Bruises’ advancement choice in the second round of the 2025 NHL Draft – Hockey Writer – Boston Brown Bears

Draft season is in full swing, with the NHL combine taking place in Buffalo. The Boston Bruins have two picks in the second round of the 2025 NHL Draft after acquiring them in trade deadline deals this season with the Edmonton Oilers and Colorado Avalanche, giving them picks 51 and 61. Unless a projected first-round goalie or defenseman slips that far down in the draft, expect general manager (GM) Don Sweeney and the front office to target forwards with both of these picks.

Related: Brown Bears should use the seventh ranking in the center in 2025

The Bruins’ demand for scoring has been fully demonstrated throughout the 2024-25 season, and while any second-round pick is highly unlikely to be a roster in the 2025-26 season, it is a good idea for the team to continue to focus on filling the pipeline with forwards at high-function levels.

Although Sweeney’s first-round dilemma is well known throughout the hockey world, he has had many successful draft picks in the second round as General Motors (GM) throughout his tenure, starting with Brandon Carlo in the 2015 NHL Draft. Other notable second round options include Matthew Poitras, Mason Lohrei, Ryan Lindgren and Jeremy Lauzon.

With the Bruins’ history of success in the second round, it’s certainly interesting to see their role in both draft picks. There are certainly some interesting names that can get into somewhere in the middle of the second round of the draft until late.

William Horcoff

William Horcoff is a retired Canadian NHL player Shawn Horcoff, a retired Canadian NHL player who played for 15 seasons for the Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars and Anaheim Ducks, who was born on January 23, 2007. He represented the United States at an international level and won the league-level game in 2024-25, competing with Michigan Wolverines. He is known for his physical performance, already standing 6-foot-4, weighing 181 pounds at the age of 18. He is a left shot center, and what the tan continues to need is strong and performs well on defensive sound.

This season, he played in 18 games at the University of Michigan, scoring four goals and 10 points. He also appeared internationally on the U18 World Junior Team USA, summing up his steady performance with two goals and four points in seven games. He is a product of the U.S. National Development Program, similar to Charlie McAvoy and Johnny Beecher.

NHL Central Scouts rank 24th among North American skaters. In the draft rankings, he ranks as high as 30 and as low as 56, and is definitely the one Bruins wants to follow. With him there are a lot of original skills, although not enough polished and developed to get into the first round. But as it develops right, he can become a solid NHL player, and Michigan is undoubtedly a great place to refine his skills in the prospect.

Matthew Gard

Canada Matthew Gard was born on April 7, 2007 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Last season, 2023-24, he joined the Western Hockey League (WHL) to play for the Red Deer Rebels. He showed positive growth in his junior high school career, from 7 goals and 18 points in 2023-24, 19 goals and 36 points in 2024-25.

He showed commitment in the center and on the wings, another aspect of where the Bruins continue to need a position on the forward line. NHL Central Scouts rank 37th among North American skaters. He has decent breeds in various mock drafts, but seems to be expected to enter the draft in the late 1960s range.

One of the bigger areas where his game could pause the Bruins’ front desk is concerns about the depth of his goal score. Given the recurring problems and consistent scoring of Boston over the past few seasons, hesitation will be to cause some problems at his scoring cap.

Eddie Genborg

Eddie Genborg is a Swedish prospect who was born on April 20, 2007 in Trollhättan, where he played for Linköping during his junior year. He is another huge prospect, 6-foot-2, weighs 192 pounds, and knows how to play physics games. He has already gained some professional hockey experiences in the Swedish top league in the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He has no huge offensive influence but is used as a role player and has been praised by the coach.

He is a left-swing left wing that will meet the Bears’ need to bring in more wingers. Like Gad, he had some concerns about his offensive ceiling. But he has a strong attitude toward heights, hoping that as he gains more strength and experience at the professional level, there is reason to be excited about his potential.

Genborg is the No. 6 European skater in NHL Central Scouting, and most seem to expect him to get into somewhere in the 40s, which will leave him off the board in the 51-year-old Bruins draft. If he slips down the roster, he might have a real choice in Boston throughout the round.

Mason West

Mason West of Edina, Minnesota was born on August 3, 2007. He is a two-sport athlete and a quarterback on his high school football team. He has played primarily in high school hockey, but has also appeared in 10 games in the American Hockey League (USHL) to compete in Fargo Force. He is on the NCAA route but is still deciding on Michigan State University and Boston College.

West’s figure certainly caught the attention, currently 6-foot-6. He is also a natural shooter, which will surely arouse the interest of the brown bears. He is expected to go somewhere in the 1950s, so he should still be on the board by the 51-year-old Boston draft pick.

A talent pool for moving forward

While the main focus and focus is the Bruins’ seventh draft pick, excitement and expectation should still be drawn around the second round of selection. Having two draft picks in the second round could be very beneficial for Boston.

Related: 5 Best Draft Choices by Bruins GM Don Sweeney

Unlike the first round, it is often difficult to predict who will go when and where the rear round of the NHL draft will go, and there may be many different factors at play. However, for the Bruins, their main focus should be to get the best forward-looking prospects with a second-round draft pick and continue to build their forward prospects.