By The Associated Press

BOSTON – The Boston Bruins chose offensive star Phil Kessel of the University of Minnesota with the fifth pick of the NHL draft Saturday in Vancouver.

The selection of the 6-foot, 189-pound center is part of a rebuilding process that includes a new general manager and, perhaps, a new coach.

The 18-year-old Kessel, once projected as the likely top choice in the draft, had 18 goals and 51 points in 39 games last season as a freshman when he was named the Western Collegiate Hockey Association rookie of the year.

He could team up with young forwards Patrice Bergeron and Brad Boyes to provide offensive punch.

“We think Phil Kessel is a player with probably the most upside in the whole draft and that excites us,” Bruins interim general manager Jeff Gorton said on the team’s Web site. “He is a great skater with a great release. He is a goal scorer and he may just be NHL ready. I think it’s definitely possible that he can come to Boston and play right away.”

The Bruins are coming off a season in which they traded two of their leading offensive players, Joe Thornton and Sergei Samsonov, and finished last in the Northeast Division. Mike O’Connell was fired as general manager on March 25 and replaced on an interim basis by his assistant, Gorton, who headed the team’s draft operation.

Peter Chiarelli, Ottawa’s assistant general manager, was named general manager late last month but, under the agreement by which the Senators allowed him to leave, remains with them.

He can move to his new job July 15 or on the 15th day of the free agency period, set to start on July 1 but which could be delayed.

Whether Mike Sullivan returns as coach for a third season is unknown. Chiarelli has said the agreement’s provision that any interviews for coaching candidates must take place in Ottawa has slowed his search for a possible replacement.

Kessel, a native of Madison, Wis., was outstanding for the United States in the World Junior Championships in 2005 with nine goals and 16 points in six games. But in that tournament this year, he had just one goal and 11 points in seven games, a performance that may have hurt his stock in the draft.

Kessel, a speedy skater and excellent playmaker, is an outstanding performer on the power play and a threat to score in short-handed situations.

He has been compared to Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby, the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft, and Jeremy Roenick.

The Bruins had two second round picks, taking Russian defenseman Yuri Alexandrov with the 37th pick overall, and left wing Milan Lucic of Vancouver, British Columbia with the 50th overall selection.

Bruins trade goalie Raycroft to Leafs

The Bruins also traded goalie Andrew Raycroft on Saturday to Toronto Maple Leafs for the rights to goalie prospect Tuukka Rask.

Raycroft won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie in 2004 when he was 29-18-9 with a goals-against average of 2.05.

But last season the 26-year-old played poorly to start the season, then was hampered by a right knee injury and had a 8-19-2 record with a 3.72 goals against average.

The emergence of rookie Hannu Toivonen and the play of Tim Thomas last year made Raycroft expendable.

The 19-year-old Rask, who is from Finland, was Toronto’s first-round pick, 21st overall, last year, but has not yet played in North America.