The Boston Bruins are selecting at No. 24 overall in the 2012 NHL Draft, which begins this Friday. A late first round pick can be difficult to project. The well-dissected marquee names are gone, leaving a murkier, yet talented pool of athletes to sift through. The SB Nation blog Stanley Cup of Chowder gave its best shot, however, predicting Saskatoon Blades defenseman Dale Thrower to be selected with the Bruins' first pick.

Thrower models his own game after his favorite player, Kevin Bieksa of the Vancouver Canucks, and Bruins fans would do well to look past the fact that he has poor taste in hockey clubs. There's a good article on his career so far posted on canada.com today which states that scouting reports have him ranked anywhere from 20th to 47th. He put up 18-36=54 totals for the Blades this year; due to injuries on that roster, he often played close to 30 minutes per game on the team's #1 defense pairing with Colorado draft pick Duncan Siemens.

The Bruins are in need of defense after giving up 2.4 goals per game last season. From the sounds of things, Thrower could be a valuable addition down the line.

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