you can be like, “All right, I think you can pedal him in as a number one center like for the future.” Um, and you know, Hagens has the size thing and he didn’t, you know, had the CBrini like season which was unreasonable from the jump. Um, but again, I just go back to that Hagens, Frenel, Denoier grouping where it’s like, man, if you could get one, but again, I go back to this Joey, like, you know, all you need is or teams view everything differently. Teams might read draft rankings from the athletic or daily faceoff or hockey news or who or elite prospects or whomever, but they have their own draft board. They are going off their own scouts who’ve been pounding the pavement all season. So, if a team really feels strongly that Victor Ecklund is who they want at five or that um Brady Martin rises to the point where the Nashville Predators take him at five um or Utah decides they want Ratamka, they want a big defense, which I don’t know why they would, but like this stuff can happen. That’s how you get lucky. That’s how you get you fall into the Hagens, Fendel, Denoier category, which I feel is kind of the sweet spot. Um, and now that sweet spot has certainly changed. It just does stink that you are relying on luck and waiting. And I think it’s a question of does the front office feel comfortable, especially in the position that they’re in. You know, the rumors about, you know, this off season kind of being uh on the ropes a little bit. I’m not sure I necessarily believe that, but if you do, then does this front office sit and wait and cross their fingers and hope that they fall into that category? Yeah. Yeah, I mean I don’t think you can be is and and we talked about this at the beginning like I don’t know like cuz I mentioned this off the top you know do they trade this pick? Do you try to trade with San Jose um or a team up top for one of those for one of those guys for one of those you know potential franchise centers. Um, I would love to see them do it on one hand because I think I do like the centers in this crew and I would love to say, all right, they’ve got, you know, Laterno is going to be a project. They’ve got a friendel or Hagens or a Denier or Amisa and, you know, it’s more certain, but also, do you want to give up all those extra picks? Do you want to give up um, you know, uh, other guys that you acquired that are prospects? You know, do you want to immediately give those guys up? Um, I don’t I don’t think you do at the moment. Now, Sweeney is speaking. Um, and I don’t think they’ve asked. I I haven’t seen any quotes about um the draft lottery yet. I can’t imagine he’s super pumped about that. By the way, before we uh tell you about our good friends over at Prize Picks, I was reading Corey Prman’s breakdown of Jake O’Brien. The player comp is Elias Lindholm. So, there you go. That’s true. Just to make you just to make you guys feel better. The player comp is Elias Lindolm. Now, I will say I I have not watched Jake O’Brien nearly enough as Corey Pronman or someone to to give you a fair player comp. I will say from what I’ve seen, from what I’ve read, he is a great setup guy. So, like I don’t think it’s the all hope is lost if Jake O’Brien is your pick. Nothing wrong with that. It’s just I don’t know if the the the boxes are all checked to be like that’s a franchise number one center. Um, you know, skating is average, puck skills above average, hockey sense above average, compete above average, shot is below average. Um, so again, I mean, you can work with that. And again, you know, we’re we’re talking in high-end prospects here. It’s not like this kid’s going to be, you know, automatically a bust. Um, you know, I think he can easily develop into a good middle, you know, top six center, middle six center. Um, but you’re I I you know, again, I go back to you’re not getting, I don’t think, one of those surefire guys. Although I will say like O’Brien is mentioned in the same breath as Hagens and Frenell and NYA and and and you know other high-end prospects in some regards. So like again not all hope is lost and a team could pick O’Brien earlier too. So there’s that as well. Um we I want to continue this draft talk uh because you know I think that’s what people want right now, Joey. 