2011 Boston Bruins draft pick update; 1 Nov.

October has given way to a new month, and the 2010-11 NHL season is in full swing.

Things are looking up for Boston's draft picks as of today, with Toronto coming back to earth. Also of note is the mediocrity of the Minnesota Wild (although they did beat the powerhouse Washington Capitals last month), who owe the Bruins their second-rounder as part of the trade that sent Chuck Kobasew to the Land of 10,000 Lakes. The B's also got Harvard sophomore forward Alexander Fallstrom in that deal, so that's looking like a nice transaction for Peter Chiarelli.

Toronto's problems of late are exactly what many analysts thought was going to be their achilles heel coming into the new season: a lack of offense. Although Brian Burke went out and got Colby Armstrong and Kris Versteeg in the offseason, Armstrong is injured right now and Versteeg has been largely uninspiring. It's a different ball of wax when you're on a deep team like Chicago where you can do damage on the second/third lines as a skill player who isn't a target of opposition checking. But, when you find yourself as one of Toronto's go-to guys on offense, life changes. Thus far, Versteeg has not responded the way the Leafs need him to.

The Leafs were shutout in back-to-back games against Boston and the New York Rangers, and after jumping out to a 4-0-1 start, are now out of the playoff picture at 5-4-1 and with 23 goals, have the second-fewest total in the Eastern Conference. Burke's in a tough spot-- there won't be many teams lining up to take some of the underachievers who can't get the job done off his hands so that he can upgrade the offense, but he can't afford to give away too much more in the way of futures such as prospects and draft picks. He's sure to do something if the losing continues, but he's dealing from a position of weakness, which always makes life tough for the GM.

Here are the picks for the week if the season ended today. I don't take the lottery into account in these projections, but it does provide a ballpark for where Boston might be picking.

1st Round

12th overall- Toronto (11 points; 5-4-1)- Completes Phil Kessel trade.
18th overall- Boston (12 points; 6-2-0)


2nd Round

39th overall- Minnesota (10 points; 4-4-2)- Completes Chuck Kobasew trade.
48th overall- Boston

3rd Round

67th overall- Phoenix (9 points; 3-4-3) - Completes Derek Morris trade.

Boston pick traded to Florida; Completes Nathan Horton deal

4th Round

108th overall- Boston

5th Round

138th overall- Boston

6th Round

168th overall- Boston

7th Round

Pick traded to Chicago (Zach Trotman)