A Look Back at Don Sweeney’s Draft History: 2019

In the event you missed it, you can look back to 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.

What constitutes a successful draft or a failing draft? The hockey community looks at NHL games played to determine success, although some choose to look at 100 games as successful while others look at 200 games. Fans in droves prefer to look at stats. Harman Dayal and Dom Luszczyszyn of the Athletic broke down the drafts from 2007 on and found your Bruins to be the fourth most successful NHL team at the draft. They took their analysis even further.

We have to sit through one more mediocre draft before General Manager Don Sweeney and his revamped scouting department begins to pay dividends. In fairness, I didn’t do so well either in 2019.

FIRST ROUND

The Bruins chose John Beecher with the 30th pick, causing disappointment among fans who preferred Arthur Kaliyev. Currently, Shane Pinto is a desired choice for a trade with the Ottawa Senators. Initially, there was little mention of Pinto from the Bruins faithful during the draft. Kaliyev has lost favor with the Kings, while Beecher has demonstrated his NHL potential in a brief stint, earning credit for the Bruins.

THIRD ROUND

The Bruins drafted Quinn Olson as the 92nd pick, which sparked interest initially. Olson had shown offensive skills in Junior A hockey but didn’t replicate the same success in college. After his college career ended, Boston didn’t offer him a contract, so he signed with an AHL team. However, the Bruins retain his rights until August 15. Out of the 125 players chosen after him, only a 5 made a notable impact in the NHL. Despite this, I appreciate the Bruins’ willingness to take a chance on him.

FIFTH ROUND

The Bruins chose Roman Bychkov with the 154th pick. While there is still a chance for players picked after him to succeed, especially those in college, Bychkov has moved between teams in Russia and has not secured spots on the KHL rosters after three tries. Expecting Bychkov to make an impact now would cause disappointment.

SIXTH ROUND

This is the curious case of Matias Mantykivi. Selected with the 185^th pick, Mantykivi found plenty of success playing professionally in his native Finland, but the Bruins chose not to sign him to an entry level contract and let his rights expire.

SEVENTH ROUND

The Bruins chose Jake Schmaltz with the 192nd pick, who continues to play college hockey. While his offensive performance declined in the NCAA, he has excelled as a defensive forward. Keep an eye on Bryce Brodzinski, expected to go pro following the end of his NCAA career. The story is ongoing for Schmaltz and the Bruins in this chapter.

This wasn’t a great draft all around and not particularly deep. There were a lot of misses by a lot of teams. There is still work to be done and the best was yet to come.

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