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That is that is a gamble that I mean they would get immediately put under such a microscope. I mean whoever the Boston Bruins take in the first round any year this year in particular because of the positioning of their pick is going to be under a very uh scrupulous microscope. grabbing a guy who has injury problems and like you said a back problem, anything with your core, anything structural at that size doesn’t just go away. You know, if if he had had a a broken wrist or a torn ligament in the knee or something like that, there are recovery methods from there. Examples manifold of people who have come back from injuries. when you start to get into structural things, your back, your hips, even shoulders, uh, at that age and at that size, or that size of a frame, I think that that spells trouble. Uh, and that stinks to say, but, uh, yeah, I just McQueen’s a hard cell. Um, just again the back issues. He drafted a bigger center last year. Um, so to me, like at seven it boils down to Martone, O’Brien, and Eklland. I think those are the three as I sit here because I’ll be honest, I was fully, you know, I expected five. That’s what I expected. We all like, all right, you get one of Hagens, Fell, or Denoier. You now you go into the backup to the backup plan. Um, and you hope for one of those. Now, I think if Martone is still there for you at seven, I have a hard time passing him up. Yeah, I have a hard time passing that up. I do. That that’s where you start to get into the best player available kind of situation. And he’s someone that there are people who think he’s a top three player. There are people who think he’s like a surefire top five guy. So he might not even be there for you at seven. But if he is, that’s not that bad. Like I’m okay with that. And again, it’s it’s I’ve talked about this all off season. You’re I guess you’re play driving from the wing. Um, with a guy like Martone, uh, you hope you can acquire center in other ways. You do also have two seconds. You have two second rounders in this draft, which is which is good. Second rounders are good value. Those are good players. You can get a lot out of the second round. So, like, you know, I wonder if if it’s Marton or Eklund there at seven and O’Brien’s off the board or, you know, they don’t like the center depth there. I could see them going best available and saying, “We’ll circle back at center in the second round with our two picks and try to get someone there. We’ll draft more centers throughout the draft.” It just sucks because I think we all thought, “All right, you stunk this year to get that next franchise center.” I say it all the time, the best way to get a franchise center or a franchise player is the draft. Not saying Martoner Ecklund isn’t that, but they’re they wouldn’t be obviously franchise centermen. Um, I think that’s the most difficult part of this. And I’m not also not saying, you know, O’Brien isn’t, you know, I O’Brien seems like a really nice player. Jake O’Brien um has had a really good year with Brford. Um again, I’ll read uh you know what, um what Cory Prman said. O’Brien has been an excellent junior player as a leading player on a top OHL team. O’Brien displays the high-end patience and vision to hold on to pucks for an extra second, to make difficult plays, and run an NHL power play. He’s extremely skilled with the puck, showing the soft touch and quick hands to create a lot of scoring chances and improvise on difficult plays often. He’s a decent enough skater. His game can lack pace at times in part because he pulls up to make his skilled plays too much, but when he gets going, he moves well. O’Brien, he’s not overly physical, but he gets to the net to create chances, can kill penalties, and isn’t a pushover. He projects as a very good uh top two-line center who could score a lot in the NHL. 6’1, almost 6’2, 172 pounds. Jake O’Brien um clearly needs more uh muscle on him. from everything I’ve read and seen, a lot of power play points. So, that can be kind of a worrisome thing. Um, and again, we’re going to poke holes in all these guys throughout the next couple the next month. That’s the thing. Nobody like unless it’s the number one or number two pick, no one’s going to look good. So, picks whoever they pick at seven, we will poke so many holes into that it’s like h but doesn’t mean that they suck. It’s it’s a matter of where they’re picked. There is no perfect pick here. I mean, even at number one, there’s no perfect number one overall. I guess history would disagree. I guess there have been a few, but uh no, nobody’s going to be perfect. I think it’s a matter of like you said, need, best available, and uh ceiling like where where you can take a guy. Uh I can talk myself