Entering the 2023 NHL Entry Draft at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, the Boston Bruins knew that they would be waiting for a long time before making their first selection. They traded their first-round pick to the Washington Capitals in February to acquire Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway. The Capitals in turn traded that pick to the Toronto Maple Leaks, who used it at No. 28 to select Easton Cowan. The Bruins’ second-round pick was made by the Anaheim Ducks as part of a trade in March of 2022 that acquired defenseman Hampus Lindholm.
General manager (GM) Don Sweeney and the rest of the front office got busy on Day 2 of the draft with five selections beginning in the third round. Here is a recap of the selections the Black and Gold made to add to their prospect pool.
Third Round, No. 92 – Christopher Pelosi (Center)
There were several areas that the Bruins could have targeted with their middle to late-round picks and one draft after picking center Matthew Poitras in 2022, they selected Christopher Pelosi from the Sioux Falls Stampede out of the USHL. The 6-foot-2, 188-pound center had 13 goals and six assists in 43 games this season for the Stampede.
Along with size, Pelosi is still raw with his all-around game and was ranked the 127th North American skater and will enter his freshman season at Quinnipiac University next season. This move was a bit of a surprise by the Bruins with Jayden Perron (selected two picks later by the Carolina Hurricanes) and Joey Willis (selected 111th by the Nashville Predators) still on the board.
Fourth Round, No. 124 – Beckett Hendrickson (Center)
With their second pick, the Bruins selected another center, Beckett Hendrickson, from the US National U18 Team and USNTDP Program. He is the son of Dan Hendrickson, who was picked by the Capitals in the 1993 Draft. In 52 games this season, Beckett had 13 goals and 21 assists and played up and down the lineup anywhere from the first line to the third line.
Hendrickson is a strong two-way player that possesses a good shot and slick passing skills. In 2021-22, he had 12 goals and eight assists at 17 years old for the U17 USNTDP team. Projected as a bottom-six forward, he will attend the University of Minnesota next season for a Gophers team that will be loaded with NHL draft picks.
Sixth Round, No. 188 – Ryan Walsh (Center)
Continuing with the stock-piling of centers, in the sixth round, the Bruins selected Ryan Walsh from the Cedar Rapid RoughRiders of the USHL. He is a little older than some of the other draft-eligible players in this draft as he will turn 20 in August, but he brings with him a big offensive game that is still rounding into form.
Walsh had 30 goals and 49 assists this season for the RoughRiders in 61 games. In 2021-22, he had 24 goals and 35 assists for the Buffalo Regals U18 AAA while leading them in scoring, and he also had 16 goals and 23 assists for the Salisbury Prep School. At 6-foot-1 and 181 pounds, the Rochester, New York native will attend Cornell University in the fall to play in the ECAC and continue to fine-tune his all-around game.
Seventh Round, No. 214 – Casper Nässén (Right Wing)
In the seventh round, the Bruins had two picks, and with their first pick, they selected Casper Nässén, a right-wing from Sweden. This pick was originally to be the Los Angeles Kings, but a trade on July 8, 2022, sent Boston’s pick in last year’s draft to the Kings in exchange for this pick. The Bruins have a strong Swedish connection with scout PJ Axelsson who is in his 10th season as European Scouting Coordinator.
Related: Boston Bruins Top 10 Prospects for 2023 Offseason
In 48 games for Vässterås in the J20 Nationell, Nässén had 23 goals and 17 assists and he plays a physical game at 6-foot-4 and finds his way to the dirty areas on the ice. He will attend the University of Miami (Ohio) next season and is someone to keep an eye on as a low-risk, high-reward late-round pick.
Seventh Round, No. 220 – Kristian Kostadinski (Defenseman)
The final pick by Sweeney was a defenseman, Kristian Kostadinski, from Sweden. A left-shot, something the Bruins have an abundance of on their roster and in their prospect pool, he spent time the last two seasons in Sweden’s J18 and J20 Nationell, and at 6-foot-4, he plays a physical style, something that the front office has prioritized with their blueliners in recent drafts.
Like Nässén, this a low-risk, high-reward move. It’s not a secret that the Bruins like big physical defensemen like Brandon Carlo, Mason Lohrei (6-foot-4), Frederic Brunet (6-foot-2), and Jackson Eduard (6-foot-2). The latter three were selections of the last three drafts and are a little bit away, except maybe Lohrei, from making an impact in the NHL. You can never have too much toughness on the backend.
It’s clear that Sweeney and his scouting department went into the draft with a plan and that was stockpiling more centers and adding a defenseman. Without a pick in the first two rounds, it’s worth watching the development of these prospects over the next couple of seasons.
