Bruins Secure Seventh Overall Selection in 2025 NHL Draft

BOSTON – Bruins general manager Don Sweeney was looking at the glass half full on Monday night.

While there was disappointment that Boston moved back two spots in the 2025 NHL Draft Lottery, Sweeney expressed excitement with the Black & Gold having the seventh overall selection next month in Los Angeles.

“We're still picking in the upper echelon of the Draft, which we haven't done for a significant time period,” said Sweeney. “So, we feel very comfortable in terms of where the top seven picks are and we'll get a good player and an impact player, regardless of the disappointment of moving back a couple spots. That's just the nature of the lottery.”

The Bruins finished with the league’s fifth-worst record and had an 8.5 percent chance to secure the first overall pick. But with the New York Islanders landing the No. 1 selection and Utah Hockey Club winning the second draw to move up from No. 14 to No. 4, Boston slid back two spots to No. 7, which was as far as they could fall under the rules of the lottery.

Sweeney said that Boston will explore all options with the No. 7 pick, including the possibility of trading up for a higher selection. The Bruins last had the seventh overall pick in 2000 when they selected Swedish defenseman Lars Jonsson.

“If you have a chance to win the lottery, I'm sure you receive phone calls in terms of whether or not you'll ever move that pick,” said Sweeney. “At seven, you still may, difficult to move up from there, but we'll do our due diligence in terms of what teams may want to jockey around and we still feel very comfortable about the scouting that we've done and the player we're going to get it at seven if we decide to stay there.”

Boston is also leaving its options open when it comes to what type of player or position it may target at No. 7.

“I don't think we're going to be anchored in, whether it's positionally…we're just trying to take the best player that has a chance to be the best player in the National Hockey League that he's capable of being,” said Sweeney. “We always value the hockey sense, you always value skating, always value how competitive a player is, and you try to take the best player that you possibly can. We're just in a position now where we're drafting in an area that we haven't been for some time, and we expect to add an impact player.

“I think the stakes are a little higher, and they should be…like I said, you're trying to evaluate players that are impacting your hockey club. You do find players that trickle down and impact later on as well, but I think you have to expect to hit your pick when you're picking where we are.”

Coaching Search ‘Ongoing’

Sweeney was also asked about the search for the club’s 30^th head coach, noting that the process is “ongoing” and that conversations with candidates have begun.

“Have spoken to some coaches,” said Sweeney. “Haven't done any in-person interviews yet, but we've narrowed a list down, and we're going to move forward with some Zoom interviews, and then in person interviews in a very short manner.”

The Bruins general manager said “yes” when asked if any of the candidates are still currently coaching in the playoffs. He also added that interim head coach Joe Sacco and assistant coach Jay Leach also remain under consideration.

“No, it's still a holding pattern, as I referenced earlier,” Sweeney said when asked if there had been any decisions made on the current coaching staff. “Joe would be part of the search. Jay Leach will be part of the search. So again, when I reference that we'll have a new head coach, it could easily be one of them.

“They're strong candidates, and they'll be in the candidate pool, as I referenced before, and along with some other really good, experienced level coaches and different levels that we're going to find the right guy.”

Sweeney said that the feedback from candidates to this point has been positive.

“This is an exciting opportunity for coaches to be interviewing for this position, and that's the indication that they would be very excited about maybe being the head coach of the Boston Bruins,” said Sweeney. “That's the first and foremost thing that's come across, happy to be part of the selection of being interviewed, and how fortunate they are. I think they're starting to gather information on the roster and the players that we have in place.

“And first question people ask in terms of how healthy we're going to be and the return to that full health so that players that they expect impact [from] will be back to do what they do. But the overriding excitement as we are to turn a page and come to the decision that we've got the right guy in place.”

Wait, There’s More

Sweeney on Bruins legend Zdeno Chara’s current role with the organization: “Since players have left, he's not here on a daily basis. Continues to talk to players on his own accord. We don't set any boundaries in terms of [Zdeno] talking to our coaches and our players. We've given him some latitude as an advisory role and a mentor role as he sees fit and establish relationships on his own terms. I think that will continue to evolve going forward with the new head coach, and we put that in place, and the rest of the staff. He'll develop that relationship moving forward and determine how much involvement he's going to have on that level.”