Don Sweeney has been the general manager of the Boston Bruins since May 20, 2015. The 16-year veteran was an eighth-round pick (166th overall) in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. He eventually debuted during the 1988-89 season and wore the Spoked B for 15 years, departing the club in 2003 to play one season with the Dallas Stars.
As a member of the Bruins, Sweeney played 1,052 games (fourth in team history) and skated in the 1990 Stanley Cup Final. Upon retirement, the former Harvard University skater returned to Boston and became Director of Player Development in 2006. Within a year, he also earned the title of Director of Hockey Operations, holding both positions simultaneously until becoming Assistant General Manager in 2009.
In 2015, his former teammate and Bruins President Cam Neely promoted him to general manager just weeks before the Entry Draft. Since that summer, Sweeney has participated in nine drafts, with his tenth on the horizon on June 28 in Las Vegas.
As the fifth longest-tenured General Manager in the NHL, the 2024 Entry Draft will be a big moment for Sweeney since he has traded away all his picks from the first, second, and third rounds and isn’t selecting until pick 122 unless he trades up. Considering that the Bruins are starving for another Stanley Cup title, it’s safe to say today’s contending lineup is loaded with Sweeney draft picks.
2015 Entry Draft
Heading into the 2015 Entry Draft (in Florida), Sweeney had a competitive edge despite being on the job for just a month, having served as Assistant General Manager for several seasons. He knew what the Bruins needed and wasn’t afraid to make a splash. The newly minted General Manager made several trades in what has to be considered the wildest Entry Draft in franchise history. He made three consecutive picks in the first round, at 13th (Jakub Zboril), 14th (Jake DeBrusk), and 15th overall (Zachary Senyshyn).
- Jakub Zboril (13th overall)
- Jake DeBrusk (14th overall)
- Zachary Senyshyn (15th overall)
- Brandon Carlo (37th overall)
- Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson (45th overall)
- Jeremy Lauzon (52nd overall)
- Daniel Vladar (75th overall)
Regarding the seven picks he made. DeBrusk (465 games) and Brandon Carlo (581 games) became regulars in the Boston lineup. His selections have played 1,591 games in the league after the 2023-24 season.
Related: Revisiting the Bruins’ 2015 Draft – It Could’ve Been Better
To pile up draft picks, Sweeney made some trades, first flipping Carl Soderberg to the Colorado Avalanche for a sixth-round pick in 2016, then sending Dougie Hamilton to the Calgary Flames for three picks in the 2015 Entry Draft, a first-round and two second-round ones. He wasn’t done yet, shipping Milan Lucic to the Los Angeles Kings for Martin Jones, Colin Miller, and a conditional first-rounder in 2015. Then, he turned around and sent Jones to the San Jose Sharks for Sean Kuraly and a first-round pick in 2016.
2016 Entry Draft
Sweeney did pretty well as a first-time NHL general manager at the 2015 Entry Draft but significantly improved the Bruins organization at the 2016 event, selecting Charlie McAvoy. After seven seasons, the 27-year-old defenseman is already an alternate captain and one of the organization’s future captains.
However, McAvoy wasn’t the only gem in the 2016 Entry Draft, as his second pick turned into Trent Frederic, one of the best bottom-six skaters in the Bruins lineup. Although he hasn’t played as long with Boston as McAvoy has, it could be argued that Frederic is one of the core members of the team’s current lineup, continuously working on his game, and will one day be a 20-goal scorer.
- Charles McAvoy (14th)
- Trent Frederic (29th)
- Ryan Lindgren (49th)
- Joona Koppanen (135th)
- Cameron Clarke (136th)
- Oskar Steen (165th)
If Sweeney could have a do-over with any of his draft picks, flipping Ryan Lindgren to the New York Rangers for Rick Nash may be at the top of the list. Despite not being as offensive as his teammates, Lindgren is a hard-hitting defender who rallies his teammates by putting his body on the line every night. Overall, Sweeney’s selections from 2016 have skated in 1,136 games.
2017 Entry Draft
No matter what Sweeney does as a general manager from today until the end of his tenure, his most significant move will be drafting Jeremy Swayman as a 19-year-old out of the USHL. From there, the native of Anchorage, Alaska, would skate at the University of Maine before serving as Tuukka Rask’s understudy, ascending to a shared workload with Linus Ullmark. Even though he is a restricted free agent in 2024, Swayman is the future of the crease and is one of the players Sweeney can build his team around.
Overall, Sweeney made six picks in the 2016 Entry Draft, with Urho Vaakanainen, Jack Studnicka, and Swayman making it into the NHL. They have combined for 375 games and 41 points, with Swayman earning an assist. Vaakanainen was swapped in a trade for Hampus Lindholm in 2022 after just 31 games with the Bruins.
