Podcast (Audio) ATKM Draft Analysis w/ Mark Yannetti

[BringTheReign]

@BringTheReign He talks about the Kings view on this in Hoven's interview. I' would assume his personal view is in line with the organizational view of "slow boiling" kids, much to the chagrin of some on this board.

I listened to that as well. I may be misremembering, but he made a comment about "being a GM someday" that made me think there might be some inkling of a different philosophy there haha. You're probably right though given that he's been successful under two GMs for over a decade with more of a slow boil approach.

 

[All The Kings Men]

@BringTheReign He talks about the Kings view on this in Hoven's interview. I' would assume his personal view is in line with the organizational view of "slow boiling" kids, much to the chagrin of some on this board.

We just spoke to him last week and then Gann and Hoven both spoke to him so I was trying to avoid having him just repeat himself on multiple platforms.

 

[BringTheReign]

Oh my god the dinosaur question

Was actually brilliant to break things up a little

Oh man, I forgot about this because of the seriousness of the Cernak answer. This was hilarious!

@All The Kings Men, now you need to get Lombardi on to retaliate!

 

[Mattias]

If Yannetti was giving a subtle jab at Dean Lombardi by calling him a Dinosaur; he just made a new fan.

 

[kilowatt]

What a listen. That Cernak answer is gold. It’s so easy to forget that these are all real people with real emotions.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Vaguely reminded me of a story someone told about Hextall and DL where DL was f***ing fuming about...Quick? oversleeping or something and was ranting and raving about shipping him off to Manchester and hextall had to talk him off the ledge

 

[All The Kings Men]

If Yannetti was giving a subtle jab at Dean Lombardi by calling him a Dinosaur; he just made a new fan.

He's also repeatedly talked about how much immense respect he has for him.

 

[Cheech89]

What a listen. That Cernak answer is gold. It’s so easy to forget that these are all real people with real emotions.

Great listen indeed. But that Cernak answer makes it an even more monumental f*** up in my eyes.

 

[cyclones22]

Great interview. Love the honesty and there were big lessons learned by the staff over the years. The Cernak info obviously in your interview and also the Hickey failure to recoup any value tidbit in a different interview, I think. Both of those screw ups hurt the organization, but I'm glad to hear some accountability and not a lot of rationalizing over what happened.

 

[Lt Dan]

Great listen indeed. But that Cernak answer makes it an even more monumental f*** up in my eyes.

Indeed, but . It sounds like they have learned from it.

 

[King'sPawn]

Indeed, but . It sounds like they have learned from it.

Let's hope so, but it does seem like they have.

Love Yannetti's honesty. It genuinely gives reassurance that reflection is taking place.

And while I disagree with the developmental approach at times, I also can't blame him for pumping the tires of his coworkers. It would be pretty douchy to dump on people he works with on a podcast, even if he didn't enjoy working with them.

 

[Lt Dan]

Let's hope so, but it does seem like they have.

Love Yannetti's honesty. It genuinely gives reassurance that reflection is taking place.

And while I disagree with the developmental approach at times, I also can't blame him for pumping the tires of his coworkers. It would be pretty douchy to dump on people he works with on a podcast, even if he didn't enjoy working with them.

Indeed.

His answer about His favorite dinosaur was inexcusable, but he made up for it

 

[King'sPawn]

Indeed.

His answer about His favorite dinosaur was inexcusable, but he made up for it

I took that as more lighthearted ribbing. He did say that Lombardi was very hard to work for, and he was demanding. But Jesse also agrees and suggest there's genuine respect for him.

Unless his favorite dinosaur answer was inexcusable because the answer can only be the pterodactyl.

 

[kingsfan28]

Vaguely reminded me of a story someone told about Hextall and DL where DL was f***ing fuming about...Quick? oversleeping or something and was ranting and raving about shipping him off to Manchester and hextall had to talk him off the ledge

I thought that was with the Russian, [ Pushkarov? ] at the Canadian boarder .

Interesting about the entire Cernak issue . especially as a 17 year old.. Old boys club looked at being scared as weak and pretty much ended his career as a King before it began. As much as I liked what DL did as a GM, the more I look into it, the more I think he cause much more damage than good post cups. Dinosuar is a perfect description.

 

[kingsfan28]

It was a bad deal, but I think Dean's point is still valid in that Quick had a major injury, had been out for the season and had only just come back and played one game at that point. Clearly, Dean was hoping for more in the postseason and wanted insurance.

