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Vesey: ‘The Bruins will definitely be on my list’

2015 Beanpot Tournament - Consolation Game

BOSTON, MA - FEBRUARY 23: Jimmy Vesey #19 of the Harvard Crimson skates against the Boston College Eagles during the second period of the 2015 Beanpot Tournament consolation game at TD Garden on February 23, 2015 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

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Jimmy Vesey is still a couple months away from being able to speak with NHL clubs, but that hasn’t stopped the reigning Hobey Baker winner from already shortlisting his hometown team.

“I think the Bruins will definitely be on my list of teams,” Vesey said on Monday at the Downtown Harvard Club, per the Boston Herald.

Vesey, 22, hasn’t been shy about his affinity for the B’s.

First, there was what he wrote for the Players’ Tribune back in February:

I can remember waking up for 5 a.m. mite hockey games with my dad when the sun wasn’t even up yet. If I said I was tired, he’d say, “C’mon, Jimmy, someday this is all gonna be worth it.” Then on the way home we would pretend to announce my name as the first overall pick in my draft year. Those days were the best; I still remember that stuff like it was yesterday.…

With the first pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft … the Boston Bruins are proud to select … from North Reading, Mass. … Jimmy Vesey.

Having played almost exclusively in Massachusetts over the last few years -- Belmont Hill high school, South Shore Kings (USPHL) and Harvard -- it’s not surprising that Vesey’s seriously considering sticking close to home.

And there’s no denying the Bruins would love to get Vesey in the fold. Coming off two terrific scoring campaigns at Harvard -- 32 and 24 goals in his junior and senior seasons -- Vesey is regarded as a future top-six NHL forward, and could bolster a Boston squad that’s failed to make the playoffs in consecutive years.

That top-six designation was something Vesey received from the GM that drafted him, Nashville’s David Poile.

Not surprisingly, Vesey had to discuss his spurning of the Preds on Monday night -- when asked if he promised the Music City team that he’d sign with them, Vesey replied “no.”

He’s eligible to start talking with interested suitors on Aug. 15.

Related: Bruins sign Grezlcyk (who just so happens to be pals with Jimmy Vesey)