into any of those three. Martone, Ecklund, O’Brien. It’s really after that that that they would be in a very difficult situation. Uh I will get excited about all three of these guys at this moment where I was expecting like you said to be up in that Hagens Fondell category. It is a little hard to be looking at Jake O’Brien and to genuinely get myself to a place where I say, “Oh yeah, no.” Yeah. I could Yeah. Here we go. The jerseys O’Brien whatever number, you know, that’s I I’ve already ordered it. Yeah. But like it will happen. The day will come. Um, and I think it’ll be clearer come that time. Uh, but right now, I mean, my heart is still set on Martone. If Martone’s available, that’s in my eyes, the best value you can get for this pick. Let’s play this game, Joey. Islanders pick one. They pick Schaefer. I agree. San Jose picks two. Do they go Misa or do they go Martone? Misa’s the best player, but Marton is valued around there. they have two number one centers or you know so do they look at let’s get a big wing let’s get a grittier you know power forward kind of guy in Martone or do they get Misa at you know and put Will Smith on the wing um that’s but again so those those are that’s where they’re going and then Chicago is likely picking Misa if they don’t pick um Martone with San Jose um and if San Jose does pick Misa then Chicago I would assume whom is one of Hagen’s Frenell or Denier. Like that’s what I would think. And then you get into Utah, they’re probably picking one of those guys as well. Um do they pick a Martone? You know, is he more of a marketable player? Utah needs marketable guys. I’m just trying to envision a scenario in which at six or at seven the Bruins are getting a guy that you wouldn’t expect them to get. Like Denoier falls to seven or Fell falls to seven. Like I’m just trying to envision a world in which that happens and we won’t know yet because all these teams in the top six have needs. Like none of these teams are perfect. So it’s not like oh you know they can go off the board. Like these all these teams are in dire need of of resurgence. So I just don’t I don’t know. I mean anything can happen. I it’s just going to be tough for one of those guys to fall in. Now the good is here’s the thing Joey. The good news is you’re getting you will likely get what we’re expanding the net here. You’ll get one of Marton, Denoier, Hagens, Fendell, or O’Brien or Eklund. You’ll get one of them, right? Like one of at least one of those guys will be available when you pick, but it would be impossible for one of the top seven to not be available. Yeah, correct. Yes, it would be impossible for those uh eight not at least one of those eight not to be available or seven, whatever it was. Um, it just comes down to who like does the team value high? Like could we be could we be undervaluing Martone saying that he could be available at seven? I think we could be. I think we could be. I I will have suck that we’re in this situation. Doesn’t it kind of stink? Five. Bingo. It also doesn’t help that the draft lottery was set up the way it is. I’m still really thinking about that to be honest with you that I had no idea how they were going to do it. That they were going to take like 30 minutes to unveil each pick and then they did like three and then suddenly turned around and said here’s the whole first round. What? I thought there was going to be a moment. They’re like and the Bruins get this. No, there’s here’s the whole thing. We figured it out. Were you not following along? Were you not doing calculus at home? Uh, so it was a little bit of a slap in the face, you know, especially because Evan, I went into this thinking 0.0% chance at number one, right? I don’t care what the numbers say. The there’s zero, it’s not happening. And then you see the balls start moving around and then your heart flutters a little. It’s like when you do a lottery ticket and you’re scratching, you’re like, “No way I win.” And then you’re like, “There’s a chance. Hold on a second. There’s a chance. Okay.” And they get a little excited. It’s like that little like Yes. I felt and I really believed. And then are you a Seinfeld fan, Joey? I am. Remember when George eats the mango and he goes, “It moved. It moved. I think it moved, Jerry.” Like there’s that little part when the balls are going around like I think it moved. But I I then it didn’t move anymore after that. And uh and yeah, I mean, seeing the odds go up for number two as well, you really start to believe. Uh I