The Boston Bruins are back from Montreal, hoping they came away with another big win at the Bell Centre. The results from the weekend's NHL entry draft are a lot less conclusive than the four-game playoff sweep the Bruins wrapped up in Montreal a month and a half ago.

Drafts are a results-based business. Trouble is, we don't usually know the results of a draft until several seasons have passed.

For now, we can only assume the Bruins' Class of 2009, headlined by first-round selection Jordan Caron (no relation, fortunately for him), will help the Bruins' long-term prospects. While Saturday saw a flurry of deals involving current NHL players, the Bruins were content to add to the depth chart with an eye on the big picture.

There's no way to tell how big a role Caron will play, but he is the type of big, physical player that appeals to Bruins fans.

"Our scouts absolutely love him," said Bruins Vice President Cam Neely. "He's a Bruins-type player. He competes. He battles, he comes to work every night.

"That's the kind of directions we gave our scouts to go in; those are the type of players we want to wear the uniform. He had 36 goals in 56 games this year, so he knows how to put the puck in the net."

Neely knew a thing or two about mixing a scoring touch with physical toughness. He was the prototype power forward.

"Our scouts are saying he's got an NHL release," said Neely. "He's a big kid and he's only going to get bigger. We're thrilled to get him, and about the fact that we were able to get him at the pick that we had, because we had him rated much higher."

Clearly, Neely fits nicely into the role of NHL front-office personnel, who always are thrilled to see their draft pick fall this deeply in the draft. Yet Caron was ranked 20th among North American skaters by the Central Scouting Bureau. It was no reach to take him with the 25th pick.

Bruins fans can see him play in Lewiston this winter when he faces the Maineiacs while playing for Rimouski in the Quebec Major Junior League. (Sydney Crosby played for Rimouski.)

No one expects Caron to be the next Crosby, but the Bruins would be happy to see him contribute two or three seasons from now.

That's how the hockey crystal ball works. You look at an 18-year-old and try to figure out what he'll look like as a 21- or 22-year-old.

They don't always turn out the way you hope (hello, Hannu Toivonen). Some, such as 2006 picks Phil Kessel and Milan Lucic, arrive and contribute ahead of schedule. Others, such as Zach Hamill (eighth overall pick in 2007), take a little longer to develop into NHL-ready players.

This draft business was a lot easier when the Bruins weren't making the playoffs. They had the fifth pick in 2006 and the eighth pick in 2007.

Now, they had to sit around for hours before stepping up to the podium, although no one is ready to trade in playoff success for a seat closer to the stage at the draft.

"Three years ago we were in the first row," said Neely. "This year, we're in the last row. Our goal is to be in the last row at the last table. So, we're making some progress in that regard.

"You wait a long time to make these picks, but that means you've had a good year. We're on the right path, our fans see that. Ultimately, we want to be the 30th pick."

That's why the work for General Manager Peter Ciarelli, Neely and the rest of the front office is just beginning.

They have taken care of the long-term plans for the franchise. Now with the free-agent season about to begin, they'll resume the work of improving a team that came one goal away from the conference finals.

Tom Caron is the studio host for Red Sox broadcasts on the New England Sports Network. His column appears in the Press Herald on Tuesdays.