Post-Game Talk: 6/22 - 2019 NHL Draft Day II - 1PM ET - NHL Network. SN, TVAS

[Ratty]

At least all the first rounders spoke English. Nice to see.

And if they spoke French..........?

 

[Spooner st]

And if they spoke French..........?

At least 2 that I know speak franglais.

 

[00BW]

When the Bruins drafted in Sweeney's first year as GM, their was much speculation (myself included) that the Bruins felt they were smarter than everyone else.

The picks above point to the same possibility. But when you just went to the 7th game of the Cup finals, its easier to think they deserve to have that opinion.

Why place a negative pejorative on them? Genuinely, if you are in the scouting department of any organization and see a player you like, are you not going to argue in favor of that player? Do you not think your opinion is right because you've been to the games and seen the players play and think this guy has what it takes?

I would say that it does seem pretty clear that there are players the Bruins will not draft which is different from saying 'smarter than everyone else'. Gabrielle seems to be the one player they did draft who had known 'issues' and they have cut ties with him. Bradley's interview was telling in that he talked about being down to 110-120 names on their list towards the end of the draft. It seems clear they are 'red-flagging' prospects that they are not interested in drafting. 'Athletic', 'speed', and 'hockey IQ' seem to be what they are looking for in the prospects that are not red-flagged.

 

[DKH]

What if they had drafted Brett Leason?

Our text group those guys will tell you my half dozen guys at 30 I thought could be there

No order

Holmstrom
Tracey
Thomson
Vlasic
Ryan Johnson
Leason

Had I known Matt Robertson was going to be there he’s 1

I’d already heard about Beecher to Bruins

I half expected it and went to the Bruins draft party with 8 or so buds and told them Beecher is their profile guy unless they aren’t signing Krug and will go left D

Not sure if it was Dom but someone told me Beecher was the guy they would strongly consider

No surprise at all

I looked texts a few days ago from our group and Joe and lou are discussing Beecher the guy

 

[LouJersey]

When the Bruins drafted in Sweeney's first year as GM, their was much speculation (myself included) that the Bruins felt they were smarter than everyone else.

The picks above point to the same possibility. But when you just went to the 7th game of the Cup finals, its easier to think they deserve to have that opinion.

good post.

My only concern about this group (even though Sweeney was instrumental in Pasta) they really don't seem to bother with the high end skilled guys with questions about effort/defense/physicality.

For every Barzal, DeBrincat and maybe Kaliyev there are ten guys they would have been right on more than likely so I get it, but do they even look at these guys anymore? The policy seems to definitely be safe 200 ft players that give the effort and detail to defense. You still need to score goals in this league. Where in our prospect chain is that coming from?

I don't mean this to sound overly critical as I'm not, just a legit statement to maybe create some dialogue.

 

[DKH]

For those touting Pronman, you can see his 2016 draft rankings that ABC opened up to the public: Top 100 prospects for the 2016 NHL draft

I don't think we are allowed to quote the whole thing but he had McAvoy ranked 26th and this was the last line. 'He won't be leaned on as the first guy over the boards to kill a penalty, but it's very possible he could skate top-four minutes at his peak.'

Last year, he also had Colorado system ranked 21st even though they had Makar, Kaut, Timmins (before shutdown for a year with concussion), and more.

Yes, it is important to read all opinions, but Pronman has long had an anti-Bruins bent. In that same list he had Cholowski ranked 80th, the Red Wings took him 20th, but he didn't sh** all over then like he did the Bruins taking his 74th ranked Frederic with the 29th pick.

I’ve followed Pronman for years and he’s not very good

 

[LouJersey]

Our text group those guys will tell you my half dozen guys at 30 I thought could be there

No order

Holmstrom
Tracey
Thomson
Vlasic
Ryan Johnson
Leason

Had I known Matt Robertson was going to be there he’s 1

I’d already heard about Beecher to Bruins

I half expected it and went to the Bruins draft party with 8 or so buds and told them Beecher is their profile guy unless they aren’t signing Krug and will go left D

Not sure if it was Dom but someone told me Beecher was the guy they would strongly consider

No surprise at all

I looked texts a few days ago from our group and Joe and lou are discussing Beecher the guy

it's funny who much you guys liked Holmstrom and sure enough he went before us. We all seemed to like other guys at our spot in round 1 but all of us brought up Beecher as a "bruins type pick and player" and sure enough.

The best part was you and Joe texting third round guys you wanted and every single time those players went in the next one of two picks.

 

[Spooner st]

good post.

My only concern about this group (even though Sweeney was instrumental in Pasta) they really don't seem to bother with the high end skilled guys with questions about effort/defense/physicality.

For every Barzal, DeBrincat and maybe Kaliyev there are ten guys they would have been right on more than likely so I get it, but do they even look at these guys anymore? The policy seems to definitely be safe 200 ft players that give the effort and detail to defense. You still need to score goals in this league. Where in our prospect chain is that coming from?

I don't mean this to sound overly critical as I'm not, just a legit statement to maybe create some dialogue.

Agree, they need to mix it up a little.

 

[Smitty93]

good post.

