Bruins’ 2024 Draft Class Review | Poke the Bear

Bruins’ 2024 Draft Class Review | Poke the Bear

poke the bear is powered by prize piic the exclusive daily fantasy partner of the clns media Network and welcome in poke the bear episode 242 presented by clns media and sponsored by our good friends over at prize picks and game time tickets my name is Conor Ryan and once again we are joined by the esteemed the knowledgeable Ty Anderson 985 the sportsub Ty what’s going on what’s up how we doing today doing well doing well we are uh this is the draft episode uh it’s going to be a short but sweet we’re going to dive into uh the Bruins finally after what seems like 10 years actually having an intriguing first round pick to talk about so we’ll dive into obviously the man of the hour Dean laterno but kind of the Bruins overall uh approach this draft um busy day across the league a lot of teams uh clearing cap space moving players without without retention tie it’s interesting to note but you know that’s maybe a story for another day when we look at uh free agency and what these teams do with that cap space but um I guess before we kind of dive into uh you know the overall approach we have to start with the 67 forward the new Tage Thompson the new Michael rasmon the new Joe Colborne whatever the hell he’s going to be uh Dean lerno uh which a guy that again you look at how the Bruins have approached when they’ve had these first round picks you look at guys like Johnny beer Trent Frederick guys who are everyday NHL players are very you know productive in what their roles are but the the floor I think was easy to chat with those guys but the high-end ceiling not really there LNO feels like it’s the opposite where it’s like he’s like the in like the NBA like he’s the dude who’s like Giannis right like like played like in Greece 68 like is going to like grow another two inches you don’t know what the hell you’re going to get but if he hits you’ve got a player that every other team in the league covets right I think that’s kind of what you’re banking on with a g laterno a big risk but you can see the upside for sure yeah and I think that’s what’s important to note here right it’s like it’s sort of you know I I said this on Twitter on Friday night when the pick was made but would you rather strike Out Swinging for the fences or ground out on a bunt you know like if if it’s wrong you’re wrong it doesn’t necessarily matter um you know like the kind of player you’re wrong on but I I think that this team is positioned now to or or not positioned but out of necessity they have to take swings on high skill high ceiling kind of types and you know the skill set was tantalizing right 6 foot seven um got a good shot he can skate well for a big man which I think is the most noticeable trait that you see like a lot of times like when you get a guy who’s 65 66 whatever like the the the most common thing you hear is got to work on his skating well this guy already has that part of his game down or at least to the point where it’s not a problem necessarily so I I like the makeup and I like the idea of swinging for the talent versus the ah he’ll be a good third liner who can play some solid two-way hockey it’s like no that this team they can find a thousand of those they have a thousand of those you got to get the skill so from that standpoint I respect the the courage of making this pick uh which may have been made for them you know you look at some of the trades leading up to that pick namely Utah uh jumping in front of the Bruins and grabbing a a two-way Center out of the ol which you’re like okay like that could have been the Bruins pick you would think so um I respect the approach more than anything else and if they’re wrong they’re wrong but I’d rather go down swinging than than not at all so to speak yeah you look at like who Utah takes number 24 co co Bowden I think that’s how you say his last name but uh that’s kind of the the complete inverse right of what Leno is because like I think Co bowden’s one of those guys that you look at his skill set he’s already 62 a really good detailed player uh good two-way player floor easy to map out right like future third line Center maybe he’s above that right like you never really know but you can kind of comfortably chart out what he could be uh and lerno is kind of the complete opposite like and it doesn’t feel right saying I guess Boomer bus because like if he becomes you know Michael rasmason or uh brezo or like even like Brian like Brian Bole you looked at like how he skated at like BC like like 68 and again like became a useful kind of more of a bottom six player so like even if uh lerno is not paig Thompson you can probably still get value from him but as you said I think if you’re the Bruins and you’re so desperate for just that top six gamechanging Talent like you’ve got plenty of guys that could eventually slot into these roles look at like brazo who kind of fell as backward into a roster spot and you have those kind of players go for the guy in lerno who if all works out well five years down the road and he’s this 6 seven forward scoring 35 goals you want to have the player that everyone else in the NHL looks at it’s like damn where the hell are we gonna get a guy like that right like that’s I think if you’re the Bruins and as you said before Ty like it’s not that you have the luxury of doing it but like now you when you have these opportunities you need to add the guys that could hit as opposed to the safe plug-and-play players because you can find those guys you can find the the heinens you can