Recapping the 2021 Draft for the Bruins: Four forwards, two defensemen, and a goalie

At long (long, long, long) last, the 2021 NHL Entry Draft is in the books.

A whole bunch of prospects have new homes, and a whole bunch of teams have freshly stocked farm systems.

(Before we continue, shoutout to Sky, who did an excellent job on draft coverage from profiles through the selections today.)

The Bruins ended up making seven picks between Friday and Saturday, and while we already covered each of them individually, consider this post a handy collection of all things 2021 Draft — plus, you can vote at the end!

How did the Bruins draft in 2021?

The B’s chose to spread the wealth around positionally this year, drafting:

• Four forwards
• Two defensemen
• One goalie

The B’s mixed things up globally too, drafting three Swedes, three Americans, and one Canadian (Chowder FB is going to be upset).

The B’s also selected one player bound for Boston College and one bound for Boston University; we were just a Husky and a Crimson away from a full Beanpot.

The Bruins’ 2021 draft picks

Round 1, Pick 21 — Fabian Lysell, F

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Lysell is easily the highlight of the draft for the B’s, which is fair, considering he was their highest pick.

Where will he play next season? Luleå HF of the Swedish Hockey League.

Round 3, Pick 85 — Brett Harrison, F

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After playing with Oshawa in 2019-2020, Harrison ended up going to play in Finland during the weird pandemic year of 2020-2021.

6’ 2” at just 18, Harrison projects to be a pretty big body at the center position.

Where will he play next season? Oshawa, it appears — though it’s not super clear at this point.

Round 4, Pick 117 — Philip Svedebäck, G

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Hey, you have to re-stock the goalie position at some point, right?

While the B’s appear to be flush at goalie right now, it’s important to have players in the pipeline.

After playing in Sweden, Svedebäck will ply his trade stateside this season.

Where will he play next season? Dubuque Fighting Saints of the USHL.

Round 5, Pick 149 — Oskar Jellvik, F

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The third Swede! Jellvik was a near-point-per-game player in Sweden’s under-20 league last season, playing with the Djurgårdens IF youth team.

Where will he play next season? Possibly Djurgårdens IF, though he mentioned the possibility of playing college hockey in the United States too.

Round 6, Pick 181 — Ryan Mast, D

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The favorite pick of the “Bruins need more size” crowd!

Mast is 6’ 4”, 190 pounds, and he just turned 18 in January. Basically, this is a big boy.

Where will he play next season? Likely back to the Sarnia Sting of the OHL.

Round 7, Pick 213 — Andre Gasseau, F

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Speaking of big boys, Gasseau is 6’ 4”, 203 pounds, and he only turned 18 on July 3. Another case of “basically, this is a big boy.”

Gasseau grew up outside of Los Angeles, which is cool. He’s also a product of the USNTDP.

Where will he play next season? While initial reports had him headed to Boston College, it appears he’ll spend a year with Fargo in the USHL first.

How did he describe himself?

“Two-way power forward, trying to bring that big presence throughout the middle, carrying the puck and analyzing the game with and without the puck in the offensive zone, defensive zone. Just trying to do all of the little things right.”

Round 7, Pick 217 — Ty Gallagher, D

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A defenseman headed to BU to cancel out the forward headed to BC. Perfect!

Like Gasseau, Gallagher came through the USNTDP. Gallagher and Mast are both Michigan natives too.

Where will he play next season? Boston University.

How did he describe himself?

“I think the best way to describe me is just a very versatile player. I can play a two-way game and I can be counted on in any situation. Whether it’s penalty kill, blocking shots or playing on a top line, trying to create offense and win a game, win a hockey game. I think I make a really good first pass and break the puck out of the zone really well and just love to create offense with our playmaking ability as well as locking it down in the defensive zone. I’d say I’m just a versatile two-way defenseman who can play in any moment of the game.”

What did the Bruins think about their draft?

Hear it directly from Ryan Nadeau, Associate Director of Amateur Scouting!

“When we go in any draft, you have...”best player available” type of thinking, especially early. And as the draft moves along, we were able to hit a bunch of spots, for us. We went excitement, high-end offense and skill right away. We got some size in the middle with the second pick. We picked up a goalie with the third pick. Then we went back to maybe a little bit more of some speed and offense with the next pick. And then a big strong D-man after that. And then a big centerman who has come a long way. Played at Shattuck, then went to the National Program, he’s going to go to Fargo next year and then to BC. And to get Ty Gallagher, who is an active and involved defenseman.”

What did you think of the Bruins’ 2021 draft?

Have your say!

Obviously, we won’t really know how the B’s did for a couple of years, but we can still judge.

To me, the B’s added some high-end skill and some size, without really having a true premium pick.

They also didn’t seem to reach as much this year, which is a good thing.