Since he was promoted to general manager on May 20, 2015, Don Sweeney has done a terrific job for the Boston Bruins.
Hiring Bruce Cassidy. Trading for Taylor Hall. There's a lot to like.
But his first draft as GM was a disaster. When the Bruins open the second round of the playoffs against the New York Islanders on Saturday, check out No. 13 for the Islanders. Mathew Barzal is an absolute skating marvel and creative forward.
The Bruins had three - that's right, three - chances to draft him on June 26, 2015, but passed each time. The Bruins already had the No. 14 selection, then Sweeney picked up No. 13 in a trade for Milan Lucic and No. 15 in a deal for Dougie Hamilton. How often does a pro team have three picks in a row?
This is who the Bruins took and their regular season stats:
No. 13: Defenseman Jakub Zboril. 44 NHL games. Stats: 0-9-9. Just another guy.
No. 14: Forward Jake Debrusk. 244 NHL games. Stats: 67-67-134. Streaky player whose Bruins future is in doubt.
No. 15: Forward Zachary Senyshyn. 14 NHL games. Stats: 1-2-3. Colossal bust.
Combined: 302 NHL games. Stats: 68-78-146.
This is the next three picks and their regular season stats:
No. 16: Forward Mathew Barzal, NYI. 289 NHL games. Stats: 76-176-252. Bonafide star.
No. 17: Forward Kyle Connor, Winnipeg. 305 NHL games. Stats: 131-120-251. Legitimate sniper.
No. 18: Defenseman Thomas Chabot, Ottawa. 254 NHL games. Stats: 35-115-150. Solid player with terrible franchise.
Combined: 848 NHL games. Stats: 242-411-653.
Imagine if the Bruins would have passed on Zboril, Debrusk and Senyshyn and taken Barzal, Connor and Chabot instead?
Mathew Barzal could have been a member of the Boston Bruins
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