Top picks cut below
But Sweeney likes draft depth
CHICAGO — With the first pick in the NHL draft tonight at the United Center, the New Jersey Devils likely will select either Nolan Patrick or Nico Hischier. They are two excellent prospects, but neither is expected to match the immediate and immense success of Connor McDavid or Auston Matthews.
Both the 6-foot, Swissborn Hischier and the 6-3 Patrick are regarded as skillful, responsible all-around players. But because neither looms as a can’t-miss superstar, Devils general manager Ray Shero could shake up the proceedings tonight with an unexpected choice.
It’s been tough to find two similar mock drafts. Still, while Bruins GM Don Sweeney agreed with a characterization that the talent pool does not have A-plus players, he said it does have plenty of A-minus and B-plus youngsters.
“I think the draft has a lot of quality to it,” Sweeney said. “It’s probably spread out a little bit in terms of where the opinions are for each team as opposed to years past. People talk about, ‘Is there a generational player?’ Well, you never know. Is there a guy who steps in like (McDavid, Jack Eichel and Matthews) did the last couple of drafts? Maybe not. But I certainly don’t want to be disparaging about the top players in this draft.”
Miller long gone
Sweeney said the Vegas Golden Knights had their eyes on three players from the Bruins’ unprotected list. The Knights selected defenseman Colin Miller, though there is speculation they might flip the mobile puck-mover to Toronto in a trade.
“They targeted three players on our team that we thought they would target,” Sweeney said. “We thought highly of Colin. He was part of a big trade for us. We wish him well going forward. We thank him for his time in the organization. We lost a good player.”
The 24-year-old Miller came to Boston almost two years ago from Los Angeles with goalie Martin Jones and a first-round pick ( Jakub Zboril) for Milan Lucic. He was up and down with the B’s, posting nine goals and 20 assists in 103 games, but he used his quickness and passing skills to good effect.
Meet his Makar
It could be an interesting night for a handful of young players on area college teams. Topping the list will be ultra-skilled 5-11 defenseman Cale Makar, a Calgary native who will play at UMass next season.
It will be quite a coup for the long-suffering Minutemen program if Makar is selected as high as some have forecast. They also don’t want him to go so high that his NHL team wants him to forgo college and turn pro right away.
Some experts believe Makar could turn out to be the best NHL player in this class or even jump past
Patrick and Hischier as the first overall pick. Incoming Boston University center Shane Bowers, called by some a clone of Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, also could be a firstrounder. Terriers sophomore goalie Jake Oettinger might hear his name tonight, perhaps as the B’s heir apparent for Tuukka Rask, who turns 31 next season.
“It’s an area we’re going to continue to look at, whether it’s immediate for a backup or moving forward,” Sweeney said. “All three of our young goaltenders ( Zane McIntyre, Malcolm Subban and Daniel Vladar) had some success at certain parts of this year, but they continue to need to move forward.”
Schedule out
The full NHL schedule was released yesterday. The Bruins open with home games against Nashville (Oct. 5) and Colorado (Oct. 9) then start a Western Conference trip that includes their first-ever meeting with the Vegas Golden Knights (Oct. 15).
The B’s will not face Montreal until January, when they play the rival Canadiens three times in eight days (Jan. 13 in Montreal, 17 at the Garden, 20 in Montreal). . . .
Sweeney is searching for a new Providence (AHL) coach now that Kevin Dean is with the big club. “We’ve got a pretty exhaustive search going on,” he said, though many expect the job to go to current Providence assistant Jay Leach.