Boston Bruins 2011 draft picks update 08/09/10

With five picks in the first 90 selections at present, the Bruins will again have an opportunity to re-stock their system. However, given the makeup of the NHL squad going into the season, you can almost be assured that Peter Chiarelli will deal a couple of these extra selections for immediate help by the time spring weather begins to thaw the winter snows and ice.

The Bruins have a lot of prospects right now, so stockpiling picks isn't the greatest strategy. Instead, the team needs to focus on areas of need (defense, goaltending) and can probably afford to use highly appealing assets like top-three round picks to help bolster the Boston roster.

That won't be welcome news to all of the draftniks out there, and to be fair-- I lambasted the B's GM for his trade deadline deal that sent the Tampa Bay second-rounder to Florida as part of the Dennis Seidenberg-Matt Bartkowski package, but Chiarelli did a nice job of re-signing Seidenberg to a cap-friendly four-year extension, so I have to give credit where due. So long as the team trades these valuable picks for players who aren't simply going to be short-term rentals, you can't take much of an issue with the moves if they help the club win hockey games. Seidenberg was very good for the Bruins before suffering the freak tendon cut against Toronto which cost him the rest of the regular season and playoffs.

Again, draft fans won't like the thought of trading any of the 1st- or 2nd-round picks in '11, but between Seidenberg and Nathan Horton, we've seen a willingness on Boston's part to surrender high draft selections for legitimate NHL players, and I don't expect much to change by June. Five picks in the top-90 would certainly be fun in Minnesota, but I doubt the B's will keep all five and might have about three to work with when all is said and done.

Of course, if they are short on picks, it will be interesting to see who is skating around wearing the spoked-B come early April (and given how close Horton was acquired to the draft this past June, no choice will be safe until the pick is in the books).

Boston Bruins 2011 Draft Picks

1st Round- 2
Boston
Toronto (Completes Phil Kessel trade)

2nd Round- 2
Boston
Minnesota (Completes Chuck Kobasew trade)

3rd Round- 1
Phoenix (Completes Derek Morris trade)
Boston (To Florida; Completes Nathan Horton trade)

4th Round- 1
Boston

5th Round- 1
Boston

6th Round- 1
Boston

7th Round- 0
Traded to Chicago for their 7th rounder in 2010 (Zach Trotman)