Welcome to the final series of draft grades on the Boston Bruins 2017 draft class. Today, we’ll be taking a look at the two defensemen that the Bruins in the seventh round.
The Bruins need help at the blue line, and they hope they found it.
7th Round, 195th Overall: Victor Berglund/Defenseman
Grade: B+
Berglund is a 17-year-old defenseman from Ornskoldsvik Sweden
Berglund spent some time in the Allsvenskan league in 2017, but other than that he doesn’t have a ton of experience. He also played at the U-17 Four Nation Tournament.
What lead Boston to drafting Berglund is the raw talent he posses. The young Swede is a defenseman, but he does a great job of pushing the puck into the offensive zone with his great skating and has even managed to score a decent amount of goals. He considers himself to be an offensive defenseman.
Verdict: The lack of experience is a concern, but if developed right, Berglund could be both a lock down defenseman and a lethal offensive weapon.
7th Round, 204th Overall: Daniel Bukac/Defenseman
Grade: B-
Daniel Bukac is a six-foot-four defenseman from the Czech Republic.
He spent the 2016-2017 season in the Western Hockey League where he accumulated two goals and fifteen assists. He also played in the U-18 World Championships.
His size and physicality give him the ideal assets to be an NHL defenseman. The decently sized body of international experience that he brings to the table to go with his size make him an enticing project.
The only concern with the young Czech is that he hasn’t always been able to consistently move the puck into the offensive zone. He also doesn’t score for often, but given he is a big bodied defenseman, this isn’t a shock.
Verdict: Daniel Bukac is exactly what you would expect out of any late seventh round pick, a project. He is going to take significant time to develope, but if it pans out right, then the Bruins have a lot to be excited about with his size and skating ability.
