When the history books are written for New England hockey, the 2024 NHL Draft will be viewed as a below-average showing for the region.
Cole Eiserman (Newburyport, Mass.) went 20th overall to the New York Islanders. Teddy Stiga (Sudbury, Mass.) followed in the second round (55th overall) to the Nashville Predators. Elliott Groenewold (Bellows Falls, Vt.) was picked by the Boston Bruins in the fourth round (110th overall).
Then, Ben Merrill (Hingham, Mass.) was picked in the sixth round (166th overall) by the Montreal Canadiens. Joe Connor (Amherst, N.H.) was the final pick from the region, taken in the seventh round (195th overall) by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
On the bright side, there were more picks from New England than the four that were taken last year.
Even with only five picks, there was still a lot to digest from this draft — things with short- and long-term implications.
Is a trend beginning with prep hockey?
In 2022, there were six players drafted right from prep hockey. Last year there were two. This year there was one.
Merrill was the lone player taken in the draft. The 6-foot-4, 194-pound center is a strong skater and has great vision and skill. The Harvard commit features a very high offensive upside.
Still, there were other prep prospects who were worthy of being drafted. I was shocked Cornell commit Gio DiGiulian's name wasn't called on Saturday. The 6-foot-1, 161-pound forward was a force for Kent this season, posting 49 points in 26 games and showing an ability to take over games with his skating and strong offensive prowess.
Caeden Herrington of Holderness, who was hot and cold with some of the NHL scouts I talked to over the winter, also wasn't taken. Some NHL scouts loved the defenseman, while others weren't so sure. Maybe that's what ultimately did it.
Goalies are always hard to judge, but especially the draft. Cushing's Marko Bilic wasn't taken. I thought the Arizona State commit had a legitimate case to be picked in the later rounds. It wasn't so.
The last two years showcase a trend — NHL scouts aren't looking as highly on prep hockey. One thing I heard from various scouts through the winter was they wanted to see these prospects perform at higher levels. The big reason Merrill was drafted was due to his size, ability and what he could be, which is ultimately why many kids get picked — scouts are projecting.
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Prep has also become a younger league. The high-end players are often leaving prior to graduation to pursue junior hockey. Stiga cut his teeth at Belmont Hill before joining the U.S. National Team Development Program. That's a win for prep. In future years, it wouldn't be surprising to see prospects like Casey Mutryn (Norwell, Mass.) or Carter Meyer (Winchester, Mass.) get picked early in their respective drafts. Prep was a big part of their journey.
We'll get into the 2025 NHL Draft later this week, but that's also not looking super promising for prep hockey either.
Groenewold stays local
The Bruins traded up from pick 122 in the fourth round to pick 110 in order to select Groenewold. It was one of the cooler New England stories in the draft as the team clearly liked the lifelong Bruins fan quite a bit.
Groenewold projects as a steady, reliable defenseman in both college and the NHL. He has such a good stick and an innate ability to defend his own zone. To match that, he's a strong skater and at 6-foot-2, 201 pounds, he's not lacking in size, which is something the Bruins value a lot.
He's slated to begin with Quinnipiac this fall. His numbers probably won't jump off the stat sheet, but his impact on the game in his own zone most likely will.
Prediction: Groenewold becomes a stable pro defenseman down the road. This was a great pick by Boston.
Eiserman falls to the Islanders
One of the big questions of the first round surrounded where Eiserman would end up.
I thought he'd be taken somewhere in the 12-15 range. Instead, teams passed on the prolific goal-scorer, allowing him to fall to No. 20 with the New York Islanders.
Eiserman's development over the next 12 months will be fascinating to watch at Boston University. He will surely score lots of goals ... but how will his two-way game improve? When notable two-way NHL forward Jay Pandolfo (Burlington, Mass.) is your head coach, Eiserman will be hearing a lot about his defensive game, and rightfully so. It will serve him well. The Islanders, who aren't exactly the flashiest team in the NHL, will like that, too.
If Eiserman thoroughly improves his play away from the puck and in his own zone, he could end up being one of the biggest steals in the draft.
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Back in 2018, the Islanders used the 11th overall selection to select Oliver Wahlstrom (Portland, Maine). The North Yarmouth Academy product is still playing with the team.
Connor is a great example of what scouts want
Connor was a star in prep hockey. In 2022-23, he tallied 44 points in 28 games and led Avon Old Farms to an Elite 8 title. It was hard to find a player who competed harder on the ice.
But there were concerns about his size. And because he was a senior in prep, scouts wanted to see what he would do against older, better competition. He went undrafted.
Then this past season happened.
Connor took to the USHL like a pig takes to mud. He scored 31 goals and finished with 60 points in 50 games for the Muskegon Lumberjacks, quashing any questions about his size hindering him at higher levels. He played so well that he will begin at Northeastern this fall. Tampa Bay was impressed and pulled the trigger on him in the seventh round.
It wouldn't shock me if DiGiulian followed a similar path next season, as he embarks on playing with the USHL's Lincoln Stars.
Landan Resendes (Marlboro, Mass.) is another interesting case. In his first year of draft eligibility, the Cushing product wasn't selected after posting 30 points in 59 USHL games with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.
If Resendes produces more next season, which is likely to happen, I would circle his name as a late-round candidate in 2025.
The Bruins take a big swing on Dean Letourneau
Letourneau isn't from New England, but St. Andrew's College, his team, played in the region quite a bit this winter. The most notable game where I saw him was when his squad took on Kimball Union at the True Prep Cup in Exeter, N.H. Letourneau finished with two goals and an assist in a 6-5 OT loss to Kimball Union.
Jack Sadowski (Arlington, Mass.) scored the winner in what was the most exciting game I watched this past season.
One of the other big questions in the draft was whether Letourneau would go in the first round. The Bruins answered that when they snagged him with the 25th pick.
When Letourneau played at Warrior Ice Arena back in November, there were countless NHL scouts at the game. That was the case for most of Letourneau's games throughout the season.
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He's a fascinating prospect. At 6-foot-7 and 214 pounds, Letourneau is a center who skates well, has high-end skill and features strong vision. He can dangle around defenders and snipe in tight. He posted 127 points in 56 games this season.
But he's still extremely raw. He will need more muscle. There are questions about his compete, as there were some shifts in his games that I didn't notice him. That can sometimes happen with players who are a lot better than the level they're playing at.
He will be jumping to a much higher level now, as he is set to join Boston College this fall under head coach Greg Brown, associates Mike Ayers and Brendan Buckley, and assistant Brent Darnell. That staff has been successful at churning out NHL talent.
Letourneau could someday be a franchise No. 1 center. He also could be someone who was just bigger than everyone else. That boom-or-bust potential was worth it for the Bruins, who are in dire need of a future stalwart down the middle.
