NHL Draft Recap: High Hopes for Letourneau + Why Lauko Was Traded to Achieve Bruins’ Selection Goals

NHL Draft Recap: High Hopes for Letourneau + Why Lauko Was Traded to Achieve Bruins’ Selection Goals

what we know about Boston Bruins first round pick Dean louro and why Jacob loo was traded to the Minnesota Wild on a special Draft Day recap episode of Locked on Boston Bruins you’re locked on Bruins your daily podcast on the Boston Bruins part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day [Music] what is up Bruins fans and welcome back to the locked on Boston Bruins podcast I’m your host Ian McLaren and this is a Daily Show where we discuss all things spoked be today is Saturday June 29th and I want to thank you so much for making lock on Bruins part of your daily routine free and available on your favorite podcast app and on YouTube part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day and sometimes on the weekends as we recap the 2024 NHL entry draft and what the Bruins were able to accomplish there before we get started a quick reminder you can find the podcast on social media at locked NHL Bruins and you can find me my hockey thoughts and dad jokes at ianc McLaren for those of you who may be new to the podcast I’m a lifelong Bruins fan been hosting this podcast for five years prior to that I was a full-time hockey news editor at the score and have been covering this team for various outlets for a about 20 years and over that time many a first round pick has come and gone what we know about this year’s pick is that he’s a big boy and uh Dean lero six foot7 uh 24 pound Center out of St Andrews College which is a prep school in Aurora onario just about an hour north of Toronto it’s an unusual path that he took to the NHL draft not playing in the Ontario Hockey League after being selected by the Owen Sound attack in the ninth round 174th overall in 2022 he opted for the prep school route preparing himself for uh division one hockey which is where he will play coming up in the fall at Boston College he said he did want to play in the OHL growing up and this is via a profile on him nhl.com written by Adam Kim Adam kimelman about 10 days ago he said he wanted to play in the OHL but he took a visit to St Andrews saw a lot of guys that had come through there and played division one hockey and what their careers ended up looking like so uh he decided to uh take that route and indeed three players had been selected from St Andrews over the previous two years uh not none earlier however than the third round there are a bunch of players in the NHL who played for St Andrews uh who went to the OHL or were drafted out of the NCAA it’s a great program and Lono said the development he had there was unlike any other he was playing 20 plus minutes a night was playing on the power play the penalty kill all different situations that he might come to down the road the coaching staff was really great there the schooling the education was a big part for him and his family so the fact that he could have a great education while also getting great hockey development is what sealed the deal for him there and indeed last year he led St Andrews with 127 points 61 goals 66 assists and 60 sorry 56 games uh which is pretty unbelievable he was number 23 in NHL Central scouting’s final rankings of North American skaters for the 2024 draft uh Central scouting’s Nick Smith said Lono was very intriguing to him has tons of potential and can really have a high ceiling it’s hard to find a player with his size and length and with soft hands and Good Feet he can make plays with sense and vision with a scoring touch Around the Net still has some filling out to do as well and that’s something turno said after being drafted that he wants to grow add some muscle to uh his frame here over the summer I’m not sure that lero was Boston’s first pick at the selection meaning he wasn’t the guy that was at the top of their list I believe they were very interested in jet lenko who went higher than expected at 12th overall to the Philadelphia Flyers um Sasha B was on their list as well as was Cole Bodwin who appeared to be set to be selected by the Bruins until Utah pulled off a deal to move to 24th overall and snagged Bodwin out from under the Bruins and setting up the decision to pick luno at uh the 25th overall pick now the easy and early comparison to be made here is Tage Thompson who was selected 26th overall back in 2016 66 220 he was about 65 195 pounds when the blues selected him uh Lono said in this uh piece on nhl.com that he indeed tries to model his game after Thompson a big tall centerman with skill he loves watching his Puck protection and the way he uses his body to Shield Defenders something he tried to incorporate into his game as well louro has tons of potential to be sure and if you