My only concern about this group (even though Sweeney was instrumental in Pasta) they really don't seem to bother with the high end skilled guys with questions about effort/defense/physicality.

For every Barzal, DeBrincat and maybe Kaliyev there are ten guys they would have been right on more than likely so I get it, but do they even look at these guys anymore? The policy seems to definitely be safe 200 ft players that give the effort and detail to defense. You still need to score goals in this league. Where in our prospect chain is that coming from?

I don't mean this to sound overly critical as I'm not, just a legit statement to maybe create some dialogue.

I think there's frustration that they don't seem willing to attempt to "fix" this in prospects, though they probably have enough experience to know that those things are difficult to change. I think one of the things missing from the prospect pool is offensive creativity. I think one of the reasons why you draft a variety of prospects is that they can fill different types of roles. That way you're not just stuck with multiple versions of the same player.

 

[Spooner st]

Let's take Senyshyn for example.
Besides the big physique and the speed, supposedly he can score.
While I agree he needs to learn to play in the 3 zone. But why don't they put him in a position to develop more his scoring abilities.
I don't know if they already decided that his speed is his only real skill that will help him to the next level...

 

[DKH]

it's funny who much you guys liked Holmstrom and sure enough he went before us. We all seemed to like other guys at our spot in round 1 but all of us brought up Beecher as a "bruins type pick and player" and sure enough.

The best part was you and Joe texting third round guys you wanted and every single time those players went in the next one of two picks.

I thought I was brilliant with my Lassi Thomson & Simon Holmström sleepers and he went 19 & 23, Not so much

The blueprint is D

It was crazy on the mid 70’s texting 3 guys I would move up to get going out to walk dog and coming back to see the scroll and they went in order.

Eric who follows Steve Kournianos was a big Beecher guy

Beecher fits the profile

My only issue was would the Bruins jump at Robertson who Sweeney went specifically to watch when the Bruins were in Edmonton or Vlasic who was a US guy and a Chara/Carlo hybrid

 

[JOKER 192]

Not sure how the Bruins were going to win the draft with 2 late picks in the 1st 4 rounds .

 

[bob27]

Let's take Senyshyn for example.
Besides the big physique and the speed, supposedly he can score.
While I agree he needs to learn to play in the 3 zone. But why don't they put him in a position to develop more his scoring abilities.
I don't know if they already decided that his speed is his only real skill that will help him to the next level...

To be honest, I think he'd be in a scoring role if he deserved to be in a scoring role. He's just not good enough to deserve ice time in that slot right now. If a prospect is good enough, they'll usually force the issue. I'm pretty sure they had no plan of giving Pastrnak a significant role in the NHL in his draft year after drafting him at 25, but he made the decision for them.

 

[Marcobruin]

Let's take Senyshyn for example.
Besides the big physique and the speed, supposedly he can score.
While I agree he needs to learn to play in the 3 zone. But why don't they put him in a position to develop more his scoring abilities.
I don't know if they already decided that his speed is his only real skill that will help him to the next level...

Still cannot comprehend why some talki e. Sweeney etc about senyshyn going to the next level
(NHL) when he has ways to go in the AHL

 

[chizzler]

Still cannot comprehend why some talki e. Sweeney etc about senyshyn going to the next level
(NHL) when he has ways to go in the AHL

I don't think he makes it, nor do I think Zboril plays in Boston. No need to fester on it. That wasn't the plan in 2015, but being a first year GM, kind of seems that Sweeney was caught unprepared in case the proposed trade didn't go through. His scouting head should have done better. Maybe that's why he's not here anymore. The last two drafts haven't been great as far as fan freindly. No high powered scorer. I think there is room in the system for those players that don't play the 2 way game like #37. You need snipers at some point. Time will tell if their philosophy will take off. I don't know anything about the prospects this year as I didn't invest the time to educate myself. It's too time consuming, but i won't criticize or raise my hand at the prospects they drafted. I will root for them though.
Just imagine drafting kids weighing 160lbs in hopes they grow and put on weight. Tough job.

 

[missingchicklet]

Not sure how the Bruins were going to win the draft with 2 late picks in the 1st 4 rounds .

This was never going to be a terribly important draft for the Bs once they lost their second rd pick and were destined to pick late in the first. Hopefully Beecher does well down the road for the Bs or else the Monday morning qbing will be insufferable since there were quite a few players taken after him who I feel will do well in the NHL. I know nothing about any of the other players they took since I only studied and watched video of the top 100 or so rated prospects. I'll give the staff the benefit of the doubt on those and hope at least one of them ends up being good enough to make the NHL, but knowing the odds of how many players from each round do anything substantive in the NHL, I won't be holding my breath. Much of this stuff is an educated crapshoot to begin with once you get past the first couple rounds, and even those first two rounds are nothing guaranteed.

