Bruins go big, select 6-foot-7, BC-bound center Dean Letourneau with No. 25 pick in NHL Draft - The Boston Globe (2024)

Letourneau is considered a bit of a longshot, first and foremost because of his unorthodox pedigree. Unlike the vast majority of draft picks, in particular first-rounders, he played high school hockey — at St. Andrew’s, a prep school some 30 miles north of Toronto — rather than routing to college (and the draft) via an elite junior program.

“It was kind of because of development,” said Letourneau, who grew up outside Ottawa. “I got to play 20-plus minutes a night — power play and PK — and I started every game and I finished every game. A lot of people say they don’t like the league I played in because it was a little lower competition.”

His St. Andrew’s team played U-20 clubs in Prague and in Germany and in Canada. They also played top prep schools, including Shattuck-St. Mary’s (Minn.), Mount St. Charles (R.I.), and Northwood (N.Y.).

“Our competition wasn’t as low as everyone says it is,” he added. “For me, it was the ice time. It allowed me to develop in situations that I might not have in another league or with another team. Now I’ll be used to playing in those scenarios.”

He piled up the points at St. Andrew’s, collecting 61 goals and 66 assists in 56 games. He’ll have no shot of replicating those numbers in Division 1 NCAA, acknowledged Bruins general manager Don Sweeney, but he believes Letourneau’s size will help him force his way into competitive scenarios that will help his development.

Letourneau’s height will put him at the top of the NCAA charts. Rarely, in fact, do such “talls” carve out steady work in the NHL, though there have been some great exceptions — including 6-foot-9 Zdeno Chara, the former Bruins captain.

Tage Thompson, 6-6 and ex-UConn, has turned into a top talent with the Sabres. Joe Thornton and Mario Lemieux, two of the highest-scoring centers in the game’s history, were 6-4. It’s not common to be that big and play up front, but it can lead to uncommonly good results.

“What stood out, obviously, was the frame of the player. And his skill set, to tell you the truth,” noted Sweeney, who was prepared to swap the No. 25 pick for a pair of lower ones, but was dissuaded by Letourneau being on the board. “He moves really well at that size. He’s got very, very good hands. He has an elite shot.”

It will be a “big jump” for him to go BC next season, added Sweeney.

“But the opportunity is right in front of him,” said the GM. “With [Will] Smith leaving [for San Jose], we think that’s going to be a great opportunity for Dean to continue to grow and fill in the gaps.”

Letourneau is believed to be the biggest center chosen by the Bruins in the first round since 6-foot-5 Joe Colborne, chosen 16th in 2008. Colborne was swapped to Toronto in 2011 for Tomas Kaberle, who just months later had his name etched on the Cup with what stands as the Black & Gold franchise’s most recent championship.

Before Friday, the Bruins last made a Round 1 pick in 2021. They selected speedy Swedish winger Fabian Lysell, hoping he could develop into a legitimate NHL scoring threat. After a season with WHL Vancouver and two with AHL Providence, the 21-year-old has yet to earn his way to Boston.

Lysell had a shot at being called to the varsity late last season until he was sidelined with a shoulder injury.

“We were really excited where Fabian’s year and trajectory were trending. Until . . . it was a violent collision,” said Sweeney. “He really dinged his shoulder up, had a concussion . . . and good on him, he made it back and actually played in the [AHL] playoffs, but didn’t feel 100 percent comfortable.”

Had Lysell kept producing and remained healthy, added Sweeney, “there was definitely an opportunity up top” to join the varsity roster.

Joe Thornton, chosen No. 1 by the Bruins in the ‘97 draft, was a surprise guest inside Sphere, summoned to the podium by Sharks GM Mike Grier to call the No. 1 pick for San Jose — 27 years after Jumbo Joe was the heralded phenom.

His long gray beard unable fully to mask his broad, beaming smile, Thornton welcomed Macklin Celebrini to the show. Minutes later, a smIling Celebrini said he had no clue that Thornton, who scored most of his 1,539 regular-season points with the Sharks, would be calling his name.

As last weekend approached, the Bruins were on the verge of going a franchise-record three straight seasons without a Round 1 selection. That changed dramatically when Sweeney wheeled goalie Linus Ullmark to Ottawa for goalie Joonas Korpisalo, bottom-six forward Mark Kastelic, and the No. 25 pick.

The Bruins would have owned No. 25 if not for Sweeney wheeling it to Detroit at the 2023 deadline for Tyler Bertuzzi. The Wings later dealt it to Ottawa in their acquisition of Alex DeBrincat.

Bill Zito, the GM who orchestrated the Panthers’ Cup-winning roster this season, was assistant GM in Columbus for many of the years that Korpisalo was part of the Blue Jackets netminding corps.

“Good, good goalie, and a really good guy,” said Zito, here less than a week after the Cats clinched the Cup with a Game 7 win over Edmonton. “The guys will like him.”

Korpisalo’s play has been uneven over the years. Sweeney said the organization is eager to get him under the tutelage of goalie coach Bob Essensa, who helped shape the games and careers of Tuukka Rask, Jeremy Swayman, and Ullmark, who told Ottawa media late in the week that Essensa should be a first-ballot entrant into the Hall of Fame.

“He’ll have his bad games, sure . . . most goalies do,” said Zito, reflecting on Korpisalo’s days in Columbus. “Just important with him not to dwell on it, don’t beat him up, and get him back out there.”

Kastelic initially will be pegged to center the fourth line, likely with Johnny Beecher on a wing. Kastelic is a right shot with a solid reputation for winning faceoffs. Beecher, a left shot, also performed well at the dot this season. The two should toggle between drops, said Sweeney, depending on zones and sides of the ice.

He projects Kastelic, 6-foot-4 and 226 pounds, also to vie for penalty-killing duty.

“We’re happy to add another right shot,” said Sweeney. “He’s well above 50 percent with his faceoffs, an area where we got a little wonky in the later part of the playoffs. And he brings an element of toughness that we value and he’s really excited to be a Boston Bruin.”

The son of ex-Whaler Ed Kastelic was chosen 125th in the 2019 draft by the Senators. He’s the only Round 5 pick in that draft to play more than one NHL game.

Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont@globe.com.