“Oh boy. The Bruins go off the board a little bit here.”

Those were the first words out of Bob McKenzie’s mouth at the 2015 NHL draft when general manager Don Sweeney announced the Bruins were selecting Zach Senyshyn with the 15th overall pick.

More often than not, the McKenzie and NBCSN panel are a mouthpiece to trumpet the strengths of 18-year-old kids that the American viewing audience doesn’t know much about. Instead, Pierre McGuire offered a blunt criticism of the Senyshyn selection.

“I think there were better players available at this number right now in the draft,” McGuire said.

In his draft year, Senyshyn only scored 26 goals in the high-octane Ontario Hockey League. McKenzie informed those watching that he had put the winger 40th in his pre-draft rankings.

In the days that followed, the teenager heard more criticism of his selection, and couldn’t have responded much better.

In the season-and-a-half since his draft day, the winger developed into one of the OHL’s purest scorers, potting 80 goals in 112 games.

“It’s not in my mind to prove other people wrong, it’s to just prove the Bruins right for taking me in that spot,” Senyshyn said yesterday. “I believe in my abilities and think that they made a great selection. I just want to prove them right and do whatever I can to be an impact player for the Bruins in the future.”

When the B’s picked Senyshyn, he was logging fourth-line minutes on a stacked Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds team. Since earning a top-six role, his numbers have skyrocketed.

“I think it was a little bit of confidence for me, too,” Senyshyn said. “I learned a lot the previous year from some of the older guys that have moved on to the NHL teams now. I think ice time and confidence was huge for me.”

Greyhounds coach Drew Bannister explained that Senyshyn’s speed is his greatest tool he possesses.

“His speed off the rush is certainly one of his assets in the way that he can create offense out of nothing off the rush and bring the puck to the net,” Bannister said. “He kind of has a fearless attitude in the way he brings pucks to the net off the rush, he creates a lot of offense through that. At our level, his elite speed causes younger defense trouble.”

Senyshyn is fourth in the OHL with 35 goals this season — he has five hat tricks — but he’s still a work in progress. Now, his objective is to improve defensively. The prospect is in constant contact with B’s player development coordinator Jamie Langenbrunner, and knows he’s going to have to round out his game if he wants to make the leap to the NHL.

“It’s slowly coming. He’s very conscious of it,” Bannister said. “We saw quite a change in his game, probably 6-8 weeks before our Christmas break, where he really was making a conscious effort away from the puck in doing the proper things and using his speed to track down pucks and being the first guy back.

“I think he’s given up a little bit of offense to be more responsible defensively, but he’s still able to score for us.”

The refrain is the same from the Greyhounds and the B’s.

“If you’re not scoring, you’ve got to be able to do something else,” Bannister said. “That’s our message to Seny and I think that’s Boston’s message to Seny.”

Though Bannister wasn’t shy in saying he feels Senyshyn still has a ways to go in development, he underscored the importance of being able to put the puck in the net.

“He does a lot of good things. The main thing he does, the kid scores goals,” Bannister said. “Whether it’s at our level or at the next level, it’s not easy to score goals, and it’s not easy to score goals 5-on-5. He can do that. So he’s going to be a valuable asset to Boston.”

Ultimately, Senyshyn knows that his play alone will dictate his arrival on Causeway Street.

“I think they don’t really give the timeline, we do as players,” Senyshyn said. “I think that’s something the management staff really believes in. I think it’s just going to depend on my game and when I’m able to make the jump. They keep close tabs on us, and as long as my game keeps improving I hope to be up there soon.”