For the first time in his 10-year tenure, Bruins’ GM Don Sweeney will enter the NHL draft with a top-10 pick in his possession on Friday night.

If he chooses to make the pick at No. 7 instead of trading it, chances are he won’t be getting a generational talent in this crop. But he should get a good, top-six forward.

So which way will Sweeney, Ryan Nadeau and the rest of the scouting staff go? Sweeney said on Wednesday that he’ll be taking the best player available and, considering defenseman Matthew Schaefer is not going to drop from being the expected top pick to No. 7, the B’s will be going with forward. And while he didn’t want to be cornered into taking a center, the projected top 10 is heavily populated with players tabbed to be pivots.

Sweeney’s not much for specifics just before the draft, and he does of course have his hands tied by the six teams ahead of him. But Sweeney, who didn’t rule out moving up or down in the draft, gave his blueprint for what hopes to get.

“I think I’m going back to saying that we’re looking for the most impactful players. Now, impact can come in the competitiveness and come in hockey sense and come in skill. It can come in scoring. When you can combine them all, obviously you get the perfect storm,” said Sweeney, who also has a pair of second-round picks in this draft on Saturday. “It’s not a positional decision for us … but ultimately, we have to find the most competitive and skilled players that we possibly can.

“They exist generally in the top part of the draft, from the standpoint of the skill, but (there’s) the competitive nature and the growth of players that trickle down later in the draft. They’re there and hopefully we do a better job, or continue to do a good job (in identifying those players). In some cases, we have done a really good job. So, I want to make sure our guys know we’re not trying to be myopic in how we view things. To just say it’s center-based, or it’s skill-based, or just a guy who can shoot a puck … ultimately, we’ve got to put all the decision-making lenses (together) and make the best decision we can. But, yeah, more skill and scoring and competitiveness are the areas that we need.”

One player who would appear to combine skill, scoring and competitiveness and might still be around at the seventh pick is late riser Brady Martin, a 6-foot, 178-pound right-shot centerman who posted 33-39-72 totals for the Soo Greyhounds and plays a rugged style that would fit historically with the Bruins. Take, for instance, this quote from a People magazine feature.

“I’m a physical forward and play hard,” said Martin. “If you’re in my way, I’ll run over you.”

That would be music to many Bruins’ fans ears. The B’s could use some more run-you-over players, provided there’s a healthy amount of skill attached to it, and it’s believed the Ontario farm boy has that as well.

But while Martin would certainly seem to fit within the realm of a traditional Bruin, it would do the same for the team picking right in from of them — the Philadelphia Flyers.

If Martin is gone, there is increasing chatter that Boston College center James Hagens, who began the season as the No. 1 prospect, could fall even further than the No. 3 ranking that the Central Scouting Bureau had him placed among North American skaters. The 5-11, 177-pound center from Long Island did not quite rip up Hockey East, but he had a good season, posting 11-26-37 totals while skating between future NHLers Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perrault. If Hagens is still available at No. 7, the feeling here is that he’d be hard to pass up.

Another possibility is 6-foot-2, 177-pound Jake O’Brien, another OHL centerman. A cerebral set-up man who has the ability to slow the play down, O’Brien had a highly productive year for the Brantford Bulldogs, posting 32-66-98 totals in 66 games.

Will it be one of these three or could someone else fall? Or would Sweeney dare go off the board with this pick? We’ll see on Friday night.

This will be the sixth top-10 pick for the B’s this century, and they’ve had both hits and misses. They have been Dougie Hamilton (ninth overall) in 2011, Tyler Seguin (second) in 2010, Zach Hamill (eighth) in 2007, Phil Kessel (fifth) in 2006 and Lars Johnsson (seventh) in 2000.

It’s doubtful that Sweeney will get a Seguin or Kessel with this pick. But with where the organization is situated right now, he can’t afford to land a Hamill or Johnsson.

Deadline deals

Agent JP Barry continues to try to get a deal done for defenseman Henri Jokiharju with the B’s before he becomes a UFA on July 1. Barry also represents RFA forwards Marat Khusnutdinov and Jakub Lauko and he reported that those players have not yet received their qualifying offers from the B’s, but the two sides are discussing possible deals for both players. If nothing comes to fruition and they don’t receive their qualifying offers by June 30, they’d become UFAs on July 1.