Bruins could be in line for a top-10 draft pick, but they’ve proven that is not guaranteed success

In the end, Lysell may or may not be a legit varsity contributor. It’s debatable at this hour. He definitely needs to build a compete factor (see: board work; puck battle; ability to gain inside ice) into his game. But he deserves time, to grow, to incubate. Not everyone figures it out at the same rate. Some, of course, never grasp it.

We were spoiled here by the 18-year-old Patrice Bergeron. Such savants are few, particularly those selected at No. 45 (2003).

Meanwhile, amid the flatline of this season, the Bruins could end up picking in the top 10 of the draft (June 27-28 in LA). In the three drafts since taking Lysell, they’ve had but one first-round selection (Dean Letourneau, ‘24) and their last pick in the rarified top-10 air came 15 years ago when they followed Edmonton (No. 1, Taylor Hall) with Tyler Seguin at No. 2. In 2011, they plucked Dougie Hamilton at No. 9.

Seguin and Hamilton were subsequently traded, well before they entered their prime years, but both proved to be worthy, shrewd picks at those spots. Trading them was a mistake, although Hamilton insisted on getting out of here. The Bruins only should hope to land such solid prospects if they shop in the luxury top-10 aisle again this June.

Keep in mind, too, that the pickings up top aren’t guaranteed successes. Hardly. The Bruins proved that in 2000 and 2007 with their respective high picks of Lars Jonsson (No. 7) and Zach Hamill (No. 8). Both proved to be busts, combining to play in only 28 career NHL games. Nothing takes a chunk out of a franchise’s draft-and-development curve quite like seeing primo picks turn out to be nothing but tomato cans.

Late March, by the way, is way too early to start sorting out the 3-4 likely candidates to be available around the No. 10 spot in the draft.

First off, the 16 teams that don’t qualify for the postseason will enter the annual dance of the lottery Ping-Pong balls. Winning the lottery can mean leapfrogging 10 spots in the order. The Bruins, parked in the No. 9 spot (based on points percentage) as the weekend approached, could have a shot at picking No. 1 for the first time since leading off the 1997 draft with Joe Thornton.

Be it No. 1, 5, or 10, history shows a draft pick that high has the potential to factor heavily in the direction and fortunes of a franchise. Such is the impact of top-10 picks. June 27 at the Peacock Theater is shaping up as a very important night on Causeway Street.

Beyond the aforementioned four top-10 choices the Bruins have made since ‘97, they also grabbed Phil Kessel at No. 5 in ‘06. Dealt to Toronto after scoring 66 goals across three seasons, in a deal that eventually netted the Bruins Hamilton and Seguin, Kessel collected 413 goals and 992 points.

In the club’s 60-plus years of eyeballing draft talent, their only picks to finish with more goals than Kessel to date were Thornton (430) and Bergeron (427). Ray Bourque, the most offensively prolific defenseman in NHL history, finished with 410 goals, all but 15 of those scored in a Bruins uniform.

So we’re in for some fun and some advanced draft prospect modeling in May and June if the Bruins indeed finish in the top-10 mix. And if they go No. 1, no telling the DNA analysis that we’ll have streaming out of the Draft Combine in June.

Will the next franchise teenager enter and sign in please?

Oh, and if/when he does, will the Bruins conclude it best not to send him out of town before he can prove to make a difference?

Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald, who grew up in Billerica and finished his long playing career as a Bruin, made an impassioned plea for players to add cut-resistant neck protection when he addressed fellow NHL GMs at their meeting in Florida this past week.

On Dec. 28, Fitzgerald and wife Kerry feared they might have lost son Casey, captain and defenseman for AHL Hartford, when his throat was slashed by a skate on an innocuous play while lugging the puck out of the corner. They were watching the game on a cellphone, and were cast immediately into a state of unimaginable anxiety as they saw their bloodied Casey hustled off the ice, then loaded onto an ambulance.

Casey turned out to be OK, though it took 25 stitches to close the wound. Per reports, the blade narrowly missed his jugular. The close brush with fate again underscored the many ever-present dangers of hockey, particularly the damage inflicted when a razor-sharp steel blade cuts through equipment or unprotected flesh.

