The Boston Bruins selected Finnish defenseman Urho Vaakanainen with the No. 18 pick in the 2017 NHL Draft on Friday night.
Vaakanainen is an 18-year-old left-handed shooting blueliner. He’s listed at 6-foot-1 and 188 pounds. He tallied six points (two goals, four assists) in 41 games for JyP HT Jyvaskyla of SM-liiga in Finland. Vaakanainen also played for Finland at the 2017 World Junior Championship, and scored one goal in six games at the tournament.
He was the third-highest ranked European defenseman on Central Scouting’s final 2017 draft rankings.
The Bruins now have selected a defenseman in the first round in each of the last three drafts. Vaakanainen also is Boston’s sixth first-round pick in the last three drafts.
Thumbnail photo via David Banks/USA TODAY Sports Images
