*The archive was originally published ahead of the 2025 NHL draft
The 2025 NHL Draft is only a few weeks away and there is no significant change on the horizon, with Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney at the helm of his 11th NHL Draft. Drafting has been a weakness of the franchise throughout his tenure. Now, in the middle of the rebuild/rebuild, this has been under increasing scrutiny since the end of the season and no one on the team really wants to address or admit it.
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However, at one point I didn’t focus on Sweeney’s failure in drafting, but instead wanted to create someone I think is GM’s five best draft picks in the past decade. The criteria for this list include NHL’s performance, their caps as players and their impact on the Bruins franchise.
5. MatthewPoitras
If all goes well, hopefully in a few years, Matthew Poitras will be higher on the list. The second round pick in 2022 was surprising, when he was 19 years old in the 2023-24 season. This season is a split between the NHL and the American Hockey League (AHL), but there is a lot of potential and interest around the young center as he is probably the best center prospect/draft team has since the mid-2000s/early 2010s. There is no reason to believe that he cannot grow into the center of the first or second line. Given that Sweeney is reluctant to offer opportunities for young players, whether the front office gives him this opportunity will be a storyline to closely monitor the next season or two.
So far, Poitras has scored 26 points in 66 professional NHL games and will be the one to watch next season. The Bruins have a long history, centered in the second round (both Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci were selected), hoping that in a few seasons he will be seen as a steal in the 2022 draft.
While his belt still has less than 100 NHL games, Poitras is at an advantage over Trent Frederic or Mason Lohrei because of the potential impact he may have and the promise he has proven on the ice.
4. Jake Debrusk
As the front desk might hear, Sweeney should have served a lot for the 2015 NHL Draft, as it was arguably one of the most powerful first-round games ever and had only three draft picks, so they hit only one of them. Nevertheless, while Jake DeBrusk was a good choice in his seven seasons in Boston when he looked back on the first round of the 2015 draft, there were still many things and missed opportunities when reflecting on the first round of the 2015 draft.
Of course, it was a ups and downs, but when DeBrusk continued to move on, he started. He played an important role in the team’s historical success in 2022-23. He is a natural goalkeeper, and while he still doesn’t reach the 30 goal mark as many predict he’ll stand out from the draft yet, he still hits over 20 goals in more than 20 seasons in Boston, and if Covid didn’t end prematurely, he’ll get that score in 2019-20 (he didn’t finish the season 19 in 19 (he has 19 out of 65 games).
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The lows are of course low, but overall, De Brusk’s tenure in Boston should be remembered, especially given the team missed his scoring ability last season. One of the biggest mistakes in the front desk entering the 2024-25 season was losing him in free agency without bringing another goal to win. Overall, he played in 465 games in Boston, scoring 138 goals and 266 points.
3. Jeremy Swayman
His season was not good, but Jeremy Swayman wasn’t a bad goalkeeper. The 26-year-old was a fourth-round pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, and Sweeney was a great discovery. His career was 101-62-22 and his record was 0.910 and his rescue rate was 2.58 goal average (GAA). 2024 – 25 has been a tough season, both having to get strong tandem and network spins from the beginning of his career and having a very bad blue line in front of him, it was a tough season.
Although there is no sign that Swayman will not rebound next season and continue to be the future starting goalkeeper. Ensuring a franchise goalkeeper is a big deal and can be a difference in Stanley Cup running. The Bruins are lucky in the 21st century and have drafted and developed a series of goalkeepers. The respect for Sweeney continues this tradition and does it with a fourth-round draft pick.
2. BrandonCarlo
Although he was certainly not Sweeney’s friend in the first round, his success in the second round of the draft is indeed worth mentioning. Poitras is already on this list, with 2020 second-round pick Lohrei an honorary mention, but Brandon Carlo is by far his best second-round pick. The full-time defender may not have the brightest numbers, but he is a solid influence for the Bruins in his nine seasons in Boston.
The second round pick in 2015 was 133 points in 637 professional NHL games. He is a safe player who quietly makes his team better. He is responsible in his area, can play physically, and is good at free throw killing. It’s obvious whenever he’s absent on the ice, and although he’s struggling in 2024-25 like everyone else on the roster, he should still be remembered for the overall positive impact on this franchise.
His value is also beyond his work on the ice. Carlo gave Maple Leafs a 2025 trade deadline, bringing Fraser Minten and a 2026 first-round draft pick. It’s very exciting about Minten, and who knows who that first-round pick will be. Carlo may have more ripple effects on the team through trade return, cementing his second place on this list.
1. Charlie McAvoy
It’s no surprise to anyone who has watched the Bruins over the past eight seasons. Charlie McAvoy is an elite defender. He was the highest ranked defensive player to enter the 2016 NHL Draft, and in many ways he fell into Sweeney’s knee in Pick 14, an obvious choice, but indeed, sometimes the best option is obvious.
McAvoy has been an influential player since the first NHL game in the 2017-18 season. He always played the most minutes, with 144 points in the Plus/Minus column and 300 points in 504 professional NHL games. There is a decent opportunity to believe that he will be appointed as the next captain of the franchise, a cornerstone, and the roster will be rebuilt when they try to compete again.
McAvoy is just a plain hockey player and is happy to see him on this team for eight seasons. Thankfully, at the age of 27, there was more hockey in front of Boston.
Honorary mention
As mentioned earlier, the two greatest honor mentions are Frederick and Lochry. Frederic, a 2016 first-round draft pick, struggled early in his NHL career, but has become a solid mid-six over the past three seasons. He was traded to the Edmonton Oilers at the 2025 NHL trade deadline. Lohrei is the second round pick in 2020, leading the blue line this season and is the best young defensive player in the team’s current roster. He has some responsibility for his area, but hopefully this will be resolved in his second NHL season in 2025-26.
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Ryan Lindgren, while never played for the Bruins, was Sweeney’s second-round draft pick, and has had a solid career so far and has played in 405 NHL games in the New York Rangers and Colorado Avalanche in Colorado. Fabian Lysell is also yelling here (if the front desk actually gives him a legal shot in Boston). He looked pretty prepared for the NHL in limited playtime in the last 11 games of the season, recording goals and three-pointers at that time.