listen to the reaction video on YouTube you saw that his range is probably somewhere between a Brian Bo and a Tage Thompson and it took Thompson some time to develop he was again selected 26th overall in 2016 he spent a year at the University of Connecticut where he put up 30 two points in 34 games uh took some time to develop in St Louis’s system playing with San Antonio Rampage before being traded to Buffalo as part of the Ryan O’Reilly deal and it took him some time to pop there as well in fact it wasn’t until 2021-22 where he played 78 games scored 38 goals 68 assists and then last season really busted out with 94 points 47 uh 47 goals so that’s five six years after his draft year um the Bruins this is a longer term project pick for them but it’s a guy who if he hits like they hope he could yeah he could be a Topline center for the Boston Bruins again probably more in the middle six range for the Bruins a big guy he needs needs to by all accounts not only add to his frame and fill out a bit but also uh be be more willing to use that size to his Advantage be more physical and perhaps develop more of a two-way game for the Bruins as well but best case Tage Thompson is the pipe dream best case scenario for what he can turn into as a member of the Boston Bruins uh if he can become an NHL regular and be a contributor second line third line center with some scoring pop who can contribute on the power play and kill some penalties uh that would be great what we don’t want is for him to become uh kind of an Elmer Soder Blom with Detroit who’s the last big guy that I can remember trying to make it uh at the NHL level he was drafted in the sixth round uh but you know he’s like 68 246 13 goals 16 assists 29 games for Grand Rapids last season has not been able to make the jump anyways Lono like I said probably wasn’t at the top of their list he might not have even been top three for the Bruins but that’s who they end up with uh bit of a high maybe lowrisk medium risk potentially High reward pick uh and that’s not all they did at the sphere in Las Vegas and we’ll discuss their other moves here as the podcast continues all right we are moving into the dog days of summer and I love sports I love them so much I really never want them to stop but as the playoffs are over we’re done with the drafts free agency 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in the first round late in the first round on Friday night the Bruins were dormant until uh the fourth round where they were set to make uh a late pick there when it came to it the Bruins wanted to jump up a little bit so they acquired from the Minnesota Wild Vinnie leeri veteran forward uh who has played in the organization previously and the 110th overall pick sending there original fourth round pick which was 122nd overall and forward Jacob loo to the wild now again leeri is a guy who’s familiar with the organization he played for the Bruins uh a couple years ago uh played one game for Boston uh but last season 49 points in 48 games with the Providence Bruins which is where he will likely played the majority of his games again this season with the fourth round pick that they acquired from Minnesota they selected defenseman Elliot growald uh who is from the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders of the USHL and who has committed to quinac University for this upcoming season 6’2 2011 pound defenseman he was awarded the US HL all rookie second team honors with five goals and 11 assists for 16 points this past season also won a bronze at the 2023 World Junior a u19 challenge skating in six games for Team USA he is a native of bellow Falls Vermont and he was a guy that they wanted enough that they were willing to trade uh Jacob loo and it’s just a bit of a number as game for loo as the Bruins are pretty full of bottom six options for this upcoming season especially after having acquired Mark cellic in the lenus allmark trade um Lao this past season again he’s 24 years old he was a third round pick in 2018 60 games two goals eight assists uh one goal in five playoff games and he is going to be a good energy guy for a Minnesota Wild team that’s pretty cap strapped at the moment as they continue to pay buyouts for Zack periz and Ryan suder suder being bought out again by the Dallas Stars so they are right up against the cap only six million available and lco will plug in as a bottom line or bottom six option for them uh at 787 uh $500 uh dollar for them uh against the cap latier like I mentioned likely will be assigned to Providence for the upcoming season um the Bruins do free up a little bit of cap space here as let’s cap hit is 10 or what yeah just a bit uh AIT less than Loco 775 for leeri and again 7875 for Lao so they clear up a little bit of cap space lettieri will be assigned and I guess they really