The Boston Bruins reloaded their roster by selecting seven players and executing two trades during the 2026 NHL Draft held on Friday and Saturday.
Boston prioritized long-term depth by drafting multiple international prospects and addressing goaltending needs.
Boston started its draft weekend by trading its first-round pick on Friday to the Utah Hockey Club in exchange for forward J.
J. Peterka.
On Saturday, the Bruins selected 17-year-old Russian goaltender Yuri Ivanov from Moscow Spartak in the second round with the 56th overall pick.
“It’s a long time line and we felt we needed to get back out in front of having depth in that position, so we attacked it today,” said Don Sweeney, Bruins general manager.
“It presented and our guys did a lot of work to feel like they were good in that spot.”
The Bruins also traded away former 2021 first-round pick Fabian Lysell to the Colorado Avalanche.
In return, Boston acquired 23-year-old restricted free agent center Ivan Ivan, who recorded 26 points in the AHL last season.
“I spoke to Fabian today and we want to wish him well. He’s been a very productive player in the American Hockey League level.
He hasn’t fully grasped at the NHL level what it requires to play each and every night. He took ownership of that today.
We took ownership of, could we have done more and better in terms of supporting him? Yeah, probably,” said Sweeney.
“We’re excited about Ivan… because he’s played games. He’s got experience, he’s got versatility to his game.
Here’s a player who’s worked his way from being an undrafted player to a tryout to an AHL deal to playing games on a really good team.
So we think there’s some versatility there, a change of scenery for him will be welcome. He’ll come and compete for a job.”
In the third round, Boston chose Swedish right wing Nils Bartholdsson with the 88th overall selection.
Bartholdsson recorded 32 goals and 19 assists for the Rogle BK junior team before entering the draft.
“A really competitive kid, plays a gritty type of game, good at carrying pucks through the neutral zone, likes to get pucks on net,” said Ryan Nadeau, Bruins director of amateur scouting.
“I saw him over in Sweden and got to see him on their national team. A really big part of their offense.
Not shy about shooting, not shy about competing on pucks. Just a player type that we value and we’re happy to take that pick where we did.”
The Bruins used their first of three fourth-round picks on Russian right wing Matvei Kotkov at 104th overall.
Boston then traded the 111th pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins for the 170th pick and a 2027 fourth-round selection, before taking Swedish left wing Oscar Olsson at 119th overall.
In the fifth round, Boston drafted its first North American player, selecting 6-foot-5 defenseman Jacob Vandeven 157th overall.
With the acquired 170th pick in the sixth round, the Bruins selected Slovakian goaltender Roberto Henriquez, who went 21-9-4 with a 2.22 GAA for the Green Bay Gamblers.
“We didn’t want to go a draft without picking a BC guy,” said Nadeau. Henriquez is committed to play for Boston College this upcoming season.
Boston concluded its draft by selecting 19-year-old American right-shot defenseman Cullen McCrate with their final pick in the seventh round.