think the way they did it is uh crazy, but it did get the heart pumping. the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire music. And that’s right. It was it was a little crazy. It felt like a soap opera, but it got me going and I’m I’m going to watch every year going forward just for for how crazy it is. Um but man, just like it just the actual worst case scenario. It was. And it was. And I think that’s what’s so disheartening, especially because I think fans and we all went through this this season of just a crappy year. and you think, “All right, if the light at the end of the tunnel is the fifth overall pick and it’s James Haggins or it’s Anton Frenell or it’s Caleb Denier or it’s one of those high top five players, you take it. Um, now you’re at seven. And I think the big thing on this class is as much as Schaefer and Misa are one and two, and I think Misa I think they’re very close. I don’t think Schaefer is as set a number one pick as everybody else seems to think he is. Um especially given he missed a lot of the year due to a broken collar bone. Mhm. Um after that you don’t have like at least projection-wise, you don’t have a lot of like oh the the the fifth overall pick is going to be like a number, you know, an incredible player, a legend, something like that. And obviously weird things happen every year with the draft. Kale Mara’s fourth overall pick. Like things can happen and people can miss and guys can progress. But it feels like you have a lot of guys in the top 7 to 10 that should be lineup guys, guys who contribute. And and and one thing I want to say because I see someone said, “I see Jake O’Brien as a replacement of David Crerachche,” which is not insane. Crerache and Bersron were never elite skaters. These were not fast guys. Uh, Katto was great at slowing plays down, good strides and all those things, but these were not, you know, guys zipping past opposing defenses or or making defenses respect them so much they had to, you know, ruin their gap control playing them. You what you ideally need this this seventh overall pick to be, if it’s a winger, you need this guy to someday be like consistently 60 to 70 points. Same thing of down the middle. Now, that’s a lot to ask, but I think a lot of people think, “Oh, a top a first round pick, they’re going to be a 100 point guy. They’re going to be a 90 point guy.” That’s unreasonable. You’re not That’s likely not going to happen. What’s likely going to happen is you get a guy like Porter Martone and if he can consistently put up 25 to 35 goals every season, you go, “Hell yes.” You take it. Same with down the middle, right? If Jacob O’Brien comes on and he’s a great setup man for David Posternok or great setup man for Mitch Marner, you take it. You take it every single time. Um, but that’s the big thing. Yeah, it’s important to go back and look at former drafts. Like you just think that everybody on the ice is a is a first round pick, a top 10 pick, and it’s important to go back and see how many misses there are and also how far back that some of the stars are from. I mean, David Cratto that we’re talking about a second round pick. like we’re we’re there’s so many guys that you can look at that that come out of the woodwork. So, I mean, 10 years from now, do we look back at the 2025 NHL draft and go, “Oh my god, they got O’Brien at seven.” Yep. It’s entirely in the cards. Uh and the player that you’re drafting is not the player that you put on the ice in Boston. You know, there’s a whole bunch of development that happens in between there. A whole bunch of growth, team chemistry, all that kind of stuff comes into play. So, uh, they’re not a finished product when you draft them. So, that the player that you see, the highlights that you see from college or from the queue or wherever, that’s not who’s going to be, uh, suiting up for the Beast. So, all that is to say, we should feel okay. Here’s I Let’s play a game. Yeah, we’ll go number seven pick every year, right? 2024 was Carter Yakamachuk to Ottawa. That’s still way too early to tell. Number seven in 2023 was Matvy Mitchkov with the Philadelphia Flyers who was a pretty damn good player. Now, he fell because of the whole Russian stuff. Um, but still like fell to seven. Seven in 2022 was Kevin Kchinsky, a defenseman for the Blackhawks who has been contributing at the NHL level. 2021 number seven pick was William Ecklund u who’s been really good so far, 110 points in 174 games. Like definitely contributing. 