find these players on the market that can show up your bottom six but go for a guy lero who could be something there for you yeah and the other part of it too is that and this the part of drafting a player like this that I hope the Bruins understand and accept is that you’re goingon to have to be patient like he’s not going to be a guy who I mean maybe he is and if he is that’s fantastic but it’s G to be a longer kind of Developmental curve for him uh given some of these things we’ve talked about given the size the rodness playing in Canadian prep you know which is a step below the OHL or the CHL whatever League you want to pick um and out of the gate he’s probably gonna be playing bottom six minutes at BC I would imagine it’s I don’t know if he’s the kind of guy who comes in and immediately gets top six kind of minutes there I know he’s he’s going in a year early so maybe he gets a slight bump but you know I don’t know if he’s going to be top line for them but you know having some patience and and understanding it’s going to take a little bit you know a little while I hope they have that kind of patience you know we we’ve kind of read a lot of the comps or Tage Thompson you know Tage Thompson took a long time to get going right like it it took What it Took I think his third or fourth full season in the NHL before he started to really be like that I think was 30 goals or 35 goals whatever it was um got traded by St Louis obviously um now St Louis isn’t going to complain they got Ryan O’Reilly out of that deal so pretty good trade for them looking at you know the banner they have in St Louis but patience is going to be the name of the game and so I hope the Bruins have that patience and don’t lose sight of the things that we’re talking about and what he can be for their team because I think that’s going to be you know out of all the first round picks they’ve drafted under the under the Sweeney regime I feel like this guy’s going to require the most patience I think of of that group to be honest with you yeah and absolutely I looked it up yesterday because I was like I I remember that Tage Thompson like took a little while like he was good at at Yukon like you could see maybe he’s a top six potential there but uh he had in his first you know like three and a half years he played 145 games total between St Louis and Buffalo 18 goals in 145 and we know Bruin’s fans and and the patience there if like this is a guy who when he’s like again like 24 which is like you know T Thompson didn’t take off till I think his 20 age 25 season if Dean lerno is here at 24 and he’s got 11 goals 18 assists and people are freaking out like you don’t want to be the guy that jettison a player like that too early and all a sudden he goes somewhere else and all a sudden he’s got 31 goals and he’s he’s you know showing off that skill set it’s almost like we all see especially with these kind of players at that size that are like mapped out as power forwards you have to give them more time to fill out learn the game but for these guys like Thompson and lerno who are that size but it’s they’re not like power forwards like it’s just kind of part of you know it’s a compliment their size it’s not like their main idea identity right like it’s so much other things with it those guys are so unique that you just need to carve out as much time as possible like hell it would be great if he went to BC this year and he’s got 31 points or something in 40 something games for a really good Eagles team but don’t be surprised if he’s a again a middle six a bottom six player with 11 points as a freshman like it’s a huge transition going from prep to Hockey East in one year so um but that doesn’t diminish you know even if it’s going to be maybe a longer development timeline you got to stay the course with a guy like that that if he is something you want to be the team looking at it years from now being like we gave up on that guy a year too early and he’s a a top six fixture somewhere else and it also speaks to the idea that the Bruins are not the Bruins of say four years ago when they were drafting guys with the hope of okay how quick can they be how quickly can they be ready you know like look at Fabian lysel got taken on the first round in 2021 uh played in Vancouver for a year and then was immediately thrown to the Pro game and I I don’t think it’s necessarily hurt him I I think playing against men younger is going to help you but it’s not exactly like he’s not fast-tracked to the NHL at the same time and it kind of just speaks the idea the Bruins are are not the win now team they were when they had Chara and berson and CI for the final five years of their career like they’re taking a more patient approach and and it’s it’s a bit jarring like in a way like like to to watch that transition happen in real time that they are no longer you know a team that is making draft picks to win now or to use it as capital to win now like they acknowledge the path in front of them and restocking that Pipeline and and and being patient and so now they got to actually follow through with that you know and that’s going to be that’s the part that’s always tough for a team you can say we’re GNA be patient but Executives when they’re coaching and and executing you know executing for their job like sometimes patience escapes them yeah no it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out um obviously a lot more to talk about with this draft class Beyond just lerno and his his potential there but before we do that TI let’s take a quick break here from our good friends over at prize picks