Top Prospects: The NHL System Rankings

#32: Boston Bruins 

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Number of Ranked Prospects: 30

Number of Forwards in the Top 50: 0

Number of Defensemen in the Top 50: 0

Average Rank of Top 10 Prospects in Pool: 177th

Top Forward Prospect in The System: Dean Letourneau (55th)

Top Defenseman Prospect in The System: Elliott Groenewold (150th)

System Score: 1

A running theme for the lowest-ranking systems will be the sacrifice of the prospect pool for Stanley Cup success. The Bruins prospect system can be held up as the defining example of the deprivations that prospect pools suffer through in order to keep the NHL team stocked with top-caliber players vying for championships. Since the 2018 draft (note: players taken before the 2018 draft are likely beyond the 24-year-old cutoff for Hockey Prophets prospect consideration), the Bruins have had just three first-round picks, and the highest of the three was 21st overall in 2021 (Fabian Lysell). The Bruins have seen a few of their recent picks finding their way to the NHL (John Beecher, 30th overall in 2019; Mason Lohrei, 58th overall in 2020; Matthew Poitras, 54th overall in 2022) but they have generally seen little help from their past several drafts. 

The Top of The Pool:

Dean Letourneau heads up the entire pool for the Bruins as both the highest ranked forward and the highest ranked Boston prospect overall. Letourneau was drafted 25th overall last summer as a massive 6'6, 214-pound center who scored 127 points in 56 games for St Andrew's College last year. The Bruins leaned heavily into that the old-time hockey paradigm of having size down the middle by drafting Letourneau as high as they did, but despite the gaudy scoring, the fact that Letourneau played against AAA competition last year means that his points tally has to be deeply discounted. He will head off to Boston College this year, so viewers will get a good chance to see how he plays against quality opposition. 

Matthew Poitras (2nd highest ranked forward for Boston, 90th overall among forwards) nearly graduated from the list by the end of last season after playing 33 games in the NHL. Poitras has skill and an NHL playing style and fit in well among the Bruin's top six. Unfortunately, shoulder surgery ended his season in late February. Poitras does not look like a perenial 60-point player, but he does look like he will play a lot of games for Boston in the future. 

Fabian Lysell--a speedy and talented right winger--is the most offensively skilled forward among the Bruins' prospects, but so far he has been finding the road to the NHL a bit more clogged with traffic than a center like Poitras. Lysell was close to a point-per-game player last year in the AHL for Providence, and he should be fighting for a spot with the big club this fall. 

The highest-ranked blueliner in the system is Elliott Groenewold (150th defensemen). Boston selected Groenewold in the fourth round of the 2024 NHL draft in order to bolster their blue line prospect corps. He was the highest-selected defender for the Bruins since they took Mason Lohrei in the second round in 2020. 

Frederick Brunet, a hard-nosed, physically solid blueliner, and Brett Harrison round out the top part of the system. Brunet is a prospect to watch in the near future. His ceiling may be limited, he could become a reliable stay-at-home defender who can patrol the defensive zone and keep opponents honest.

Return to the Team System Rankings

Below is the full list of Boston's ranked prospects.

Top Forwards 

Top Defensemen