It was the wrong call, most spotted it then and still spot it now, but in my opinion, while the assets were mismanaged and you never want to lose anything for an ill return, I don't think losing Cernak was THAT big of a deal. I don't dislike Cernak, but he is also not that crazy of a loss and I am not even 100% sure he'd be top 4 on the Kings had he stayed here.

Cernak is the dman we wish we had. There is NOBODY on the roster that can do what he does. All our dmen are small and rather soft. You don't think it would've been nice to see him work over Draisital or Kane in the playoffs?

 

[Mattias]

He's also repeatedly talked about how much immense respect he has for him.

It's all good, just made me smile at the ribbing.

If you ever get a chance to do podcast like this again, hit us up for more questions! That was fun to listen to.

 

[Reaper45]

So I ain’t got no time to listen to a podcast, what was said about Cernak?

 

[cyclones22]

So I ain’t got no time to listen to a podcast, what was said about Cernak?

Listen to the last 8 minutes.

 

[King'sPawn]

So I ain’t got no time to listen to a podcast, what was said about Cernak?

Agreed with Cyclones. It's definitely a must listen. But if you really can't, here's the summary:
- what happened to him was a mistake
- he admits most of the blame lies with the adults (i.e. not Cernak)
- he was told he would be given every chance to compete in training camp before being sent to juniors
- during the rookie tournament(?) He was out of his element against much tougher competition. Cernak admitted he was scared.
- use of the word "scared" wasn't received well by management, as well with him being out of his element. They sent him to juniors instead of letting him continue to compete.
- this upset Cernak, who didn't feel he was given the chances promised.

In summary, both sides making the wrong decisions at the wrong time. But most of it was old-school nose-turning at a young player discussing his feelings and being honest.

 

[Reaper45]

Agreed with Cyclones. It's definitely a must listen. But if you really can't, here's the summary:
- what happened to him was a mistake
- he admits most of the blame lies with the adults (i.e. not Cernak)
- he was told he would be given every chance to compete in training camp before being sent to juniors
- during the rookie tournament(?) He was out of his element against much tougher competition. Cernak admitted he was scared.
- use of the word "scared" wasn't received well by management, as well with him being out of his element. They sent him to juniors instead of letting him continue to compete.
- this upset Cernak, who didn't feel he was given the chances promised.

In summary, both sides making the wrong decisions at the wrong time. But most of it was old-school nose-turning at a young player discussing his feelings and being honest.

Oof. Thanks.

 

[funky]

Agreed with Cyclones. It's definitely a must listen. But if you really can't, here's the summary:
- what happened to him was a mistake
- he admits most of the blame lies with the adults (i.e. not Cernak)
- he was told he would be given every chance to compete in training camp before being sent to juniors
- during the rookie tournament(?) He was out of his element against much tougher competition. Cernak admitted he was scared.
- use of the word "scared" wasn't received well by management, as well with him being out of his element. They sent him to juniors instead of letting him continue to compete.
- this upset Cernak, who didn't feel he was given the chances promised.

In summary, both sides making the wrong decisions at the wrong time. But most of it was old-school nose-turning at a young player discussing his feelings and being honest.

I like how Yanetti also followed up by saying that a Cernak went into the corners (I think twice) and knew he would be hit but did it anyways to make a play and how they should have realized that he wasn’t scared. (This of course is paraphrasing). The last 10 minutes of the interview is a must.

He also said he learned that words mean different things in different cultures and basically European kids are much more open and share their thoughts vs good ole Canadian boys. Spoke about the “Old boys club” mentality at the time.

Loved the whole interview. Love how Yank basically loses the tie, speaks from the heart and is t afraid to let a little colorful language slip in. Just comes off as genuine.

 

[Herby]

Very good interview.

I would have thought that that the amateur scouts would have had more input on certain development decisions like where teenagers play, but it seems that Yannetti and his team mostly focus on draft eligible players and once a player is drafted they are turned over to Emerson. And while there have been some evaluation mistakes the vast majority of the struggles of the Kings high pick prospects can be attributed to poor development decisions. It seems like Yannetti's job is to go buy the steaks and its on Emerson (and Blake) to not cook the steaks well-done, which sadly for a couple of these kids they clearly did. Did Yanenetti pick sirloin when filet was available, in some cases yeah, but he also has found some great gems in the later rounds. I know he would never answer it, but I wonder how Yannetti feels his picks would have done had they been handled properly. His reputation might be way better if QB has 100 NHL games under his belt, Turcotte and Kupari hadn't been signed as teenagers and even if Vilardi had been put at wing the entire 20/21 season. Nelson Emerson is a prime reason why it can be a bad idea to hire your best friend. If you own the place, cool, hire whoever. But when you are a GM who has to answer to higher ups it is a bad look when your best friend is doing as questionable a job with development as Emerson is.

