NHL 2016 Draft: HV71's Jacob Moverare could be the hidden answer to B's transition problems.

When you think of "quiet efficiency", then you're likely to think of the Nordic nations, at least in hockey terms. The Swedes and Finns (and indeed Danes and Norwegians) who have made it into the NHL have often been incredibly talented players, but they've done it in a quiet, unassuming way. Think of the likes of Loui Eriksson, Mats Sundin, Nick Lidstrom...all players who are superb at their positions, but often so good that "experts" seem to overlook them (remember Eriksson being called a "third liner" by Boston media, for example?)

That trait of almost certainly being overlooked in favor of flashier,  more widely touted (and often more visible to NHL scouts purely by dint of being located in North America) skaters could play in favor of the Bruins as they look for value lower in the first round.

The San Jose Sharks' run to the Stanley Cup final has had two effects in Boston...one, it's made a lot of people secretly root for Joe Thornton to win his first Cup and two, it's forced the Bruins' draft pick gained from SJ in the Martin Jones trade progressively further and further down the draft board. Now, from potentially picking 5th and 12th around when the trade was made, the Bruins could face picking in the mid teens and 29th or 30th (depending on whether Joe gets his Cup or not.

This has meant that when it comes to hunting for impact players and draft targets, Don Sweeney and Cam Neely have had to progressively revise their focus from the "supposedly guaranteed stud" area in the top five or ten picks to the "peak value pick/hidden gem" section of the round. Which has probably meant that the defensive likes of Jacob Chychyrun, Olli Juolevi and even Charlie McAvoy may have to be sacrificed, especially if the B's want premium forward help.

Enter Jacob Moverare.

The 6'3, 205lb Swede would seem to be the answer to Boston's prayers. He's an exciting, under-rated prospect who has flown under the draft radar despite consistently strong and impressive performances both in Sweden (where he's spent the majority of the time in the Swedish equivalent of the CHL/AHL, the J20 Superelit) and at the World Juniors. He's also played at one of the highest levels in European competition, given time in the Champions' Hockey League and four games in the Swedish Elite League.

He's a big, rangy skater who can fly across the ice whichever direction he's going in, and also carries excellent hockey sense, knowing when to step in and when to hang back. He's positionally solid in his own end, calm and responsible and has the kind of hands usually seen on much more offensive players...in fact this can lead him to pull toe-drags on opposition players in his own zone to pull away from traffic.

Here's a highlight reel showcasing the best moments of his season in 15-16:

As you can see in that video, he's a player who can walk the blue-line with confidence but is equally comfortable making the safe play...very comfortable indeed for a 17-year-old. In that respect he's very similar to Jake Bean, only Moverare is probably slightly more skewed towards the two-way role than the pure offensive D Bean appears to be.

What stands out again, though, is his confidence...this, don't forget, is someone who can't legally drink in America for another four years but is considered calm and mature enough to anchor his country's blueline at the highest level of international play, and more importantly is given the freedom to play the way he wishes.

Moverare is not the finished article, by any means, but at 17 he's already played against some of the best players in Europe at club level, and will only continue his development doing so. He's a player big enough to take the rough and tumble who will likely top out at around 6'3 and 215/220, but can move like a player much smaller and faster.

He's equally comfortable at both ends of the ice, and more importantly, he's versatile, and can perform the roles Boston desperately need to continue developing - that of a transition defenseman.

He's also very likely to be available in the region of the B's second first-round pick, giving them a fallback option should the likes of Charlie McAvoy and Jake Bean disappear before they get a chance to snag them and also allowing them to take an impact forward like Julien Gauthier with that higher pick with confidence, should they wish to.

In short, he's an ideal fit for the Bruins draft plans right now.