NHL 2025 DRAFT - Bruins pick 7th

[LJReborn]

I have seen at least one pundit say Eklund's hockey sense was a weakness. It seems ok to me from the clips I saw.

I guess there is always one.

 

[DaaaaB's]

Bellows was tabbed "The Next One" (Gretzky) before the draft. No one expected Kluzak to be picked.

As one would expect, Kluzak's career was over early due to a bad knee.

And Bellows turned out to be way over-hyped. A very good player, but hardly the Next One.

Too bad Scott Stevens who went 5th overall wasn't hyped up more. Bruins having him in '88 and '90 finals would've been huge plus when St. Louis offer sheeted him we would've got 3 or 4 first round picks back like Washington did.

 

[DaBroons]

Too bad Scott Stevens who went 5th overall wasn't hyped up more. Bruins having him in '88 and '90 finals would've been huge plus when St. Louis offer sheeted him we would've got 3 or 4 first round picks back like Washington did.

He was not well developed when he came into the league. I remember his rookie year. I was surprised he was picked as high as he was, but he certainly developed into an elite defensive dman.

 

[BruinDust]

no sure who it was but that comparsion to me is terrible. Holtz had an elite shot, questionable skating / hockey sense and effort. Eklund has those last three in spades plus he led his men's team in goals. Holtz was a great goal scorer in the SHL and I would love the Bruins to grab him this summer, but Eklund to me will flourish as an all around guy who could play 2nd line wing for fifteen years.

I saw an Eklund comparison to Seth Jarvis the other day. Seems reasonable.

 

[neelynugs]

no sure who it was but that comparsion to me is terrible. Holtz had an elite shot, questionable skating / hockey sense and effort. Eklund has those last three in spades plus he led his men's team in goals. Holtz was a great goal scorer in the SHL and I would love the Bruins to grab him this summer, but Eklund to me will flourish as an all around guy who could play 2nd line wing for fifteen years.

agree. eklund reminds me of travis konecny, seth jarvis type guys.

 

[yazmybaby]

agree. eklund reminds me of travis konecny, seth jarvis type guys.

Nice comp, I will gladly take a 25-30 goal scoring winger at 7.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

He was not well developed when he came into the league. I remember his rookie year. I was surprised he was picked as high as he was, but he certainly developed into an elite defensive dman.

I don't know about that.

Stevens came into the league as an 18-year-old.

He was 3rd in Calder voting, just ahead of Bellows.

 

[Hookslide]

Avoid McQueen, not sure of Martin either, O'Brien is growing on me.

Not sure what his ranking would be for McQueen, but an 18 year old with a bad back is not a road I would travel.

 

[KnightofBoston]

Not sure what his ranking would be for McQueen, but an 18 year old with a bad back is not a road I would travel.

again tho, no surgery, way less of a concern

teens can grow fast and have back problems but that can be alleviated once the body normalizes and you've done strength training and PT

if he has a condition that's specific tho, that's a different concern all together

 

[Saxon Eric]

Bellows was tabbed "The Next One" (Gretzky) before the draft. No one expected Kluzak to be picked.

As one would expect, Kluzak's career was over early due to a bad knee.

And Bellows turned out to be way over-hyped. A very good player, but hardly the Next One.

I believe the "Next One" was Brian Lawton

 

[Boston Bandit]

Victor Eklund and Anton Frondell are highly touted Swedish hockey prospects, and both have been praised for their playmaking abilities and goal-scoring potential. While Frondell is known for his dynamic offensive style and high-end scoring tools, Eklund is considered a well-rounded player with a high compete level and strong fundamental skills. Many scouts see Eklund as the more polished and complete player, while Frondell's potential is still being unlocked.

Here's a more detailed comparison:

Victor Eklund:

• Strengths:
  Strong skater, particularly on his edges and along the boards; high compete level; good stick work; puck protection; offensive awareness; playmaking abilities; good hands; excellent vision.
• Weaknesses:
  Not a "purely fast" skater, but his skating deficiencies are compensated for by his high compete level and other skills.
  

Anton Frondell:

• Strengths:
  Excellent goal-scoring ability; can dangle opponents; high-end shot and physical ability; .
• Weaknesses:
  Transition play remains a big weakness; hasn't fully unlocked his potential yet.
  

Comparison:

• Draft Positioning:
  Eklund is generally considered a slightly higher-ranked prospect, according to some draft boards, but both are highly regarded and likely to be drafted in the first round.
• Line Dynamics:
  The two players have often been seen as linemates, and their play together has showcased their complementary skill sets.
• Overall:
  Eklund is a more complete player with stronger fundamentals, while Frondell's raw talent and scoring ability are undeniable.
  

In conclusion, both Eklund and Frondell are exciting prospects with the potential to become NHL stars, but Eklund is arguably a more polished and versatile player at this stage.

This video provides a comparison between Victor Eklund and Anton Frondell:

 

[The don godfather]

Mrtka scares me he could be the next chara but I've heard he doesn't have his snarl. I miss chara what a bruin he was one of the best .

 

[Hookslide]

again tho, no surgery, way less of a concern

teens can grow fast and have back problems but that can be alleviated once the body normalizes and you've done strength training and PT

if he has a condition that's specific tho, that's a different concern all together

I certainly am not an 18 year old but back injuries at any age can be concerning, I know, and I would hope at 18 that there is no rush to surgery. I do hope no matter who takes him that strength training and PT is the answer.

 

[Montecristo]

Lot of assumptions here - three major ones

How much time have you put into watching the videos and reading scouting services

what assumptions have been made?