2020 was Alexander Holtz with New Jersey. He’s been okay so far. Uh 2019, Dylan Cousins for the Buffalo Sabres. He’s been a really good center for them. I know that it’s Buffalo, but he’s produced. 2018, Quinn Hughes was the number seven overall pick to Vancouver. 2017, Lias Anderson. I don’t think he’s done a heck of a lot for the New York Rangers. Uh 2016, I swear I’m not going to go forever. 2016 was Clayton Keller. pretty damn good player at number seven. Um, 2015 was Ivan Prover. That was the famous 2015 draft. Y 2014 was Hayden Flurry to the Hurricanes. Uh, 2013 was Darnell Nurse to the Oilers. 2012 was Matthew Dumba to the Wild. And 2011 was Mark Schiffley to the Winnipeg Jets. Hell of a player. 2010 was Jeff Skinner to the Carolina Hurricanes. I will stop when we get to someone who’s not that good. That’s when I’ll stop. Nasam Cadri to the Leafs in uh 2009 turned out well. Colin Wilson to the Predators in 2008. That’s a tough one. That might that might be it. Jake Vorich 07 though to the Blue Jackets right before the Bruins took Zack Hamill who did nothing at 8. Um and then 06 was Derek Brasard to the Blue Jackets. But I’ll stop there. But my point is, you should get a legitimately good NHL player with that number seven pick. I think history shows that and history’s been spotty. There’s there’s Mark Shley in there. Um there’s Jake Vorich. There’s guys who are top of the lineup franchise players and there’s also guys who aren’t going to be that. But you should be getting a legit a legit prospect. No doubt. No doubt. Absolutely. Absolutely. And uh the thing with O’Brien, too, the chat is pointing out O’Brien’s one of the youngest guys in the draft, too. So, correct. He’s a late ‘ 07. He’s a late ‘ 07. Um, yeah, actually, if I kept going with the number seven, it does start to teeter off. Although, Ryan Sudter in 2003, I will never stop looking at the number seven overall pick for each season. But I I agree and I and and you know, I think that’s the thing like again, if somehow Hagens or Fendel or Denier falls to you at seven, you are doing back flips on Cosway Street. Um, if Martone falls to you, if O’Brien, um, I don’t think O’Brien’s gonna have to fall to you. And I don’t think Ekon’s gonna have to fall to you. I think there’s a world in which those two guys um are are who you’re picking between. And I think they’d probably go Brian because he’s a center. Seems like it at least. Look, and I think the profile I think the profile just fits too. Yeah. So I’m looking right now like Schaefer, Misa, Hagens, Frenel, Denier, Martone. That’s six guys. So, if all six, if that goes chalk and those six guys are gone, I would assume it comes down to O’Brien and Ecklund and those are the two that it’s between. Um, you’re hoping Martone maybe falls and someone goes off the board earlier. You’re hoping that like Misa or not, excuse me, not Misa. My god, I’m looking at the name the Misa’s not going to be there, but like I, you know, there’s a Frenel, there’s a deny. Um, but that’s what you’re hoping for. That’s what you’re hoping for at this point, Joey. It’s a lot of crossing fingers. If they don’t move up, it’s a lot of crossing fingers, but uh if everything goes chalk, I don’t I don’t hate where they are. Prefer, but I don’t hate where they are. A franchise player is is certainly going to be in the cards potentially. Yeah. And Kendall says Brady Martin seems like a Bruins pick, too. I think Brady Martin’s a name you’re going to hear a lot more too of like little bit off the board, but in that range, it wouldn’t be insane uh to pick him. Um you know, Roger Benjamin asks Roger McQueen. We sort of talked about him. I think there’s a lot of red flags there. You did pick a big center last year. I can’t imagine you’d do it again. McQueen to me feels more like a high like a low teens like 11 or 12 um pick and I think uh Martin is projected there but could rise could rise in this next bit of time. That wouldn’t uh shock me at all. So, I think, you know, it’s funny because we started off this stream pissed rightfully and disappointed, but I think as we’ve sat here and talked it out, we’ve let our feelings be known, we’ve expounded on these things, I don’t think it’s horrible. It’s worst case scenario for where you were at, but it’s not awful. You’re going to get a good player. Um, it just comes down to what caliber of player is that. And I think when we look back it’s like man that last game of the year where you got that extra point like oh or just even you know the win I forget who it