(Photo credit: Steve Babineau, Boston Bruins)

Don Sweeney is no stranger to the National Hockey League’s Entry Draft. He was first introduced to the league’s annual selection meeting in 1984 when he was selected 166th overall by the Boston Bruins.

In 2006, Sweeney joined the team as the director of player development before being promoted to director of hockey operations and player development in 2007. Sweeney held that title until 2010 when once again he was promoted, this time to assistant general manager.

His most recent – and biggest — promotion came on May 20, 2015 when he was named general manager.

During his various roles from 2006-2015, Sweeney had firsthand experience in the process leading up to the draft, the draft itself, and the days following the draft. Now entering his first draft as general manager, things are a bit different for Sweeney as he and he Bruins hold the 14th overall pick in Thursday’s draft.

“Well the approach and preparation side, you spend a lot more time on the phone actually having these conversations as opposed to in my previous situation where things would get run by you,” Sweeney told the media during a Friday morning conference call. “You’re now taking information that you’re gathering and presenting it in different fashions to people so you get their expertise and blending it together to make what you think is the best decision for the organization. So that is very different for me.”

Although Sweeney is comfortable at pick No. 14 in what is a deep draft class, the Bruins GM admitted to having talks about moving both up and down in the draft order.

“I think we are comfortable because we feel very good about the list in general,” he said. “We know the type of player and the quality of player that will be there” Sweeney stated. “We’ve had talks moving in both directions, to be honest with you, and I think every general manager is going to have talks to see what may or may not transpire.”

Last season the Bruins found themselves a legitimate NHL forward when they selected David Pastrnak with the 25th overall pick. As is the case with every general manager in hockey, Sweeney hopes to have the same type of luck on Friday when the Bruins make their first round selection.

“Well, I think David’s a great indicator that anywhere in the draft and as deep as the draft is, I think you can find guys that will surprise you” added Sweeney. “And I think we feel very comfortable that there’s going to be a tremendous player at 14 and throughout the draft. I think the draft is deep and I think the first round is very exciting for everybody to be anticipating making choices.”

Obviously with the Bruins in salary cap trouble and Sweeney looking to shake things up with the current roster, the rumor mill in Boston has been very hot. Usually when teams are looking to free up salary, those moves come during the days leading up to the draft or even on draft day itself.

Sweeney would not comment on how close he was to making a trade, if close at all.

“Well, we’ve had a lot of good talks on teams and I think everybody’s doing the same thing in terms of seeing what player movement may or may not be available and what draft positions are up for grabs or jockeying may exist,” Sweeney said. “I think everybody is sort of in the same boat and taking inventory at this point in time. Not necessarily going to comment whether things are close or far away, but just have had a lot of conversations.”

The Bruins have a handful of free agents set to hit the market on July 1, Adam McQuaid and Matt Bartkowski being two of those. It seems like Sweeney is open to bringing back an unrestricted free agent or two, but some of that hinges on freeing up cap space.

“Well Peter [Chiarelli] had told Greg Campbell and Dan Paille that they weren’t [coming back]. I have not changed that. I have not completely conveyed to—I have spoken to both Carl [Soderberg] and Matt [Bartkowski]’s representatives and I’ve also spoken to Adam [McQuaid’s] in terms of what our intentions are but obviously it’s coming down to the wire in terms of their abilities to interview elsewhere. But I have been in communication with them, yes,” said Sweeney.

During his tenure in Boston, Chiarelli was often knocked for his drafting capabilities. Obviously he has the power of making the final decision on who is and is not drafted, but ultimately the decisions are made as a group. A solid draft class by the Bruins in 2015 could start the Don Sweeney chapter off on the right foot.

After the season the Bruins had last year, starting off on the right foot in June could go a long way for the 2015-16 Boston Bruins.