Could Bruins get top-five draft pick? Here's what needs to happen originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
It’s been almost 20 years since the Boston Bruins’ own first-round draft pick landed in the top five, but that streak might end this season as the Original Six franchise continues to tumble in the NHL standings amid a seven-game losing streak.
The B’s are in free fall right now. They just wrapped up a four-game Western Conference road trip plus an away game against the Detroit Red Wings and went 0-5-0.
With nothing left to play for over the final eight games of the regular season, the Bruins should play as many young players/prospects as possible and embrace tanking. Getting a high draft pick is the only remaining objective in what has been a disastrous 2024-25 season for Boston.
The Bruins entered Monday tied with the Buffalo Sabres — yes, the same Sabres that haven’t made the playoffs since 2011 — for the sixth-worst record in the league based on points percentage (.466). Based on actual points, the B’s are tied with the Philadelphia Flyers for the sixth-worst record (69 points).
Securing a top-five pick is a very real possibility for the Bruins. They haven’t done that since 2006 when they selected forward Phil Kessel at No. 5 overall.
Before we get into what needs to happen for the Bruins to have a top-five selection, here’s a look at their current NHL Draft Lottery odds, per Tankathon.
- No. 1 pick: 6.5 percent chance
- No. 2 pick: 6.7 percent
- No. 3 pick: 0.2 percent
- No. 7 pick: 44.4 percent
- No. 8 pick: 36.5 percent
- No. 9 pick: 5.6 percent
So, right now, the most likely spot for the Bruins to land in the lottery is the No. 7 pick, although they could jump as high as No. 1 and as low as No. 9.
What needs to happen for the Bruins to land a top-five pick? Well, they need to continue losing and get some help from a few other teams winning. More specifically, the B’s need the Seattle Kraken, Philadelphia Flyers and Sabres to win as many games as possible.
The Kraken and Sabres both have a very tough remaining schedule, which isn’t good for Boston. The Flyers have the second-easiest remaining schedule and have won back-to-back games since firing head coach John Tortorella last Thursday.
Here’s the remaining strength of schedule for teams No. 4 through No. 10 in the current draft order, per Tankathon. The higher the rank, the tougher the schedule.
- No. 4, Kraken: No. 4
- No. 5, Flyers: No. 31
- No. 6, Sabres: No. 3
- No. 7, Bruins: No. 22
- No. 8, Penguins: No. 24
- No. 9, Ducks: No. 5
- No. 10, Islanders: No. 8
As we’ve noted before, the top 10 of the upcoming draft is pretty strong, and there are several high-end center prospects, which is good for the Bruins due to their severe lack of strength at that position.
Michael Misa (Saginaw), James Hagens (Boston College), Anton Frondell (Sweden) and Caleb Desnoyers (Moncton) are among the centers worthy of a top-10 pick. Misa would be the ideal pick for the B’s. He has 134 points (62 goals, 72 assists) in 65 games in the OHL this season, but he’ll probably be gone by the No. 2 or No. 3 pick. Frondell is an excellent option, too, but might not make it past pick No. 5.
The difference between the No. 4 or No. 5 pick and the No. 7 or No. 8 pick is a large one, whether the Bruins want to keep the pick or potentially look to package it for an impact player who can help right away.
The goal for the Bruins over the next two weeks should be losing as many games as possible and bolstering their odds of winning the draft lottery next month. Nobody likes to lose, but this path is what’s best for the short- and long-term health of the organization.