was I’ve blanked out the end of the season but they beat the Hurricanes late in at in Boston where it was like come on. So that it’s just it’s tough to have that perspective right now and I understand that for people. It’s you know your dad takes you to the car dealership and says he’s going to buy you a car. It’s like you’re getting a car, but when he comes around the corner with a 92 Pontiac, you’re like, it’s kind of the worst case scenario here, but thanks. I mean, I got a car. It’s You still get a car at the end of the day. You ever see that Greatest Freakout ever YouTube series? Do you ever see those videos? Oh, probably. Yeah. Yeah. There was one where there was a kid, they got him a car for his like 16th birthday, and it was this beat up uh pickup truck with like uh spray paint all over it, and he they blindfold him. It’s It’s a great video. and he goes out to it and he’s he’s like what did I get? Is it a car? Is it a truck? And he takes off the the thing like surprise and it’s like and he’s just pissed and then he takes a baseball bat and just starts beating the hell out of it. And I think it’s kind of how Bruins fans feel right now where it’s like oh my god a truck a new car a truck like a a brand new Ford F-150 and it’s like no it’s it’s it’s you know it’s a it’s a Honda Ridgeline. It’s nice. It gets the job done. It gets from point A to point B. It’s Chrysler. They’re reliable. Exactly. Honda’s going to last you forever. You know, if that’s Jake O’Brien, you’re jumping for joy if that’s what he ends up being, a good solid NHL centerman who’s a top six fixture. Um, and and fits that. So, I don’t think it’s as bad as everyone’s gut reaction, including myself, was. It’s not amazing, though, and it’s not where I think obviously we all wanted it to be. Emotions are high right now. when the come down inevitably chills us all out. I think we’ll take a look at Victor Ecklund, Jake O’Brien, perhaps Porter Marone. Perhaps if he can fall to you now as I’m sitting here, I’m like maybe maybe he doesn’t maybe he is a top three pick. Maybe he is a top five pick. I’ve done research on a lot of these guys and Martone I’ve I’ve always blocked him out a bit because I figured the Bruins would be five and say, “All right, no, they’re not taking Martone there. you’re taking a center like and and I I really did hone in on Hagens, Denier, and Fidel as you guys have been listening can tell. That’s what I’ve really been honing in on. I’m like, “All right, you’re getting one of those three guys. You take that every time.” And even if they got picked six, even if they got picked number six, there’s a world in which they get one of those three guys, but at seven, that’s going to be difficult. So, I think, you know, Bruins fans are going to have to do their homework on Jake O’Brien. Um, and guys like Victor Ecklund. Um, are we both landing that O’Brien is probably the most likely option now? I think so. That’s where you That’s probably your guy. And I I think he fits their profile. He’s defensively responsible. Great setup guy. So, I think, you know, if you want to play this game, we’re playing a lot of games here, but like if they did sign Mitch Mner in the off season, you pair I I’ve been saying this all along. This is why you go get Mitch Mner. You can put a guy like Jake O’Brien up with him. Mitch Mner has a ton of speed. You’re not worried about his skating. Mitch Mner’s pushing the pace. Jake O’Brien is setting him up. Or a David Posternok. Like that makes sense. So to me, I think as of right now, Jake O’Brien and someone says, “I fear Jake O’Brien gets taken before.” Maybe that’s true. Maybe that’s true. So yeah, the the big bad Bruins didn’t work again. So let’s go back to fast and speedy. One-year experiment of let’s get big, let’s get huge. Never mind. Let’s trade everybody. No, let’s get fast. Quick and over with. O’Brien is almost 6’2. So like you are getting a guy with size because again you have to figure you have Matt Potra in the system. Matt Potra’s 5’10. He’s a great player but it’s like how far are you getting with with him and what is he exactly? I think when he came up we were all like oh there’s your next Berseron and it’s like not so fast. And I think you’re seeing that where it’s like he’s probably a top six center but we don’t know that for sure. Do they trade him? Did you know at some point? What is also what is Dean Lerno? Nobody talks about Dean LNO as like a a future projected number one center for this team or even a top six center for