- Urho Vaakanainen (18th)
- Jack Studnicka (53rd)
- Jeremy Swayman (111th)
- Cedric Pare (173rd)
- Victor Berglund (195th)
- Daniel Bukac (204th)
Studnicka played 38 games in Boston before a 2022 trade with the Vancouver Canucks for Michael Dipietro and Jonathan Myrenberg. Meanwhile, Cedric Pare (148 games) and Victor Berglund (51 games) have only advanced to the AHL. At the same time, Daniel Bukac has not played professionally in North America, skating in his native Czechia since 2019.
2018 Entry Draft
After hitting a couple of home runs and some doubles in his first three entry drafts, Sweeney didn’t uncover any gems in 2018. Of the five selections he made at the Dallas event, only one, Jakub Lauko, skated in the NHL. Without a first-round pick traded away in the Rick Nash deal, the Bruins General Manager didn’t select anyone until 57th overall, Axel Andersson. The Swedish defenseman played briefly in the QMJHL and 84 games in the AHL before returning home to play in the SHL.
- Axel Andersson (57th)
- Jakub Lauko (77th)
- Curtis Hall (119th)
- Dustyn McFaul (181st)
- Pavel Shen (212th)
As mentioned, Lauko, Boston’s third-round selection at 77th overall, built himself up with the Providence Bruins with 134 games over four seasons from 2019 to 2023 and played 60 games in the NHL in 2023-24. Of the final three selections, only Curtis Hall has advanced to the AHL, where he’s played 124 games while spending time in the ECHL. Dustyn McFaul played five seasons at Clarkson University and now skates in the ECHL, and Pavel Shen briefly played in the AHL (51 games) before returning to Russia and the KHL.
2019 Entry Draft
In 2019, the Bruins retained their first-round pick and, after losing in the Stanley Cup Final to St. Louis, dropped to 30th in the draft. Sweeney used that spot to select John Beecher, who made his NHL debut in 2023-24 and is the only one out of the Boston picks from this class to make it into the NHL thus far. At 23, he’s still developing his game and had 10 points in his first 52 games. Given the proper plan, Beecher, listed at 6-foot-3 and 216 pounds, will be a future mainstay in the Bruins lineup, with 12 playoff games under his belt already.
- John Beecher (30th)
- Quinn Olson (92nd)
- Roman Bychkov (154th)
- Matias Mantykivi (185th)
- Jake Schmaltz (192nd)
Boston didn’t make any selections in round two, so their next pick was forward Quinn Olson. He spent five seasons at the University of Minnesota-Duluth and made a one-game appearance in the AHL in 2023-24. Defenseman Roman Bychkov (154th overall) has yet to come to North America to play, building his career in the KHL, while Matias Mantykivi has done the same in Finland. The Bruins’ final pick in the 2019 Entry Draft was Jake Schmaltz (192nd overall), who graduated from the USHL program and now skates with the University of North Dakota.
2020 Entry Draft
After taking over the general manager duties, Sweeney had only drafted a handful of impact players like DeBrusk, McAvoy, Frederic, and Swayman. Although some of his selections are still developing in leagues around the globe, his first pick in the 2020 Entry Draft, Mason Lohrei, is on a path to being an NHL regular in 2024-25.
As the first player born in Louisiana to make it to the NHL, Lohrei looked like a natural in his first 41 games. Whether playing confidently, taking risks in the offensive zone with the puck on his stick, or shutting down opponents on his own end, this young defenseman has the tools to be a top-pairing defender who could score 10 goals.
- Mason Lohrei (58th)
- Trevor Kuntar (89th)
- Mason Langenbrunner (151st)
- Riley Duran (182nd)
Even though the 2020 Entry Draft was four years ago, Lohrei is the only prospect from this Bruins class to make it into the NHL. Trevor Kuntar (89th overall) recently debuted with Providence, the same with Riley Duran (182nd overall), who got into 11 games in 2023-24. Only Mason Langenbrunner (151st overall) has yet to make it professionally, skating at Harvard University since 2022.
2021 Entry Draft
The 2021 Entry Draft was the second time in Sweeney’s tenure as General Manager that he had seven draft picks in a year. As of the summer of 2024, none of these selections have skated in the NHL, but Fabian Lysell (21st overall) is probably the closest prospect to break through. After a productive season in the WHL, he has been in Providence since 2022 and had a bounce-back performance in 2023-24 with 50 points in 56 games.
- Fabian Lysell (21st)
- Brett Harrison (85th)
- Philip Svedeback (117th)
- Oskar Jellvik (149th)
- Ryan Mast (181st)
- Andre Gasseau (213th)
- Ty Gallagher (217th)
Third-round pick Brett Harrison (85th overall) has also been in Providence for two seasons but has yet to put up the same numbers he did in the OHL. With Swayman being the top drafted goalie in the organization, Sweeney didn’t select another netminder until Philip Svedeback (117th overall) in the 2021 Entry Draft. After finishing his junior days in Sweden, Svedeback has come to North America and now skates with Providence College in the NCAA.