the NBA finals are over and the Celtics are champions but there’s still so many ways for you to get in on the action and win up to 100 times your cash on prize picks as you and the world’s best players take the game to a whole new level on the court baseball diamond and much more with priz picks you could turn $10 into $1,000 in a single game watching your favorite sports this summer you can make a prize pick lineup in as little as 60 seconds you just need to pick more or less on two to six player stats projections and you’re locked in prize picks is America’s number one fantasy sports app with over 5 million active members get on the daily action your friends and become part of the prize pick Community today quick withdrawals easy gameplay and a huge selection of players and Stat types are what makes prize picks the number 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UH 60 games last year they move him in their fourth round pick to move up 12 spots uh take Elliot uh grenald a Vermont kid going to Quin Pak next year also get Vin L ter back but I think he’s kind of more of a probably Providence guy you’re G to plug in there top six guy hopefully helps a few other guys along down there but um looking just specifically at Loco We you surprised at all with it because it it felt like kind of the writing was on the wall especially once the Bruins bring in a guy like uh Mar cik feels like there there’s room there that they’re kind of banking more on him beer and brezo kind of being the the new crew there moving forward yeah you know the writing was on the wall for me even before this um at Bruin’s breakup day Jacob Loco was the only guy not to speak and you know sometimes you read read into that other times you don’t um and it wasn’t like oh he’s definitely gone now but I don’t know like the the way that they utilized him late in the year the way that he was in and out of the lineup seemingly no matter what happened results wise for him I thought was really bizarre um you know you look at you look at him in the Toronto series he draws a penalty he really was a thorn in their side it felt like um and then they scratched him and you’re like why wait what’s going on here and he was only really put back in the lineup when the Bruins lost uh jesser boquist to injury and so it it was just odd usage right and I I just feel like that they were changing the complexion of their team now now how is that how do they make up for his loss right like the Bruins have talked about and that sounds weird talking about a fourth liner I understand that but like the Bruins entered the offseason talking about getting faster right okay well Jacob loo is probably your fastest bottom six option besides Johnny beer and their complexion of their fourth line typically requires two speedier guys so are they Chang the complexion of that fourth line that’s one thing I wonder and secondly loo was great at drawing penalties so who takes up that mantle right because like that like that is something that is important in today’s game every elite team has a great power play or a power play that could score a timely goal or just bleed clock essentially right and so how do they make up for that that’s what I want to know um but ultimately they saw a guy they wanted with that defenseman and they said he’s not going to be here in 12 picks let’s get him and so to make that kind of move a you got to be right about it but B to if you’re going to have to cut from your pool it’s not the worst to have to cut from a guy that internally to your point they may look at and say we can replace him just fine right yeah exactly so a tough tough loss loo great guy to talk to about the Lord of the Rings Game of Thrones the MCU great guy great guy in general so he will be missed um but best luck to him over in Minnesota moving forward which hopefully he’ll be able to carve up more of a regular role there I feel like he will be great he’s like a great just like especially for what that contract is a great just bottom six guy to have anyway because I feel like the number one thing with him energy which again you saw in that Toronto series like drawing penalties laying hits there’s value in that if he keeps on doing that so uh wishing the best of luck to him uh moving forward but uh Ty looking at kind of the overall uh draft class for the Bruins again it’s only four guys uh as you we said LNO Gren Wald uh you know a defenseman maybe more known as a defensive defenseman uh Jonathan morelo uh a guy in the Ontario junior hockey league uh still 17 doesn’t turn 18 Till I think the very end of July a guy with a little bit maybe more upside Than People expect he’s gonna go to claxon two years from now he’s going to the USHL next year and then Lok Johansson who you know you got a good player when his like Elite prospects page is him smashing a guy into the glass it’s like the there’s no video of him I already tried looking for it yeah there’s none it’s crazy yeah there’s no one has recorded anything in Sweden we don’t know what the hell’s going on over there but the one photo we have is him obliterating a guy into glass so you know you’ve got a good guy there um looking at just the overall approach from the Bruins whether it’s how they’re structuring the decor uh with you know it seems like they’re clearly targeting size or you know up front with their forwards uh what have you seen in terms of how they’ve approached this draft class and how you can kind of maybe read the te leaves as to how they’re they’re they’re trying to build up this pipeline once again yeah um you know Dean Lono is is