Today, we’re shifting the focus to the Boston Bruins’ first‑round pick at No. 23 and examining the possibilities there.
The Bruins have never selected with the 23rd pick in franchise history. They held the 23rd pick in 2023 but had previously traded it to the Washington Capitals when they acquired Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway. They also traded what would become the 23rd overall pick in 2011 to Toronto in the Tomas Kaberle trade.
The consensus is that the Bruins need help on the back end, and that’s hard to argue, but they also need a real injection of skill up front. From my vantage point, the best players likely to be available at No. 23 are forwards. That means no reaching — stick to the plan of prioritizing speed and skill over the safer, more conservative pick and especially for need.
Just a reminder, here is the breakdown of the ratings used:
Hockey IQ: This encompasses a wide range of traits — reading the play, vision, fin ding soft ice, understanding spacing, maintaining proper positioning (including defensively), making the right plays and more.
Skating: It’s not solely about straight‑line speed, though that’s part of the equation. The focus also falls on edgework, acceleration, stops and starts, first‑step quickness, mechanics, lateral mobility, backward skating, and overall fluidity.
Shot: This covers a player’s full shooting arsenal — power, release, deception, accuracy, and the ability to get pucks off cleanly under pressure.
Puck Moving: Despite the name, it’s about far more than simply transporting the puck up ice. It includes zone‑entry ability, passing touch, possession strength, transition efficiency, and making the right reads under pressure.
Compete: This reflects a player’s overall drive — intensity, forechecking pressure, board‑battle engagement, willingness to get to the dirty areas, involvement in scrums, commitment to defending with the same effort they bring offensively, relentlessness in puck pursuit, will do anything to win and consistency from shift to shift.
It’s time to dig into potential targets based on my own rankings. I’ve spoken with multiple scouts to gather their perspectives and cross‑checked those views against the consolidated lists that are out there. I’ve also included NHL Central Scouting’s numbers for context — even if I don’t always see eye‑to‑eye with them.
Let’s get to the list:
The Bruins — or frankly any club — would be fortunate to land Klepov at this stage. The sense I get is that he won’t be lingering on the board at this point, based on multiple conversations I’ve had. One NHL scout even flipped the discussion back on me when I asked about Boston, responding with a pointed counter: “Why would the Bruins draft him considering the issues they’ve had with Fabian Lysell?”
After thinking it through, I get the argument — he’s not the type of player Cam Neely prefers, and no one should pretend otherwise. But this roster is starving for pure skill, and Klepov brings that in abundance. More importantly, he doesn’t carry the same warning profile Lysell did in 2021, which changes the equation in a meaningful way.
Klepov can line up at center or on his off‑wing, and while he’s not the biggest player, there’s a noticeable edge to his game. He competes hard in 50‑50 battles, and adding lower‑body strength will only help him hold his own against heavier opponents. He’s willing to get to the middle of the ice, and his puck possession, zone entries, and vision allow him to create — whether he’s driving a play himself or using his teammates. Defensively, you’d like to see more consistent engagement, and refining his stride to generate more power would elevate his overall impact. As one skating coach told me, “his stride is a little clunky. Some tweaks could help him generate more speed.”
If the Bruins are truly committed to injecting more skill and speed into their lineup, they should give Klepov some serious consideration if he’s still on the board.
One scout told me, “He’s higher on our board with two other players.” The discrepancies are always fascinating. Central Scouting has Klepov well ahead of Shilov, while several independent agencies see it much tighter — with Shilov even edging him out in some rankings. Then others have him in the second round.
Shilov is an above‑average skater, and despite the dynamic offensive toolkit, he plays a mature, well‑rounded 200‑foot game. His puck possession, stickhandling, and zone‑entry ability stand out — exactly the kind of skill set the Bruins could use more of. He can make plays, he can create for himself, and he’s not shy about getting to the interior. The next step in his progression is sharpening his shooting accuracy.
The only hesitation with drafting Shilov has nothing to do with the player — it’s the fit. He’s a natural center, already plays a reliable 200‑foot game, and excels in the faceoff circle. With needs elsewhere in the lineup, how do you make it work down the middle? If the organization views James Hagens and Dean Letourneau as future centers, and with Fraser Minten already in the mix, it may make more sense to address another position of need rather than force pieces into roles that don’t quite align.
As one scout told me, “we don’t see him anywhere but at center.”
Roobroeck brings a high‑end toolkit for a player his size. He can win battles along the walls, establish a heavy net‑front presence, and he moves well for a big body. If he continues to clean up his mechanics, there’s even more runway — and that added refinement could become a real problem for opposing defenders.
He owns one of the elite shots in this draft class — the kind that threatens from anywhere in the offensive zone. But he’s not a one‑dimensional finisher; he’s shown he can make high‑end plays and has the vision to match, all while holding his own in a reliable two‑way game. The opinions on him, though, are split. As one scout put it, “he has all the tools but is just too inconsistent for me.” Another didn’t mince words either: “the effort isn’t always there, and that’s going to cost him.”
And that’s the crux of the Roobroeck debate. The effort level wavers, and the inconsistency shows. Niagara hasn’t exactly been the easiest environment — constant lineup shuffling, a shaky overall structure, and a room that hasn’t always felt like a winning one. Some of that absolutely factors in. The question is how much of it belongs to the situation, and how much falls on the player himself. That’s going to cause him to slip in the draft, but how far will he fall?
The Bruins have dipped into the Swedish junior ranks in all but three drafts since P.J. Axelsson joined the organization in 2013, and there’s little reason to believe this year will break that pattern. Still, this isn’t a courtesy mention based on birth certificate for me. Opinions from two scouts I spoke with are split: one evaluator pegged this range as a fair slot for him, while another was far more bullish, saying, “He’s top-15 for us.”
Command plays with a high‑end motor and a relentless work ethic, driving his game through sheer compete. Pressure never seems to touch him — his demeanor stays composed, almost unbothered, even in heavy moments. He gets after opponents on the forecheck with real bite, pushes through the middle of the ice with that same force, and brings a subtle edge that shows he genuinely enjoys the physical side of the game. His game improved drastically on both sides of the puck as the season progressed.
After watching a heavy dose of Command in the U20 Nationell this season — plus going back through several ISO clips — his progression has been clear enough that I’m siding with the scout who has him projected in this range, not the one pushing a second‑round grade. The growth is real, the trends are positive, and his game now aligns far more closely with the former evaluation than the latter.
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