The Bruins didn’t have their own second-round pick, having traded it to Ottawa Feb. 15 for Chris Kelly.
But they had a second-rounder as part of the Chuck Kobasew trade in 2009 with Minnesota. So with the No. 40 overall pick, the Bruins selected 17-year-old forward Alexander Khokhlachev, the No. 3 rookie scorer in the Ontario Hockey League last season.
“He’s a skilled player,’’ said Benning, who mentioned Scott Gomez as a comparable. “Loves to score. For a Russian player, he’s real competitive. He’s strong on the puck. He’s an elusive skater. From the blue line in on the offensive end, that’s the strength of his game.’’
Khokhlachev is a 5-foot-10-inch, 188-pound lefthanded shot who hails from Moscow, but opted to go the major junior route upon the advice of his parents and agent.
As a rookie for Windsor, Khokhlachev had 34 goals and 42 assists in 67 games. Twelve of Khokhlachev’s goals came on the power play. He trailed only Sarnia’s explosive first-year duo of Nail Yakupov (101 points) and Alex Galchenyuk (83) in rookie scoring.
During the playoffs, Khokhlachev led all rookies with nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points in 18 games.
“The Stanley Cup champs drafted me,’’ said Khokhlachev. “I’m so happy right now. Not many words. Just feeling great.’’
Khokhlachev is the second Russian the Bruins have picked in the last two years, after defenseman Maxim Chudinov in the seventh round in 2010. But where Chudinov is a Kontinental Hockey League player, Khokhlachev is committed to the OHL, which makes signing him a stronger possibility.
“The Russian factor, after we got to know him, wasn’t much of a factor for us,’’ Benning said.
Khokhlachev will return to Windsor for the 2011-12 season.
The Bruins also did not have their own third-round pick, having packaged it with Dennis Wideman and a 2010 first-rounder to Florida in exchange for Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell.