sort of the the exception but they’re following the blueprint they’ve laid out now for I think three straight drafts where it’s bigger body defenseman and forwards who the first thing you read is speed or high motor you know talking about Mel he he I always want to say mlli because that’s a that’s a side of my family talk about Morel here he ra Against the Machine um no but uh so uh he actually won a fastest skater competition at the All-Star Game in the O ojhl um he’s a guy who again like you you read about him and and motor comes up high intensity speed good skater this kind of fits the bill with Chris Pelosi who was a a high motor type this fits a b with Matthew ptra a grind a greasy High motor kind of Center uh so this seems like it’s their MO moving forward is you want you don’t care about their size necessarily but you want forwards who can skate well have a high motor have a little bit of grease to their game and then you’re going to have a big defense defensive core behind them and so this is the plan it’s been laid out now for three or four drafts in a row that that this is their prototype for forwards this is their prototype for defenseman and they’re building out their pool that way and and and it helps you can add some natural scoring Talent like they did in the first round but um this is their blueprint right and I think you know it’s comparable to some of the other blueprints you see around the league it feels like Tampa has become a much smaller team up front but they all got Motors and they all can fly and so you just you have to hope that they’re not behind the eightball or or behind where the game may be trending in that regard but I think this is sort of like their Identity or their future identity is coming to Focus here I think over these last couple of drafts yeah it does seem like when you look at just how many teams have a pretty similar blueprint in terms of big mobile defenseman some physicality some size uh and forwards that you know you’ll take the the blend of size and speed but just guys that have a high motor can impact the game can make things happen kind of make something happen out of nothing um it does seem that’s a good strategy to kind of follow in terms of just trying to find ways to get the Inside Edge so uh encouraging see from the Bruins in that regard um Ty before we wrap this one up we’re also going to talk very quickly looking ahead at uh the next couple of days Don Sweeny’s comments earlier on this week in Vegas before we do that take a quick break here from our good friends over at game time tickets the Celtics are Champs the Bruins are hibernating and Patriots training camp is still months away but it’s the summer and the Red Sox are heating up at just the right time and if you’re a socks fan and want to catch a game at Fenway you got to go with game time tickets game time is an authorized ticket Marketplace that makes getting MLB tickets even faster and easier prices on the game time app actually go down the closer you get to first pitch with killer last minute deals all-in prices views from your seat and the lowest price guarantee game time takes the guest work out of buying MLB tickets the best part about game time tickets you can browse to the game 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with Game Time download the game time app create an account and use code clns for $20 off your first purchase terms apply again create an account and redeem code clns for $20 off download game time today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed now let’s get back to the show shout out once again to our good friends over at game time tickets all right Ty uh we won’t dive too far into free agency Outlook we’ve already done that before by the time this episode drops we’re going to have uh uh probably like a signing or two already to start breaking down or start looking ahead at uh but looking at Don Sweeny’s comments on Thursday uh from Las Vegas I think he spoke for about 30 minutes kind of laid the groundwork for they’re approaching uh free agency uh how they’re approaching obviously new goalie Onis corpa solo all those things what was kind of your main quick takeaway from his overall you know Spiel or how he was mapping out this off season yeah I think the biggest takeaway for me is they GNA get a center um now who that guy is you the Rumblings of Eli lolm have only gotten stronger um we’ll see if if if he’s their number one target but um it does feel like they they’re being very I don’t to say cocky but like they’re confident in their approach right like they’re pretty much shutting the door on Jake debrusk it sounds like yeah and they’re confident that they can get an upgrade um now is that an upgrade at the middle and then you move Pao zaka over back to Wing like we’re gonna have to wait and see but I think there’s a confidence that Don Sweeny is exuding um at that press conference that makes me think they got some some big fish you know sort of lined up or they’re they’re legit hopeful they can get a big fish and and I think it has to be in the middle um I’d wonder about a guy like Stephen samose as well uh feel like it it just feels like they’re gonna make a big signing and and then you know the biggest question though and it relates to yonis Corp pasalo as well is like do they have the money to make two big signings like can they get you know a tier one guy and a tier two guy or do they have to get one tier one guy and then a couple of tier three guys like like that’s what I kind of wonder about with this team and you only have so much cap space right and