“You never think it’s going to happen to you as a parent,” said Fitzgerald, struggling to keep his emotions in check as he spoke to TSN’s Gino Reda in Florida. “You know, with four boys [playing hockey], we’ve been very lucky, but it gets to the point where your wife questions why they still play because of how dangerous the sport is.”

Casey, 28, graduated from Boston College in 2019 after playing four seasons and is now in his fifth pro season. He was back on the Wolf Pack blue line only three days after the injury, and some three months later, his father remains hopeful the league and its Players’ Association will agree to mandate some form of cut-resistant neck protection for the rank and file.

Though that might sound like a common-sense remedy, it’s worth remembering it took the league and its players decades to agree to a helmet mandate, and years more for mandatory half-shield eye protection. The universal use of protective atheltic cups and supporters dates to the age of horse-drawn ice resurfacing. Priorities.

“Is it going to prevent you from being the player you are? I don’t think so,” said the senior Fitzgerald. “The message to the [GMs] was, if they only thought if their parents were watching — and what my wife and I witnessed — how would they feel? Would they put more protection on? And that really was the bottom line.”

Los Angeles is all but guaranteed a playoff spot in the West, toggling with the Oilers for the 2-3 spots in the Pacific Division. As the Kings prepped late this past to take on the Bruins Sunday, they were a solid 6-3-1 since the 4 Nations break, their scoring led for a second straight season by Swedish right winger Adrian Kempe.

The Kings have not won a playoff round since their Cup title in 2014, five times getting bounced in Round 1 and five times logging a DNQ. The last three springs, they exited in Round 1, each time trading farewell handshakes with the Oilers. Such redundancy is Exhibit A in the case for amending the NHL’s mind-numbing playoff format.

Change? Commissioner Gary Bettman doesn’t want to hear any of that.

“You guys know I am pretty dug in on this,” said the commish, apprising the media during last week’s GM meetings.

Indeed, we know.

The NHL in 2013-14 discarded its 1-8 seeding in each conference, leaving the winners of each division to face wild-card creampuffs in Round 1. It also left the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds within each division to battle it out in Round 1, typically leading each playoff season to four high-quality teams playing no more than seven games, and often less, than those 16 teams that went home just days earlier with their DNQ.

“That’s not a problem,” said Bettman, musing over the quality teams that have to duke it out in the opening round. “That’s a great thing.”

Tell that to LA fans, who, based on Friday’s standings, again would see the hometown team face the Oilers in Round 1 for a fourth straight season. In those two cities, the second season has become “Groundhog Day.”

As of Friday morning, the Nos. 2 and 3 seeds in three of the four divisions were separated by a mere 2 or 3 points. The only lopsided matchup existed in the Metro, where No. 2 Carolina (88) stood to be paired with No. 3 New Jersey (80).

“The playoffs have started already,” noted the enthusiastic Bettman. “We’re in our play-in tournament.”

Roughly three weeks after the Bruins turn out the lights on Causeway with their final game of the regular season (April 15 vs. the Devils), DNQ in hand, a handful of their stick carriers, including Charlie McAvoy, could be back on skates, carrying the colors for their respective national teams at the World Championship in Stockholm (May 9-25).

It’s the same IIHF tournament David Pastrnak joined in progress last spring — following the Black and Gold’s loss in Round 2 to Florida — and helped Czechia capture the gold. Pasta, proud son of Havirov, played in four games and pitched in a goal for the hometown team. Fellow Bruin Pavel Zacha (hometown: Brno) also added 1-0—1 in his four games with the Czechs.

McAvoy, who hasn’t suited up since Feb. 15, in Team USA’s win over Canada during 4 Nations play, certainly will be on the Yanks’ invite list, along with 4 Nations/Bruins teammate Jeremy Swayman.

McAvoy exited 4 Nations play within 48 hours after the win over Canada, sidelined by a shoulder injury and adjacent infection. He has yet to participate in a team practice and likely won’t return to action this season for the Black and Gold, unless they are in contention for a playoff spot with, say, 2-5 games left on the schedule. If he’s fully healed, and willing, McAvoy would be one of Uncle Sam’s highest-level defensemen. It would be his third time at the Worlds.

