Picking in the first round of the NHL Draft for the first time in three years, the Bruins went big – literally. With the 25th overall pick, acquired earlier this week in the Linus Ullmark trade, they selected 6-foot-7 center Dean Letourneau, who is heading to Boston College this fall.
That size is the first thing that stands out about Letourneau, who grew up in Braeside, Ontario, outside Ottawa. It’s just rare to see centers that tall, and at 18 years old he already has some muscle as well at 214 pounds.
Letourneau was projected as a late first/early second-round pick because of more than just his size, though. He’s a very good athlete and has some tantalizing skill, with skating and hands that are rare among bigger players, not to mention a powerful shot.
He uses his size effectively, too, winning battles, protecting pucks, getting to the front of the net, and throwing some hard hits, especially on the forecheck. Some scouting reports say he could stand to use that physicality even more.
“When you're that big and you have the hands that he does, and he has really good hands, he's got a good shot, he's got a goal-scorer’s mentality, that goes a long way,” FloHockey draft and prospects analyst Chris Peters said on The Skate Podcast this week (listen below at the 22:00 mark).
Letourneau will require some patience. He’s a raw prospect, and he’s coming from St. Andrew’s College, a Canadian prep school. He had an absurd 127 points (61g, 66a) in 56 games there this past season, but that is not a level where too many first-round picks are playing in their draft year.
Just the move to NCAA hockey will be a big jump for him, never mind the eventual jump to pro hockey somewhere down the road. Letourneau was originally planning to play a junior season in the United States Hockey League before going to BC in 2025, but will now be joining the Eagles this coming season instead. It will be interesting to monitor how his offense translates as he faces tougher competition.
"What stood is obviously the frame of the player, and his skillset, to tell you the truth," Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said of Letourneau. "Not so much just the positional side of things, but he moves really well at that size, he's got very, very good hands, he's got an elite shot. ... We think [BC] is going to be a great development opportunity for Dean to continue to grow and fill in the gaps in his game."
One criticism of Letourneau’s game that surfaces in scouting reports is his play away from the puck and compete level, with his effort sometimes waning. Obviously, he was able to get away with that and still put up monster numbers against weaker competition, but things won’t come as easy as he moves up.
“The big thing that scouts want to see from him, they want to see him be more consistently competitive, more aggressive, using his frame even more effectively,” Peters said.
“But I think he's a mature kid. I think there's a lot to like about him in just kind of his approach. I think for BC, I would say be patient if you're an Eagles fan, too, because I think there's gonna be an adjustment period for him. But at that frame, it buys you a lot of leeway and it buys you a lot of kind of wiggle room to struggle. Even on your worst night, you're impacting the game just because you're so huge out there.”
The most common comparison for Letourneau is 6-foot-6 Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson. In fact, Letourneau himself makes that comparison.
“I try to model my game after Tage Thompson,” he told NHL.com . “Just a big, tall centerman with skill. I love watching his puck protection and the way he uses his body to shield defenders. That's something I'm trying to incorporate into my game, too.”
Thompson was drafted 26th overall in 2016, but already had a college season at UConn under his belt at the time. He turned pro after his sophomore season, but his true breakthrough didn’t come until five years after getting drafted when he exploded for a 38-goal, 68-point NHL season.
Letourneau may require similar patience if he’s going to get to that level. That there’s a chance he does is what made him worth a first-round pick.
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