In the 2015 NHL draft, the Bruins held picks 13-15 in the first round. This was arguably the best draft class in recent memory. They had an opportunity to really cash in on these picks and set themselves up for a great future.

Who They Picked:

With the 13th pick in the NHL Draft the Bruins selected defenseman Jakub Zboril. He’s barely been on the roster since being drafted. He hasn’t really stood out in the system and overall was a pretty bad pick. He’ll have a big opportunity this year though to step in the wake of Krug and Chara leaving.

With the 14th pick the Bruins selected left wing Jake Debrusk. Probably the only good pick within these three draft picks, he’s been very productive at certain points. Overall he was a solid pick who has a bright future with this team. Probably the one pick the Bruins did well on.

With the 15th pick the Bruins selected right wing Zachary Senyshyn. Like Zboril, he’s barely been on the roster but unlike him – he isn’t in line for as big of an opportunity. Although we haven’t seen him play much, he hasn’t been too notable in the system. Senyshyn is nowhere near as good as the players selected around him.

Who They Missed Out On

Boston missed out on a handful of great players. Not only that, but those players they missed out on went just AFTER the picks the Bruins had so its not like they weren’t on the board or would have been a reach. They whiffed 3 times on a chance to get a superstar.

MATT BARZAL

We’ll start out with Islanders star Matt Barzal. The center was picked 16th, one pick after the Bruins haul of picks. In the last few years he’s made a huge jump and is now one of the best young stars in the league.

Although we have Krejci and Bergeron, getting Barzal would have been huge because either they would have been able to put Krejci on the third line and Barzal on the second, or they could have traded Krejci for prospects and have a better replacement to take his spot.

We’d almost certainly have to trade Krejci or some other big contract because cap issues would arise but like I said before, Barzal would be the replacement.

KYLE CONNOR

The next guy they missed out on is Winnipeg Jets left winger Kyle Connor. He was picked right after Barzal with the 17th pick. Connor is a rising star who would have been a great winger to have on the second pairing instead of Debrusk. It’s not that Debrusk is bad, Connor is just better.

In the last two years, he’s played 153 games and tallied 139 points over that span. The Bruins need that production. They’ve struggled with getting point production from a line other than the first.

In the last two years, Debrusk has tallied just 77 points in 133 games. That’s a huge difference in production. Another big whiff on a pick.

THOMAS CHABOT

Lastly, they missed out on Ottawa Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot. Not only has he tallied 94 points in his last 141 games, he’s also a left shot defenseman. That’s where the Bruins are thin. Drafting him would have made losing Torey Krug barely affect this team.

He’s basically the same player as Krug but younger with more time to improve. Along with his offensive production, he’s also averaged around 25 minutes of ice time per game. That’s huge. He’d be eating up minutes similar to Krug, while also being very effective on the power play.

OVERVIEW

It’s very frustrating that the Bruins couldn’t even draft ONE of these guys. Three chances. Two failures. The team would be in a much better position. Instead of having an aging core in the midst of what’s probably their last real run at the cup, the Bruins would have a solid core with a bunch of rising stars waiting in the wings.

If the Bruins had drafted two of these guys in the NHL Draft – Barzal and Chabot, this is roughly how the lines would look right now.

Offense

Marchand – Bergeron – Pastrnak

Debrusk – Barzal – Kase

Ritchie – Coyle – Smith

Frederic – Kuraly – Wagner

Defense

Chabot – Mcavoy

Lauzon – Carlo

Grzelcyk – Miller

The Bruins would have more depth along with goal scoring. This would be an amazing team which would be able to compete for cups right now while being set up for the future. Although the Bruins probably wouldn’t have Krejci because of salary cap considerations, they’d have roughly the same leadership core, which is so important in the NHL, and in all sports really.