Team USA also could consider Mason Lohrei and Mark Kastelic for roster spots. Both have had solid seasons with the Bruins. They typically wouldn’t be in the US roster mix for international play, but the concurrent NHL playoffs often forces countries to cast a wider net to fill slots, particularly for the 12-plus forward positions. To that point, the Czechs might consider Jakub Lauko, who often played for their national junior squads before launching his pro career.

Both of Boston’s Lindholms, Hampus and Elias, would be on Sweden’s “want” list. Hampus hasn’t played since injuring his knee Nov. 16 at St. Louis. He grew up in Helsingborg, some 340 miles southwest of Stockholm. Elias is from Boden, approximately 550 miles north of the nation’s capital. He wore the Three Crowns at 4 Nations.

Nashville goalie Juuse Saros (“No goals”) played for Finland in 4 Nations and three times has been on its World roster. He’d be among the Finn’s first invites for Stockholm, potentially joined by the Bruins’ Joonas Korpisalo.

Morgan Geekie, chasing 25 goals in his second year with the Bruins, would be a worthy Team Canada candidate. With Brad Marchand now doing business as a Florida Panther, the Bruins don’t have an obvious pick anymore for our brothers in blades to the north.

The Blues’ 4-3 win over the Canucks Thursday night left them a sizzling 10-2-2 since the 4 Nations siesta, but more importantly, lifted Jim Montgomery’s charges into wild-card position for the first time since he was hired there after getting canned as the Bruins bench boss in November.

Monty improved to 26-16-6 (.604) since taking over the slumping 9-12-1 squad from Drew Bannister.

On the same night, the Bruins dropped their fourth straight, a 5-1 loss in Vegas, slipping them below hockey .500 (30-31-9) for the first time since Joe Sacco inherited Montgomery’s 8-9-3 start

Sacco was handed a mishmash of a roster upon being promoted to the interim position. It became more challenging with the injuries to top defensemen Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy, then all but impossible with the gargantuan roster dump in the days and hours leading to the March 7 trade deadline.

The read here: signs increasingly point to Sacco, 56, being replaced in the offseason, and most likely being retained on the staff, his lengthy loyal service rewarded, particularly if ownership decides to keep Don Sweeney (GM) and Cam Neely (president) in their current roles.

If Charlie Jacobs opts to rearrange the front office chairs and fluff the curtains by adding a key player personnel overseer to reshape the roster and hire a new bench boss, then much could change on the coaching staff and particularly the scouting/drafting departments.

The chairs will shuffle in and out before the regular-season music stops in three-plus weeks, but as of Friday, five clubs not in last year’s playoffs would be suiting up for the second season: Ottawa, New Jersey and Montreal in the East, and Minnesota and St. Louis in the West. The Senators (seven DNQs) and Canadiens (three DNQs) have been the longest left out in the cold. Worth noting here, the Bruins have missed only seven times (1997, 2000, ‘01, ‘06, ‘07, ‘15, and ‘16) in the half-century-plus under Jacobs rule. They have only one Cup win to show for all that, but for the most part, the ride has been entertaining. If the Bruins were to win the draft lottery, it would be their first No. 1 pick since Joe Thornton in ‘97 and only their fourth in franchise history. In 1982, after adding assets (including winger Brad Palmer) from the North Stars by agreeing not to select Brian Bellows, the Bruins led off with Gord Kluzak. In 1966, the draft then comprised only of 24 players, they selected Barry Gibbs at No. 1. For such a small pool of players, some yet to turn 18 years old, the Bruins delivered big, including the acquisition of Rick Smith (7) and Ace Bailey (13). Gibbs played only 24 games here before being shipped off to the North Stars. Smith (’70) and Bailey (’72) both won a Cup as Bruins. The lone Hall-of-Famer in that ‘66 draft: Toronto Marlies backliner Brad Park, selected No. 2 by the Rangers. In ‘75, Park was only 27 when he landed here with Jean Ratelle in the legendary swap for Phil Esposito. Decades letter, the Rangers raised No. 2 to the MSG rafter, but in honor of Brian Leetch. It should also be up there for Park, who was the game’s second best defenseman during his illustrious tenure on Broadway. By the way, the No. 1 defenseman, Bobby Orr, on Thursday turned 77.

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