Bruins Could Steal First Round Pick From the Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers messed up in 2018 when they drafted Jay O'Brien 19th overall. The Boston Bruins could now capitalize on this mistake.
O'Brien Hits the Open Market
Drafting players out of high school is always risky, but for the Philadelphia Flyers in 2018, the risk seemed worth it. Jay O'Brien, as a member of Thayer Academy, put up nearly three points per game. He screamed offensive prowess, which the Flyers have lacked for years.
Unfortunately, O'Brien went on to disappoint in university, and his status as a prospect plummeted. Faced with two options, the Flyers opted not to sign O'Brien to instead receive a compensatory 2024 2nd round pick (51st overall).
While that second round pick is almost certainly more valuable than O'Brien, he is still an interesting prospect with some NHL upside.
The Boston Bruins already pulled off a coup when they signed college free agent John Farinacci, who refused to sign with the Arizona Coyotes. O'Brien, who is a Massachusetts native, and has spent the past four years with Boston University, could very well sign in his hometown.
Stocking Up
The Bruins have a barren prospect pool, and adding a former first round pick for free wouldn't hurt.
Per Boston Hockey Now, the Bruins were highly interested in O'Brien in 2018, and likely would have selected him had he still been on the board at 30th overall.
Could the B's make up for lost time and add O'Brien to the squad? We'll just have to wait and see.
| POLL | ||
AOÛT 21 | 76 ANSWERS Bruins Could Steal First Round Pick From the Philadelphia Flyers Do you think Jay O'Brien will ever make the NHL? | ||
| Yes | 34 | 44.7 % |
| No | 42 | 55.3 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Zachary Werenski | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
| Sean Monahan | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Jesper Bratt | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Frederick Gaudreau | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jack Hughes | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Nikita Kucherov | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Mackenzie Weegar | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Kent Johnson | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Alexander Wennberg | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Mitchell Chaffee | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Anthony Cirelli | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matthew Coronato | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Marcus Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Nick Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Conor Geekie | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brandon Hagel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Stefan Noesen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Corey Perry | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Igor Sharangovich | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Dmitry Voronkov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 19 | 16 | 3 | - | 32 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||