INSIDE HOCKEY

Amid rumors of Peter Chiarelli’s desire to move up in the draft or maybe trade Phil Kessel (to be discussed later), Bruins fans were expecting at least some movement on draft day. That said, as the second day of the draft came to a conclusion, the Bruins made no moves. However, despite not grabbing hometown favorite Chris Kreider, or any of the “big name” players, Chiarelli and Co. did a fine job filling organizational needs with their first two picks.

In my draft preview, I mentioned that the Bruins may have interest in Rimouski forward Jordan Caron. He stands 6’2,” all ready weighs 200 pounds and has a shot. Also,he plays with grit, battles for pucks, and crashes the net. Essentially, he could be seen as a potential Milan Lucic v 2..0, but actually should fall between Lucic and skilled forward Blake Wheeler as a power forward with hands. This is a great pick for the Bruins, who are building up size in their prospect pool to complement what is all ready an elite group of smaller, skilled centers.

With their second pick (3rd round), the Bruins filled an organizational need for solid, puck-moving defenseman depth. They filled this need with Ryan Button, a 6’0” smooth skating defenseman from the Prince Albert Raiders of the Western Hockey League. Button’s stock was on the rise heading into the draft and was definitely a steal for the Bruins in the third-round. Button should quickly surpass Jeff Penner and Andrew Bodnarchuk as the Bruins' best puck-moving defense prospect.

Finally, although trade rumors are tough to believe, with all the talk about Phil Kessel, it would not be appropriate for any Bruins writer to not discuss the potential of Phil Kessel being moved. The good news: he hasn't been dealt yet. First, there is no way to replace his goal scoring ability while staying under the cap. No other 36-goal scorers could be had for under 5 million. Second, he is still an elite prospect who has improved every year. Finally, Kessel wants to be a Bruin! It would be a bad omen indeed to trade away young players with elite skill who want to be Bruins.

That said, Kessel won’t be cheap. However, with the right moves, the Bruins can afford him. This starts with trading either Marco Sturm or Chuck Kobasew. Sturm, unfortunately, has a no movement clause. Kobasew, however, would be easy to move and easy to replace.He is a north-south player who crashes the net and score 20 goals. Between Vladimir Sobotka, Brad Marchand, and Byron Bitz, the Bruins can easily fill this void. Therefore, going forward, instead of trading Kessel for cap relief, Chiarelli should instead move Kobasew or Sturm, while keeping the Bruins' first line right winger in the spoked B.