Lombardi has now gone six offseasons without being hired as a GM. Is this a personal choice or does he interview so poorly he can't get hired? It just seems amazing that a guy who won 2 cups in the last decade can't get hired but there has to be reasons. I think DL is very stubborn and loyal to his specific style of play and right now that style of play is viewed as archaic by most people in the league. Calling speed a fad is not a comment that has aged well. I still think that Lombardi could be a good closer for a team that is very close but just needs the final couple of correct additions to go over the top. June 2014 was like the Berlin Wall for Dean's time as Kings GM, it was just two different worlds. Especially from 2010 to final cup vs. final 3 seasons. Dean went from having the Midas touch where everything he did worked out (Richards, Carter, Williams, Mitchell, Scuderi, Sutter) to having a three season run that makes Sam McMaster look like Bill Belichick.

I wish I could have asked him how much different it is to draft and evaluate NCAA players now when they are mostly drafted out of the NTDP, USHL and Canadian Jr A. vs the past when they were drafted after their freshman year. I remember hearing a podcast where someone said it made the scouts lives much more difficult. He did touch on it a bit with Hughes, a player he said would have scored a ton in the USHL but that they were better able to evaluate him vs. tougher NCAA competition.

 

[SaltyElkHunter]

I liked your interview better than Hovens

 

[Peter James Bond II]

I liked your interview better than Hovens

But but but...Hoven pinned his at the top and trumpeted his as THE.BEST.PODCAST.
In 1:46:00 , he didn't even ask Yannetti about Connors or Wright. Maybe 30 seconds about each.
I swear I actually fell asleep and woke up and had to go back to where I fell asleep and listen again,
And I love prospect and draft stuff...and Yannetti's interviews. Hoven prides himself on knowing what
Ruutuu eats for breakfast (or such shtt) and spews his little factoids of every nuance he knows about
everyone that works for the Kings. Guess what ? Most everyone does not care or want to hear
about any of that crap. ZERO. Most of us want to know the process of finding Connors, Wright, Salin....
and what he sees in them...why they drafted Kaleb Lawrence. How about, let's find out how he thinks Helenius did last year and what he expects from him in the AHL this year. How good is Chromiak? Where does he expect him to fit in, in Ontario. Did they stay in contact with Kirsanov since drafting him? How do they navigate in having him not sign another contract there and getting him to the USA?

How about asking about Clarke's Team Canada snub, or getting suspended for a clean hit? I would like Yannetti's views on those things...and not talking 10 minutes about Tony Gasparini, who just left the organization. I don't need or want to know 10 minutes of stories about Tony.

 

[AnThGrt]

But but but...Hoven pinned his at the top and trumpeted his as THE.BEST.PODCAST.
In 1:46:00 , he didn't even ask Yannetti about Connors or Wright. Maybe 30 seconds about each.
I swear I actually fell asleep and woke up and had to go back to where I fell asleep and listen again,
And I love prospect and draft stuff...and Yannetti's interviews. Hoven prides himself on knowing what
Ruutuu eats for breakfast (or such shtt) and spews his little factoids of every nuance he knows about
everyone that works for the Kings. Guess what ? Most everyone does not care or want to hear
about any of that crap. ZERO. Most of us want to know the process of finding Connors, Wright, Salin....
and what he sees in them...why they drafted Kaleb Lawrence. How about, let's find out how he thinks Helenius did last year and what he expects from him in the AHL this year. How good is Chromiak? Where does he expect him to fit in, in Ontario. Did they stay in contact with Kirsanov since drafting him? How about asking about Clarke's Team Canada snub, or getting suspended for a clean hit? I would like Yannetti's views on those things...
and not talking 10 minutes about Tony Gasparini, who just left the organization. I don't need or want to know 10 minutes of stories about Tony.

Sad that one of our best and only resources of information is also one of our biggest if not the biggest tool on our fanbase out there.