The Boston Bruins, more than a decade ago, put themselves in a perfect position.
During the 2015 NHL Draft, they held picks Nos. 13, 14 and 15. Trading away Dougie Hamilton and Milan Lucic had helped them bring in the additional draft capital.
It was an opportunity for Boston to jumpstart their team in the right direction.
The problem, as it turns out, is that the three players the Bruins picked in those spots didn’t add up to anything close to the three players who went Nos. 16, 17 and 18.
Bruins’ 3 Picks
The Bruins began their run by taking Czech defenseman Jakub Zboril.
He was playing in the QMJHL at the time, and he ended up appearing in parts of four NHL seasons with the Bruins and totaling 76 games at the highest level.
Zboril is currently back playing in the Czech league for the last three seasons.
With the 14th pick, the Bruins took Jake DeBrusk. He’s the most successful of their three choices.
DeBrusk has appeared in 633 NHL games, playing from 2017-14 with the Bruins and the last three years with the Vancouver Canucks.
At the time he was picked, DeBrusk was playing in the WHL, and he needed only a brief AHL stint before making it to the NHL to stay.
And with the 15th pick, the Bruins took Zach Senyshyn. He was in the midst of a strong tenure in the OHL with the Soo Greyhounds.
Senyshyn, though, would only play 14 NHL games with the Bruins and another two with the Senators. He couldn’t develop into an NHL-level center.
These days, Senyshyn is also playing in the Czech league after bouncing around a few different European competitions.
3 Bruins’ Misses
Teams all scout players different, so it’s not to say the next three players on the Bruins’ board were the guys who went with the next three picks.
But the 16th pick was the Islanders taking Mathew Barzal.
The 17th pick was Kyle Connor to the Winnipeg Jets.
And at No. 18, the Ottawa Senators grabbed defenseman Thomas Chabot.
The Bruins sure would’ve loved to end up with any of those guys.
Barzal has played 611 games and counting for the Islanders.
Connor is one of the best goal scorers in the NHL and remains with the Jets.
Chabot is a long-time Senators player with just the one team, up to 574 games through the first five appearances this season.
All three players picked directly after Boston’s trifecta of picks have spent their entire NHL careers with one team, and they’ve been very good while doing it.
With three picks, you’d think the Bruins could’ve pulled off ending up with at least one player like that — but they whiffed on all three.
Bruins Missed 3 Chances at Kyle Connor, Mathew Barzal, Thomas Chabot