you got 20 something million Swan’s gonna eat up a big chunk of that probably just under a third of it uh or maybe a third of it for that matter and so do you have the extra million million and a half you might need to secure two notable free agents versus one and some depth filler that’s what I really wonder about with this team but it sounds like they’re confident like they’re confident they’re going to get a pretty good guy this summer yeah that that was my I mean my main take away from it was like listening to what he says like immediately talks about middle of the ice upgrading there even mentions like upgrading the defense and it’s like uh and how they have to you know not just be aggressive like we we’re gonna we’re going to attack we’re GNA do all these things I’m like again not getting too far ahead of myself but I’m like are you trying to like sign lindome and stamp Co like are you going to have the money to do that like are you like you know is it lindol and Anthony duclair and Alec Martinez which seems more realistic or is it are you legitimately trying to you know even if it’s like Lindo in t Foley right like that would make sense as a replacement but are you trying to swing for the fenes where for someone more the fact that you mentioned like the defense it’s like are you trying to like sign like Brady Shay you trying to get like another dude to you know pair with makoy or something like that so it doesn’t seem like it’s beyond just like all right we’ve got the cap space we’re hopeful to add it’s like no we’re going to try to steal some headlines on on Monday on July 1st so um it’s very yeah it’s very intering to see like what their approach and how the money is going to to map out because again it’ be a lot of fun if you get Lind and the stam Coast it makes you uh an already good team that much better but is the money gonna work that’s the biggest question right yeah and you know I I wonder if there’s an element here of the Bruins saying you know what like let’s focus on getting two high impact forwards and we can score our way out of our problem if we think that we’re one left shot D short of having an ideal grouping you can always make a trade in season as well um if there are guys out there that Peak your interest but I think the biggest thing that I want the Bruins to to do on July one and this isn’t this is the theme of what we’ve talked about to this point have a little bit of patience get your big fish try to get another one but if you don’t hey July 5th prices start to drop man there will be a good player out there who is unsigned who you can get for 2 million instead of four and a half and so that’s something that the Bruins I think a veteran GM like Don Sweeney should be mindful of is not blowing all your money on day one it’s great to be part of the party but if you’re part of the party but you don’t get anybody you actually want it’s a bit of a waste right like I go back to 2021 when they had all this money like we got to spend all this money and it’s like well maybe you don’t have to spend all of it you could save a little bit of it so I just that’s we’ve talked about before but that’s my biggest hope is just don’t blow it all on July 1 unless you f you’re getting what I would consider to be year one two and three targets right no exactly so we will definitely uh recap we’ll break down there’ll be no shortage of stuff to talk about this upcoming week it’s going to be D say a [ __ ] show die in terms of the amount of news I hate this yeah there’s be way too much stuff we’re gonna talk poor Dean lero is gonna like have two people talking to him on like the the Thursday of Thursday July 4th of Dev Camp the final day ready for that fourth of Ju I scrimmage but uh Ty before we let you go where can we uh read your stuff where can we hear you all that good stuff yeah I can find me at uh 985 Sports sub.com uh sometimes on the radio there the also the sportsub underground podcast I do with my friend Matt doof uh and you can find me on Twitter and xor Ty Anderson I’m also on Facebook I have a page there which I’m trying to get better about using it’s not going well I’m trying my best though how about yourself yes you can find me over at boston.com in the Boston Globe will have be covered every step of the way this offseason you can also find me on Twitter X whatever the hell it’s called at Conor r93 uh so this was episode uh 242 of poke the bear I’m Connor Ryan that’s tianis you fans have a great rest of your week [Music]

Welcome to “Poke the Bear” episode 242, where Conor Ryan and Ty Anderson dive deep into the Bruins’ 2024 Draft Class Review. Join them as they dissect the team’s bold move with first-round pick Dean Letourneau, exploring his potential impact and the team’s shift towards high-ceiling players.

Discover the Bruins’ strategic draft approach, focusing on building a roster of dynamic players with size, speed, and skill. Get insights into the team’s upcoming free agency plans, including potential upgrades in the center position and defense.

Stay tuned for a discussion on strategic roster improvements and impactful acquisitions shaping the Bruins’ offseason narrative.

0:00 – Intro
1:16 – Dean Letourneau’s potential
5:45 – Need for patience
7:45 – Importance of patience
9:53 – Transition to patient approach
11:05 – Player stats projections
13:11 – Jacob Lauko’s departure
16:44 – Bruins draft strategy
18:04 – Prototype for forwards and defense
21:52 – Don Sweeney’s free agency plans
22:57 – Don Sweeney’s confidence
24:05 – Upgrading the middle

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