After making waves with their first-round pick on Friday night, the Boston Bruins kept things close to home for their third-round selection in the NHL entry draft.
With the 85th overall selection, the Bruins tabbed United States National Team Development Program U-18 (USHL) defenseman Matt Grzelcyk. The 5-foot-9, 171-pound, puck-moving blueliner is a Charlestown, Mass., native who grew up a stone's throw away from the TD Garden.
Being drafted by the Bruins isn't Grzelcyk's only link to the Bruins. His father, John, is a longtime member of the "bull gang" at the Garden.
The 18-year-old will bring his hockey game back to Boston next season when he joins Boston University. Grzelcyk was also a member of the gold medal-winning Team USA squad that claimed its fourth straight title at the IIHF World Men's Under-18 Championship in April.
• Here's a snippet of Grzelcyk's reaction to being taken by the hometown team today, courtesy of the Bruins communications staff:
On whether he had any indication from the Bruins that they might draft him: "I met with them, so I mean I kind of had a rough idea, but you know I didn’t really come in with high expectations. So, it’s kind of a shock, but I couldn’t be happier."
On whether 84th was where he hoped and expected to be picked: "Not really, no, to be honest. You know I wasn’t ranked that high, I’m kind of a smaller guy, so it was pretty unexpected, but what can you say, you can’t go wrong."
On going through the draft with so many New England players:
"It’s great to see. I’ve known these kids ever since I was young, so it’s kind of a surreal feeling to be here with them and I’m just happy to share it with them."
On how his time with USA Hockey has helped him develop as a player: "It was probably the best two years of my life, you know I feel like I really needed the development and that’s exactly what I got. Being a part of that gold-medal team was just the best feeling I’ve had in hockey so far and couldn’t be happier that I stayed and had my time there in Ann Arbor."
On whether he’s ready to handle the pressure of playing for his hometown: "Yeah, definitely. I mean obviously there’s going to be a lot of people like my family and stuff, but I’ve always had this dream to play for the Bruins and hopefully that comes true one day."
• Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli touched on Grzelcyk's game earlier this week during his pre-draft conference call with the media. Here's what Chiarelli had to say:
"The Grzelcyk kid’s a very good, mobile defenseman. He’s later on down but he’s got a good head on his shoulders.”
• Here's what Bruins director of amateur scouting Wayne Smith had to say on Grzelcyk's selection today:
"Well he’s the type of kid that plays much bigger than he is. He’s got a Bruin mentality. He plays to win; he plays hard; he’s hard to play against; he plays a virtually mistake-free game. His decision-making and his ability to move the puck is second-to-none in this draft. Obviously, it’s a great story that his father has worked at the Garden for [45] years. We brought him in to Boston in particular because we had keen interest in him, and after meeting with him, we just feel that he could be a part of helping us win another Stanley Cup."