wanted groa Wald uh to add some more size on the blue line again going back to the first round the Bruins they wanted desperately to get into the first round they pulled off that lenus Mark trade with the Ottawa Senators they brought Unis cor basalo that was kind of the sword they had to fall on to get that first round pick but they brought in Castell uh who can fill one of the bottom six roles that Lao had filled and they have quite a bunch of options down there John beer uh Brad Justin brazzo yesper bulist if he resigns uh they have quite a few options Patrick Brown still on the the the roster as well for one more season lettieri perhaps if he cracks out of Camp he’s an option as well but in an Ideal World Brown Leary down on the the farm and the Bruins are able to add uh elsewhere with you know beer bfist brazzo perhaps forming a line uh Castell being a the guy to come in and out anyways as they were uh snaked out of the Cole Bodwin selection by Utah they decided to move up and select Elliot growald who will be going to quinac this coming season now uh in the fifth round they selected uh a young man named Jonathan Melo a forward he appeared in 50 games with the St Michaels buzzers of the Ontario junior hockey League uh last season 25 goals 32 assists for 57 points uh he won a silver at the 2023 Junior a19 challenge for Team Canada east and he’s committed to play at Clarkson University in 2025 26 um now their final pick was a sixth round selection Loki Johansson he is another big defenseman uh he is 6’3 2011 PBS he plays over in Sweden so this is a PJ axelon influenced pick no doubt the thing you need to know about these late draft picks is that we’re not likely to see many if any of these guys playing for the Bruins uh anytime soon you got to go back to uh what when was Danon Heinen drafted Danon Heinen was drafted in uh 2014 he was a fourth round pick he’s the only guy that the Bruins have drafted that late that’s made any kind of impact at the NHL level Andrew Bor was selected in the fifth round that year he did play 225 games but the last several years uh I mean Oscar Steen he was a sixth round pick in 2016 60 games um but he’s likely going back overseas uh Jeremy Swan of course was a fourth round pick in 2017 uh and he we all know what he is that’s probably one of the better fourth round picks you’ll find around the NHL lately uh and then the past couple years you know only Mason lorai and Johnny beer have played at the NHL level uh at along with Matt ptra in drafts since 2019 and Loco was the 2018 pick that hit and he’s gone as well back in 2017 v n and Jack sta you get the picture it’s highly unlikely that some of these guys will play for the Bruins one day except for luro which is why we devoted a whole um segment to him the Bruins were desperate to get back in the first round and that’s the guy they ended up with there uh so they trade loo to move up in the draft they get lettieri for a chance to crack the NHL roster but probably more for his leadership and his presence down in Providence and they select this Trio players who will see what they become in the future so that’s the latest from the Bruins from the draft and that sets us up for Monday which will be an even bigger day for the Boston Bruins because they have a lot of cap space and no shortage of options and we’ll touch on that here as the podcast continues the free agent frenzy is going to be absolutely intriguing from a Boston Bruins perspective because they have not had this kind of money to spend in quite some time $21.6 million with clear needs down the middle on the blue line a Winger would be nice as well and of course with Jeremy San still to sign and you can pencil him in for somewhere between seven and eight million uh so that would leave them with about uh 15 to spend and a guy that we talked about on the podcast a couple weeks ago as an option is going to hit the open market and that would be uh Steven Stamkos the lightning were well up against the cap they made a couple moves around the draft that freed up some space namely trading uh Tanner Jano and uh Mel sergachev to Utah and freeing up a bunch of cap space however despite that it appears as though Steven stamp Co is going to be hit the Open Market on Monday and that is a guy that I am eager for the Bruins to approach the belief was that or it’s been reported that the lightning they wanted to keep him they offered him term eight years which is not insignificant for a guy who is uh already 34 but only three million dollars per season if I’m the Bruins I’m coming in and going okay we’ll match that but reverse the numbers we’ll give you three years $8 million per you could still get very good value out of stepen Stam Coast over the next few years and then you have the flexibility to regroup uh once that contract Runs Out remember this