 

[Estlin]

I don't think he makes it, nor do I think Zboril plays in Boston. No need to fester on it. That wasn't the plan in 2015, but being a first year GM, kind of seems that Sweeney was caught unprepared in case the proposed trade didn't go through. His scouting head should have done better. Maybe that's why he's not here anymore. The last two drafts haven't been great as far as fan freindly. No high powered scorer. I think there is room in the system for those players that don't play the 2 way game like #37. You need snipers at some point. Time will tell if their philosophy will take off. I don't know anything about the prospects this year as I didn't invest the time to educate myself. It's too time consuming, but i won't criticize or raise my hand at the prospects they drafted. I will root for them though.
Just imagine drafting kids weighing 160lbs in hopes they grow and put on weight. Tough job.

That would be inexcusable.

 

[Smitty93]

Let's take Senyshyn for example.
Besides the big physique and the speed, supposedly he can score.
While I agree he needs to learn to play in the 3 zone. But why don't they put him in a position to develop more his scoring abilities.
I don't know if they already decided that his speed is his only real skill that will help him to the next level...

Not to continue to get off-topic, but the whole Senyshyn thing is very weird. As you said, you'd assume that with a top 15 pick they'd do whatever they can to put him in a successful position. I figure that would mean giving him plenty of playing time (including powerplay) with your more talented AHL players. Maybe he showed up in Providence two years ago and they knew right away that the talent just wasn't there and the only way he'd be an NHLer was in a 3rd/4th line defensive role. I don't know.

I'm not ready to give up on him yet. I believe the line after he was drafted was that he would be a long term project, and it could take 4-5 years for him to develop. Well, we're about to enter year 5, so it's **** or get off the pot time.

All of this leads me to one of the questions I have with this management group: asset management. It doesn't seem like a strength of theirs. I think part of the problem is that they have a unique type of player that they value. The issue with that is that half of the value with prospects is that you can use them to acquire other players that you need to compete. If other organizations don't value your prospects, it's going to be difficult to pull off trades without just giving up all of your draft capital. That leads to a back log of players (personally, I think that's what they currently have with LD, considering Vaakanainen, Lauzon, and Zboril all look like they could play in the NHL right now), and suddenly you're looking at the possibility of losing those players for nothing when they're no longer waiver exempt.

 

[bardown23]

That would be inexcusable.

Everyone puts all the blame on the GM which I guess is warranted because he manages the team, but most GMs let the scouts do their thing on draft day. This is what they work all year for, see the players more than anyone, and therefore should have the biggest input. People put way too much into rankings, most of which are from people who’ve maybe seen each player once if that because they have hundreds to evaluate.

 

[TheReal13Linseman]

I just want to chime in to say that I’m not going to join in the DS criticism today in order to refute the charge that I do it everyday.

Pardon the interruption.

I will say though that I do hope Beechah develops into the big net front presence guy that has eluded us lo these many years.

 

[Gator Mike]

I will say though that I do hope Beechah develops into the big net front presence guy that has eluded us lo these many years.

If you think the Bruins drafted a kid who skates like Beecher does so that they can tell him to go stand in front of the net, I think you're going to be disappointed.

 

[TheReal13Linseman]

If you think the Bruins drafted a kid who skates like Beecher does so that they can tell him to go stand in front of the net, I think you're going to be disappointed.

Skating

Beecher’s skating stride is a bit unconventional, but it works for him. His top end speed is good and if he gets a step on a defender, he can drive past him and cut to the net. His acceleration is average though, as it takes him quite a few strides to reach that top speed. For a big man, he has very good footwork. He shows the agility and edgework to get around defenders. Beecher has a powerful stride. He can fight through checks and stickwork and continue driving forward. He also is very strong along the boards and in front of the net. Beecher’s balance allows him to be strong on the puck and protect it on the cycle game.

 

[Bruinfanatic]

If you think the Bruins drafted a kid who skates like Beecher does so that they can tell him to go stand in front of the net, I think you're going to be disappointed.

A big net front presence doesn’t necessarily mean just standing in front of the net,I think it means someone who will take it to the net and hang around for a rebound,not just a fly by .

 

[Gator Mike]

Skating

Beecher’s skating stride is a bit unconventional, but it works for him. His top end speed is good and if he gets a step on a defender, he can drive past him and cut to the net. His acceleration is average though, as it takes him quite a few strides to reach that top speed. For a big man, he has very good footwork. He shows the agility and edgework to get around defenders. Beecher has a powerful stride. He can fight through checks and stickwork and continue driving forward. He also is very strong along the boards and in front of the net. Beecher’s balance allows him to be strong on the puck and protect it on the cycle game.

TSN rated Beecher's skating as 5/5. Said he had potential as an elite-skating middle six center.

Listen to Button talk about the kid's skating:



"Can fly like the wind."

I mean, the kid just looks like a dynamic skater. Maybe not on the level of a Hughes or a Cozens, but not that far off.

 

[TheReal13Linseman]

TSN rated Beecher's skating as 5/5. Said he had potential as an elite-skating middle six center.

Listen to Button talk about the kid's skating:



"Can fly like the wind."

I mean, the kid just looks like a dynamic skater. Maybe not on the level of a Hughes or a Cozens, but not that far off.

Fine by me.

McKenzie said something about Bruins having a “lack of will” on that clip.

If that’s an issue, and maybe it is, shouldn’t it be addressed? I mean not just at the draft table. To me, leading suspect is DK46.