this team because of the season he had this year. Latero is a project. Latero, you’re not seeing him next year here. Obviously, he’s going to be back at BC or the year after or even maybe the year after that. He genuinely could be a four-year college player. Um, and that’s okay. But I, you know, people talk about, oh, the size element. They did just draft Dean Latero. And again, I’ve said all along, I’m not saying he’s a surefire bust, and I’m not saying he’s a surefire number one center, but you just drafted him in the first round. So, there is that element to it, too. There’s also an element of identity versus keeping up with the league. And, uh, there’s obviously a balance to strike between speed and size, and not that those things are mutually exclusive by any means, um, but uh, the setup that they had this year certainly, I mean, it just showed that it didn’t work. Uh, so yeah, and I I think, you know, one thing I always hear and I I I don’t mean to pick on him. I love him. Ty Anderson was on Poke the Bear on Friday. Um, and he was talking about, you know, well, you need he was talking about the Hagens versus Frenell versus NYA and he was saying that he likes NYA because um, you know, he’s defensively responsible and with guys like Baroff in the in the division and Matthews, you need someone that can shut them down. And I think that’s a perfectly fine opinion, but you also have to do what’s right for you and your own identity. And if you’re constantly chasing what everybody else is doing and trying to shut everybody else down, the Panthers could bottom out in two years. The the Maple Leafs could bottom out in two. You have no idea um what’s coming. You need to do what’s best for you and what’s best for your identity. And to me, the Bruins are seemingly trying to go back to speed and skill or try to get more like that, which I’m for. That’s a good thing. Um, and so that’s why, you know, again, I I I liked Hagens. I like Hagens. You’re not going to get him now. Um, but so like with O’Brien, you know, he’s not a tough customer by any means. Um, but, you know, if he’s a setup guy for your scoring wingers, that’s great. And I think a lot of fans are drawn to Porter Martone. I know Felgar and Maz, their first draft segment they did, they were all over, oh, Porter Martone, he can be Cory Perry. Oh my god, yes, he’s big and strong. And that’s great. But like if you’re just drafting Porter Martone to go up against Matthew Kachchuck and knock him around, like you’re going to have a bad time. You need to do what’s best for you. And that’s to me that’s, you know, at number seven, you’re taking the best available at this point. I mean, they they tried to uh create an antidote to the Florida Panthers last year. That’s what people were speculating anyway, that they were trying to, you know, match what the Panthers had. And now we’re sitting here talking about having the seventh overall pick while the Panthers and Leafs are playing in the second round. So that’s the thing. That’s the thing. So we’ll uh we’ll end it there. We we I think we’ve we’ve emptied out everything. We’ve we’ve uh aired our grievances. We feel better now. I don’t think we feel as bad as we did when we started. I I think there’s a little room for optimism. I think me going through year by year the number seven picks. We got to clip that. That’s got to be everywhere. See you guys. People are going to love that. Yeah. Bruins are getting Mark Shley. That’s what they’re getting. The number seven overall pick. So that’s where we’re at. That’s where we’re at. Joey, this has been fun. We’ll have to do this again. It’s been a good time. Yeah, we’ll certainly there’s going to be a lot more stuff obviously with the Bruins ringside channel. Two Bruins beats a week. Uh two poke the bears uh to one of my Oh, pucks with hags. Are you still doing bear with me? Are you going to have that as well? Bear with me is coming back next week. There we go. All right. So, you can look forward to that. So, we have a lot coming there. We’re gonna be breaking down these guys a lot. A lot a lot. You know, Jake O’Brien are gonna be diving into Victor Ecklund. Um, so we’re going to have all that and it’s going to be fun. It’s going to be a fun time. That’s that. Buy the O’Brien jerseys now. Buy them now. Sell out. You’re gonna have a tough time getting your hands on them. That’s Joey Capone. I’m Evan Marinowski. Bruinsby listeners, you have a great rest of your night.

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