Bruins Draft D Mason Lohrei 58th Overall Pick At NHL Draft

The Boston Bruins went off the board in the second round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft Tuesday and with the 58th pick, drafted 19-year-old Green Bay Gamblers (USHL) defenseman Mason Lohrei. The 6-foot-4, 194-pound blueliner, who is committed to play at Ohio State, was ranked 132nd by NHL Central Scouting. Lohrei had eight goals and 29 assists in 48 games for the Gamblers in the 2019-20 season.

Welcome to Boston, @Mason_lohrei20!#NHLBruins | #NHLDraft pic.twitter.com/C98tIF9G0N

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) October 7, 2020

With no first round pick in the NHL Draft, the Boston Bruins were forced to sit back and watch during the first night of the draft on Tuesday. When their pick finally came at 1:30 PM ET on Tuesday, many NHL Draft experts were expecting the Bruins to select 6-foot-6, 213-pound center Jack Finley (Spokane, WHL) but the Tampa Bay Lightning traded the 124th pick (2020) and a 2021 second round pick to the Montreal Canadiens in order to pick Finley with the 57th pick overall. Forwards Jean-Luc Foudy (Windsor, OHL) or Oliver Suni (Oshawa, OHL) were also two players many had pegged at or around the 58th overall pick. 

Instead, the Bruins went with the Baton Rouge, Louisiana native Lohrei, who was passed over completely at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft but will bring size to a Bruins defensive depth chart that sorely needs it. According to draft guru Steve Kournianos, Lohrei has great puck sense and can move rather well for a big player.

Bruins at 58 draft grab overage defender Mason Lohrei. A little high but totally get it. Read the report. This kid has an incredibly high panic threshold. Heavy but nimble; very high hockey IQ. Future OSU Buckeye. pic.twitter.com/oauN51OLiK

— Steve Kournianos (@TheDraftAnalyst) October 7, 2020

Lohrei told the media in a Zoom call that while some might have been surprised he was drafted so high despite his pre-draft rankings, he had a gut feeling the Bruins may take him at 58th overall.

“I had really good conversations with a bunch of different guys. I had probably a 35, 40-minute phone call with Mr. Sweeney at one point this summer,” an ecstatic Lohrei said “A lot of good things. I had a good feeling. I was confident but you never know what is going to happen in the draft. Obviously, a dream come true to get picked to the Boston Bruins, an original six organization. It’s kind of just surreal right now.”

The Bruins will also pick 89th (3rd round), 151st (fifth round), 182nd (sixth round), and 213th (seventh round) in the 2020 NHL Draft. In addition to losing their 2020 first round pick at the NHL Draft via the trade that brought forward Ondrej Kase at the 2020 NHL Trade Deadline, the Bruins don’t have a fourth round pick this year as a result of acquiring forward Marcus Johansson from the New Jersey Devils at the 2018 NHL Trade Deadline. Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney and Bruins Associate Director of Amateur Scouting Ryan Nadeau are scheduled to address the media following the completion of the draft Tuesday.