Boston Bruins Demise Set Up By Poor Selections at 2015 NHL Draft

It has been nine years since the infamous 2015 NHL Draft. Sweeney had three straight first-round picks in his first season as GM of the Bruins. All of those picks were in a row. Boston had the 13th, 14th, and 15th picks in that draft. There was potential to get a future number-one center, scoring winger, or franchise defenseman. 

Instead, what do the Bruins do? They select Jakub Zboril, Jake DeBrusk, and Zach Senyshyn. None of these players are with the organization anymore. Despite his on-again, off-again, on-again, off-again trade requests, DeBrusk at least was a consistent 20-goal scorer. There is some debate about whether he could have become something more if his play had been more consistent. But the Bruins could sure use him right now.

He is in Vancouver with the Canucks. Zboril is no longer in the NHL, playing over in the Czech Hockey League after not making it with the Columbus Blue Jackets after being traded there for Andrew Peeke. He did have a PTO with the New Jersey Devils, but the Devils did not sign him, and thus, he went overseas.

Senyshyn was a career AHL player for the Boston Bruins playing in Providence. He was traded to the Ottawa Senators and played in Belville before playing in Utica for the New Jersey Devils AHL team. The Devils traded him to the Chicago Wolves before he played in Europe in the German Hockey League.

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As Full Press Hockey has documented, other players were there to select, including Mathew Barzal, Kyle Connor, Thomas Chabot, Joel Eriksson-Ek, Brock Boeser, and Travis Konecny. The Bruins Bruins could use a player or two from that bunch to help with their scoring woes.

If you go on the backend, Russ Cohen of Sportsology.com, who spoke with Full Press Hockey, stated the Bruins could draft Colin White or Boeser. Cohen suggested White because he was a local kid and talented. But as we know, White has had too many injuries.

But all the players listed, Connor for the Winnipeg Jets, Barzal for the New York Islanders, Chabot for the Ottawa Senators, Konecny for the Philadelphia Flyers, and Boeser for the Vancouver Canucks are franchise players for those organizations. Eriksson-Ek is becoming a great piece of a good corps with the Minnesota Wild.

Go even deeper into the 2015 NHL Draft. Their second-round pick, Jeremy Lauzon, is playing well with the Nashville Predators and has become a hot trade commodity. Dan Vladar, the Bruins third-round pick that year, not only played well for Boston but is playing well for the Calgary Flames.

Brandon Carlo, who was taken 37th overall in the second round of the 2015 NHL Draft, is playing well and has become a staple on that defense. However, according to well-placed sources close to Jimmy Murphy of RG.org, there are reports that he could be moved.

Everyone can point to coaching, poor goaltending, and poor structure. The fact of the matter is that Boston Bruins management set this team up for failure. While they made the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, playoff results have not been the best in recent memory. Not to mention, the core is older.

No more Patrice Bergeron or David Krejci. Sweeney failed to get a number one center. Elias Lindholm is not that player. Now, he can still turn it around but may need time to adjust to new surroundings. The same is true for Nikita Zadorov, but Sweeney failed to get the right pieces in place for the team to be successful either via the draft or trade.

Not having Jeremy Swayman in camp did not help matters. Like all players, goalies need training camp to find timing and rhythm. His has been thrown off. But entering the season, head coach Jim Montgomery was without a contract. He is a lame-duck head coach.

But this is not on Montgomery. The depth the Bruins once had is not there. That is on management. So is not putting the right culture in place.

Nine years later, everyone still talks about how poorly the Boston Bruins missed on those three first-round draft picks in the 2015 NHL Draft.

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