Related: Bruins Don’t Have History on Their Side With 122nd pick
Fellow Swede Oskar Jellvik (149th overall) opted to pursue college hockey, playing with Boston College (NCAA) for the past two seasons, along with seventh-round pick Andre Gasseau (213th overall). Ryan Mast (181st overall) just aged out of the OHL, spending most of 2023-24 with the Maine Mariners in the ECHL and dressing seven games in the AHL with Providence. Finally, Ty Gallagher (217th overall) plays in Boston at the NCAA level with the Boston University Terriers, where he just completed his third season in 2023-24.
2022 Entry Draft
As mentioned, Lohrei is the most recent Bruins draft pick to debut, coming in a close second to Sweeney’s second-round pick from the 2022 class, Matthew Poitras. Despite being the 54th pick, Poitras has the skill set to be a top-six forward in Boston and score at least 20 goals someday. At just 20, he’s still got time to develop his game and recover from an injury that cut his rookie campaign short after 33 games. After a 95-point season in the OHL, he jumped straight to the NHL, skipping the minors and contributing more than expected with 15 points.
Sweeney’s next pick at the 2022 Entry Draft after Poitras was Cole Spicer (117th overall). He plays in the USHL with the Dubuque Fighting Saints. The Bruins’ second fourth-round pick was Latvian forward Dans Locmelis (119th overall). After years of junior hockey in Sweden, he had just come to North America to play at UMass.
- Matthew Poitras (54th)
- Cole Spicer (117th)
- Dans Locmelis (119th)
- Frederic Brunet (132nd)
- Reid Dyck (183rd)
- Jackson Edward (200th)
Frederic Brunet (132nd overall) aged out of the QMJHL in 2023, where he was captain for Rimouski Océanic, and earned a promotion to Providence, where he’s played 49 games in the AHL thus far. Meanwhile, Sweeney selected a goalie for the second consecutive draft, grabbing Reid Dyck (183rd overall), who plays with the Swift Current Broncos in the WHL. Finally, the Bruins’ final pick in 2022 was Jackson Edward (200th overall), a defenseman who just finished his fourth season with the London Knights in the OHL.
2023 Entry Draft
Sweeney and the Bruins did not have a first-round selection for the second consecutive season in the 2023 Entry Draft. Moreover, the organization didn’t make a pick until the third round, when they called Christopher Pelosi’s name as 92nd overall. At 19, he’s departed from the USHL and is set to make his NCAA debut in 2024-25 with Quinnipiac University. Pelosi won’t be the only prospect jumping from the USHL to the NCAA, as Beckett Hendrickson (124th overall) will skate with the University of Minnesota in the fall of 2024.
- Christopher Pelosi (92nd)
- Beckett Hendrickson (124th)
- Ryan Walsh (188th)
- Casper Nassen (214th)
- Kristian Kostadinski (220th)
Boston’s sixth-round pick, Ryan Walsh (188th overall), won’t be playing Divison 1 NCAA hockey, instead suiting up with Johnson & Wales University in Division III. However, Casper Nassen (214th overall) is signed to play at Miami University for the 2024-25 season, while fellow Swede Kristian Kostadinski (220th) will stay in Sweden and play in the J20 Nationell league.
Historical Perspective
Sweeney has made 54 draft picks during his tenure as the Bruins’ general manager. Twenty have skated in the NHL, while many are still growing at the junior and minor league levels. These players have dressed in 3,225 games and scored 328 goals with 667 assists for 995 points. Meanwhile, the goalies have played in 207 games, earning a 116-56-25 record.
Although the jury is still out on his most recent draft selections, since very few have made an impact at any professional level, it is safe to say that Sweeney has done a marvelous job at drafting the goalie of the future in Swayman, a potential future captain in McAvoy, and a fan favorite who is one of the team’s hardest workers in Frederic.
Related: 4 Bruins Trades That Shaped Their 2024 NHL Draft Position
Additionally, he has found some outstanding young players outside of the first round in Lohrei and Poitras, who will benefit from playing out the remainder of David Pastrnak’s prime seasons, helping Boston remain in contention for the Stanley Cup. Despite trading away a laundry list of draft picks in the past nine years, Sweeney and his draft team continue compensating for lost opportunities by selecting players contributing at the NHL level today.
Of course, not every fan will agree with the trades or the draft picks. Still, Sweeney played most of his career in a black and gold sweater and understands the importance of piecing together a competitive lineup every night. Even though the current Bruins lineup is a solid mix of homegrown talent and acquisitions from other clubs, his legacy will ultimately center around where his draft picks end up and whether or not they helped Boston win another Stanley Cup.