 

[KnightofBoston]

I certainly am not an 18 year old but back injuries at any age can be concerning, I know, and I would hope at 18 that there is no rush to surgery. I do hope no matter who takes him that strength training and PT is the answer.

A lot of my student athletes will have injury or nagging injuries like this that they outgrow, it’s a response to their body growing fast and them doing a lot of intense work


But I’m curious to know what his specific issue is especially if the bruins end up taking him

 

[DaaaaB's]

what assumptions have been made?

Idk about assumptions but saying McQueen will be the only homerun pick left at 7 is certainly a take. I wouldn't take him in the top 20 and people here vastly overrate his offensive ability. He might have great hands but he doesn't put up the numbers and seems to have about as much drive as a snail does.

 

[Numbah4]

The draft was on WBZ and IIRC, I broke things when Harry called his name. After all the issues with Orr's and Park's knees, I wanted no part of Kluzak. Nothing personal, just didn't want a d-man with bad knees, and for once I was right. Well, there was that other time when I said that Ryan Leaf would be a better NFL QB than Peyton Manning. Sure got that one right. ;-)

I had been reading about Brian Bellows all year in The Hockey News. Still SMH we took a D with a bad knee. Needed to replace Brad McCrimmon. Ugh

 

[bobber]

Too bad Scott Stevens who went 5th overall wasn't hyped up more. Bruins having him in '88 and '90 finals would've been huge plus when St. Louis offer sheeted him we would've got 3 or 4 first round picks back like Washington did.

When Stevens was a rookie in Kitchener back in the day they use to haze the new guys. No one would touch hum out of fear. Tough as nails.

 

[yazmybaby]

I believe the "Next One" was Brian Lawton

What a bust Lawton was!
He had great stats from High School Hockey ( just like Dean) struggled to be an effective NHL player.
I would call Lawton a decent third liner.
I think the only example of a player drafted from HS to the NHL that panned out was Bobby Carpenter.

 

[yazmybaby]

Victor Eklund and Anton Frondell are highly touted Swedish hockey prospects, and both have been praised for their playmaking abilities and goal-scoring potential. While Frondell is known for his dynamic offensive style and high-end scoring tools, Eklund is considered a well-rounded player with a high compete level and strong fundamental skills. Many scouts see Eklund as the more polished and complete player, while Frondell's potential is still being unlocked.

Here's a more detailed comparison:

Victor Eklund:

• Strengths:
  Strong skater, particularly on his edges and along the boards; high compete level; good stick work; puck protection; offensive awareness; playmaking abilities; good hands; excellent vision.
• Weaknesses:
  Not a "purely fast" skater, but his skating deficiencies are compensated for by his high compete level and other skills.

Anton Frondell:

• Strengths:
  Excellent goal-scoring ability; can dangle opponents; high-end shot and physical ability; .
• Weaknesses:
  Transition play remains a big weakness; hasn't fully unlocked his potential yet.

Comparison:

• Draft Positioning:
  Eklund is generally considered a slightly higher-ranked prospect, according to some draft boards, but both are highly regarded and likely to be drafted in the first round.
• Line Dynamics:
  The two players have often been seen as linemates, and their play together has showcased their complementary skill sets.
• Overall:
  Eklund is a more complete player with stronger fundamentals, while Frondell's raw talent and scoring ability are undeniable.

In conclusion, both Eklund and Frondell are exciting prospects with the potential to become NHL stars, but Eklund is arguably a more polished and versatile player at this stage.

This video provides a comparison between Victor Eklund and Anton Frondell:

IMO, Frondell's success was largely attributed to playing with Eklund, not the other way around.

 

[Bodit9]

Anyone have advanced stats for all these top 10 guys?

 

[Bruin4]

IMO, Frondell's success was largely attributed to playing with Eklund, not the other way around.

Have you actually seen them play enough to make this evaluation of them or is just from watching you-tube clips, because i haven't seen this at all.

 

[yazmybaby]

Have you actually seen them play enough to make this evaluation of them or is just from watching you-tube clips, because i haven't seen this at all.

I have not watched them in person, have watched games that I streamed.
What is your opinion?

 

[DaaaaB's]

When Stevens was a rookie in Kitchener back in the day they use to haze the new guys. No one would touch hum out of fear. Tough as nails.

The mother of a good buddy of mine actually used to babysit Stevens when she was a teenager. Apparently he was a handful as a kid too.

 

[Bruin4]

I have not watched them in person, have watched games that I streamed.
What is your opinion?

Ive only watched a few games of both players,so im not really one to ask.lol

I've read a ton on both players and from what Ive taken away from that is that Frondell has an incredible upside and resume. Just off of that I'd go with him.

Here's one article on Frondell that really makes me hope he falls to 7.

https://www.audacy.com/weei/sports/bruins/bruins-draft-big-board-plenty-of-center-options-in-top-7

NHLe is a formula that uses a prospect’s age, production and level of competition to project the chances he will become an NHL regular (defined as 200+ games played) and/or an NHL star (defined as 0.7 points per game for a forward or 0.45 points per game for a defenseman). According to Hockey Prospecting, Frondell runs away with the best NHLe in this draft class, with a 99% chance of becoming an NHL regular and an 89% chance of becoming a star. The only players with better projections from the last two drafts were Connor Bedard, Matvei Michkov, Macklin Celebrini and Ivan Demidov.

Frondell had 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists) in 29 games in the Allsvenskan, Sweden’s second-tier pro league, this season. That was good for the best points-per-game pace by an under-18 player in the league’s 20-year history. Second and third on that list are William Nylander and David Pastrnak. And Frondell actually got off to a bit of a slow start this season before turning it on in the second half.