Bruins Select Defenseman Urho Vaakanainen with 18th Pick of the First Round

Bruins news release…

CHICAGO – Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney announced June 23, that the Boston Bruins have selected defenseman Urho Vaakanainen in the first round (18th overall) of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

Vaakanainen, 18, spent his 2016-17 season with JYP of SM-Liiga where he appeared in 41 games, tallying two goals and four assists along with a plus/minus rating of plus-five. He spent the 2015-16 season with Blues of SM-Liiga, scoring a goal and five assists in 25 games.

The Jyvaskylai, Finland native represented Finland during the 2017 World Junior Championship, scoring a goal in six games.

The 6-foot-1, 188-pound defenseman also represented Finland at the 2017 U-18 World Championship, where he registered three goals and three assists in five games en route to a silver medal.