Feb 14, 2023; Dallas, Texas, USA; A view of the Boston Bruins logo during the game between the Dallas Stars and the Boston Bruins at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
The ping-pong balls have been drawn, and the Bruins officially know where they will be slotted in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft, with the Bruins drawing the 7th overall pick in Monday’s draft lottery.
The Bruins entered the lotto with the fifth-best odds of having the No. 1 overall pick, having finished ‘behind’ the Sharks, Blackhawks, Predators, and Flyers at the bottom of the NHL standings by the end of the season.
That ultimately left the Bruins with 85 different combinations that could’ve landed them the No. 1 overall pick. And though they did not earn the No. 1 overall pick, the Bruins were a fourth and final ball away from successfully moving up to the No. 2 overall pick, but ultimately came up short when it was drawn as a 3 instead of a 7 or 14.
But with both the Islanders (first overall) and Utah Hockey Club (fourth overall) moving up, the Bruins indeed drop as low as they could go, with the seventh overall pick granted to the Bruins.
This will be the highest the Bruins have picked since the club selected Tyler Seguin with the second overall pick in the 2010 NHL Draft. It will be Boston’s highest natural draft pick (meaning one that originally belonged to the club) since Zach Hamill was selected with the eighth overall pick in 2007, as the Seguin pick originally belonged to Toronto but was traded to Boston in the Phil Kessel deal.
The 2025 NHL Draft is headlined by defenseman Matthew Schaefer, who is the consensus No. 1 overall pick. But for the Bruins, the focus will almost certainly come up front, with some noteworthy centers such as Michael Misa, James Hagens, Anton Frondell, and Caleb Desnoyers on the board, as well as wingers Porter Martone and Viktor Eklund.
And assuming that the Bruins do not trade their first-round pick between now and the draft, this will be the first season that the Bruins have made first-round picks in back-to-back seasons since 2017, when they took Urho Vaakanainen with the 18th overall pick after selecting Charlie McAvoy (14th overall) and Trent Frederic (29th overall) in 2016.
The Bruins, of course, selected Boston College’s Dean Letourneau with their first-round pick (25th overall) last June.
The first round of the 2025 NHL Draft will be held on June 27, 2025.