guy scored 40 goals and recorded 81 points this season in 79 games this is still a high-end player he would easily become Boston’s second best forward behind David poock uh so we’ll see if that comes to fruition if if not uh Stamkos I should add had the most points at all unrestricted free agents this past season by the way uh if that does not work out then we’re likely looking at revisiting uh Elias Lindholm who is coming off not the greatest offensive season of his career he bounced between uh Calgary and Vancouver of course and you know fits the mold of what the Boston Bruins are looking for from centers and he’s the kind of guy they’re definitely targeting he had 44 points between the flames and the Canucks last season got off to a slow start with Vancouver but did have 10 points in 13 playoff games which reboosted his uh value other options Jonathan maresa who won the con Smite he’s a Winger though probably not where they’re looking to spend their money down the middle you have Matt duain uh sha Monahan uh who else Max doy Adam Henrik uh you’re not really going to be hitting any home runs with these guys Alex wiberg uh who else is a center that could be available that’s pretty much the big names that you’re looking at you’re Chandler Stevenson as well from the uh Vegas golden knights these are the kind of guys the Bruins are looking at the Home Run technically on paper guys would be Steven stos Elias Lindholm uh failing that you’re looking at perhaps pivoting to a Winger uh or a guy like Shawn Mahan who could come in a bit cheaper uh doy who had a pretty good season with the Toronto Maple Leafs um and then on defense you’re looking at maybe ashane gosis bear you’re looking at perhaps um Oliver emman Larson who’s reported or rumored to be going to Toronto Eric Guston could be a nice sneaky depth guy he had 31 points 76 games for the Rangers last season um Mike Riley is an unrestricted free agent even though they’re still paying his buy out Brendan Dylan Nikita zadorov these are all players that could be available Alec Martinez uh so it’s gonna be a big day for Don Sweeny this could be a pretty defining moment in terms of setting the Bruins up for Success over the next season two three four five in the future if they commit to seven years of of lindol that’s a pretty big commitment he is already 29 he’s going to be 30 on December 2nd hey the day after my birthday um so that will take him into yeah his late mid to late 30s do you want to be paying him seven eight million my preference would be to give Stam co8 million over the next three seasons you get that offense out of him that’s what they really need they already kind of have lindol types in Coy and zaka uh what I want to see is to make a splash and add a dynamic offensive player in an Anthony jir I’d like to see as well he’s a guy that can put the puck in the net um again not sure if they will be focusing on the wings but that’s a guy that I would like to see them pick up just as an aside Jake debrusk I would still like to see retained but it appears as though he is Alberta bound um but it’s a real crap shoot at the moment moment and nothing will be known until Monday when things can become official that is the absolute latest on the Boston Bruins here as of Saturday evening thank you so much for tuning in thank you for joining me here on locked on Boston Bruins we will be back after signings are made barring a trade or something big that happens on Sunday uh but we’ll recap whatever happens on free agent day which should be a big one for the Boston Bruins and um yeah that’s it thank you so much hope you’re all doing well taking care of yourselves taking care of each other Happy candada Day weekend to my friends north of the border and uh get you all prepared here for free agency um Jeremy Swan needs a contract I would love to see that done before Monday so they know exactly what they’re working with uh but alas nothing yet all right friends thank you so much again please subscribe if you haven’t already locked on Boston Bruins part of the locked on podcast Network your favorite team every single day

It’s a bonus episode of Locked on Boston Bruins as host Ian McLaren recaps what the Boston Bruins achieved at the NHL Entry Draft and previews Monday’s free agent frenzy.

With the 25th overall pick, the Bruins selected Dean Letourneau. Why him? Well, others they likely preferred were already taken, and Letourneau’s ceiling is as high as his vantage point.

Later in the draft, the Bruins traded Jakub Lauko to the Minnesota Wild in order to move up in the 4th round, shed a bit of cap space, and declutter the bottom 6.

All attention turns to Monday, where the Bruins will be looking to land a big fish in Steven Stamkos or Elias Lindholm, among other needs.

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