This was originally posted by Dominic Tiano on April 23rd. Now that the NHL Entry Draft is upon us this week, here is his post refreshed and brought up for air. The only edits were to the actual draft positions, which reflect Boston’s 2nd-round exit at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning, moving five spots earlier than projected when the B’s finished with the NHL’s best regular season record.- KL

The Boston Bruins don’t have a first-round pick because of the deadline deal that brought Ondrej Kase to Boston. They also don’t have a fourth-round pick – traded to New Jersey that saw the Bruins acquire Marcus Johansson near the 2019 trade deadline.

That leaves the Bruins with 5 picks at the draft. My area is of course, the Ontario Hockey League, so that’s where we will focus for now:

Photo credit: Terry Wilson/OHL Images

ROUND 2, 58 OVERALL – ZAYDE WISDOM – KINGSTON FRONTENACS – RIGHT WING

Forgetting the fact that the Bruins have been looking for a second line right wing for some time now, Wisdom fits the bill as both a right winger and best player available.

Wisdom is a good skater with good speed and is markedly improved from a year ago. He is able to get on the forecheck quickly and create havoc. He darts into lanes quickly and without hesitation. He’s a small guy at 5’9” but built like a tank. Quite simply he is the little engine that can with a motor and work ethic that never hits pause.

Wisdom is not afraid to go to the dirty areas, in fact, he has a superb net front presence. You’ll find he parks himself in front of the blue paint and yes, he is hard to move. But he’ll also score the majority if his goals from the top of or in the paint. But he also has an excellent shot and release that can beat a goaltender from the high slot or coming down his wing. Frankly, with his ability to find open ice combined with his shot, we are a little bit surprised he doesn’t score more of those goals.

Wisdom has also improved on his puck possession and has learned the importance of maintaining possession in today’s game. He is strong on his feet and hard to separate from the puck. His body is always in a good position to protect the puck. We would like to see his playmaking skills improve. To put it in hockey terms, would like to see his hands catch up to his feet and his head.

ROUND 3, 89 OVERALL – RORY KERINS – SAULT STE MARIE GREYHOUNDS – CENTER

Kerins plays the game the right way and is actually an accomplished 200-foot player. He has no fear of getting into the higher danger zone area in the slot area. He can score the dirty goals or beat you with his shot. He’ll battle along the walls, and has surprising strength at 5’10”. He has the ability to be an effective forechecker. If there is an area that I feel he could improve it’s adding an extra gear. That would help him in getting on the forecheck quicker. Despite his willingness to go into battle, he does it the right way, and the Greyhounds recognized that by awarding him the Dr. Bill Kelly Award as the Most Gentlemanly Player.

Kerins also has very good hockey IQ. He has shown he can be a good playmaker. He can slow down and wait for a play to become available and make a good pass, with a very good ability to lead players with a pass by putting it into areas they can skate into. However, judging how his playmaking skills are is difficult. The Greyhounds are a young team that need to gain some experience. And they didn’t muster up a whole lot of offense this season, just 253 goals and that ranks 14^th in the OHL.

Defensively, Kerins understands positioning, whether it’s getting his body or stick into lanes, or understanding where he needs to be and is always prepared for the breakout. The coaches have the trust in him to take key defensive zone draws and use him on the penalty kill.

ROUND 5, 151 OVERALL – VILLE OTTAVAINEN – KITCHENER RANGERS – DEFENCE

Ottavainen got off to a blazing start, causing most of his offensive damage in the first 15 games scoring 4 goals and 6 assists in that time, but managed just 5 assists in the remaining 38 games (and two of them came in one game). So, any questions surrounding his adapting to the North American ice should have been laid to rest in those first 15 games, right? So, what happened?

Well, for one Ottavainen saw his ice time drop as the season progressed, especially after the Rangers acquired veteran Holden Wale in a trade with the Soo Greyhounds. As a player though, you have to make the most of the opportunities presented to you. It’s no fault of his, Wale was just a very experienced OHL’er

If you are a reader of some of the independent draft publications available to you, there are a couple questions regarding Ottavainen. One of them is his first step speed. Well, he has such a long reach, he keeps the opposition close enough that he effectively uses that reach to his advantage. Defensively, there isn’t much need for him there, but it could help the transition game. But he is such a mobile and agile skater that I don’t see the lack of blazing speed as an issue.

Another issue is his questionable decision making. I don’t really buy into that. He is one of the youngest defenders in the draft class and he has shown the ability to make very good passes and his playmaking skills are very good and he moves well enough to jump up into the play. Did we mention he has a booming shot? As he gains experience and confidence, this won’t be an issue, and maybe playing pro in Finland is a blessing in disguise. (Signed to play with Oulun Karpat of the Finnish Elite League next season).

ROUND 6, 182 OVERALL – JAMES HARDIE – MISSISSAUGA STEELHEADS – LEFT WING

No draft eligible player likes to shoot the puck more then Hardie. He led the draft class comfortably in shots on goal and finished fifth in goals per game with .58. He has an NHL caliber shot and release and not every shot is an attempt to beat the goalie. He creates a lot of second-chance opportunities just by putting the puck in the right place so that the goaltender can’t eat it up.

Hardie’s skating is fine technically, but he doesn’t generate a lot of speed both in fist steps and top flight. But he is capable of finding openings and sneaking into them, however, he doesn’t always drive to the high danger zone in front of the net. But he is dangerous with space as evidenced by his powerplay abilities, finishing third among draft eligible players.

Hardie is a goal scorer that needs to round out the rest of his game. He’ll require patience and a good development program that will help him in achieving the necessary tools to play at the NHL level.

ROUND 7, 213 OVERALL – LOUKA HENAULT – WINDSOR SPITFIRES – DEFENCE

Henault is a mobile two-way defender who has his head on a swivel when in possession of the puck, almost always seemingly surveying the ice and looking for the best options available. He’s a good skater that has good mobility both north-south and east-west. He walks the offensive blue line very well and creates lanes by doing so. And he can jump up the wall and make pinches when he needs to.

Henault is known for his shot. While he hasn’t shown that he can overpower goaltenders with it, he usually finds the target and he doesn’t try to score, but to put it in areas where he can create rebounds and second chance opportunities. The fact that the bulk of his assists were primary assists speaks to that and his passing abilities.

Defensively, Henault was steady on the backend for the Spitfires who still have a young and somewhat green blueline. He understands positioning, uses his stick well to defend, and is willing to battle in all the hard areas. And he is effective at moving the puck out of his zone.

Henault is one of those players that doesn’t excel at any one thing, but you get an honest effort and steady performances at both ends of the ice.

Henault was passed over in 2019 and is re-entering the draft.