Press Room: Don Sweeney | Boston Bruins
Sweeney talks after Bruins skate on Monday at WIA
www.nhl.com
December 18, 2023
BOSTON BRUINS GENERAL MANAGER DON SWEENEY…
On the benefits of Matt Poitras playing in World Juniors…
“Yeah, I mean, this is quite an accomplishment for all young hockey players to take a chance to represent their country at one of the biggest stages. It's unique in the fact he's playing in the NHL, so that's the first thing that probably goes through anybody's mind as ‘what’s the trade off?’ but there's really no downside for him to go and represent and be a leader on that team, and hopefully accomplish the ultimate goal as all young players playing hockey have a chance to try and accomplish. So we’re excited for Matty [Matt Poitras] and he'll represent the Boston Bruins, himself and his family and continue to do very well.”
On if there are benefits to “getting away” from the NHL grind for a short period of time…
“Well, we had a plan in place as you might be aware in more recent weeks that we needed to back off a little bit what his load was. We didn't map out a master one day one, because he was going through the process. Went through rookie camp, go all the way through training camp, playing a lot of games, and just keep meeting benchmarks for himself. And then jumping and playing the line’s share of all the games up until close to the 30 game mark. It’s a lot of hockey, and there's a lot of pressure associated with that. I think what gets him a chance mentally and physically to have a little bit of a reset, go and play against your peer group. Now again, it's high expectations and high leverage pressured situations that he's now been thrust into at the highest level you can possibly play at. He’s should handle that well, he should take those things that happen in our locker room and impart them on his new teammates, and lead from the front, and that's what we're hoping for. He'll come back and reinsert himself with us. It's a tough challenge to get right back on the road and go to the West Coast, so we have to monitor that when he gets back. But he's coming back to join the Boston Bruins and continue along the path that he's been, which has been outstanding so far.”
On if having Morgan Geekie as a center option made sending Matt Poitras to World Juniors an easier decision…
“Well, with Zacha [Pavel Zacha] being out, he really carried a lot of the top line’s role with he and Charlie [Charlie Coyle] are all factors. So, getting someone healthy leading up to this decision was certainly part of the process, and why we took this down to the wire to make our decision. Hopefully we get Pav [Pavel Zacha] back this week and I agree, Geeks [Morgan Geekie] has played really well since he's come back from his injury, and that depth down the middle of the ice when he’s gone and played there, so we feel a little more comfortable where we are right now than where we had been a couple of weeks ago. But Matty [Matt Poitras] will be missed because he's done a good job.”
On if there have been any discussions about moving Matt Poitras to wing…
“Well, he’s smart enough to play anywhere. You know, he only played the one game in rookie camp on the wing. So what we've tried to do is put him in the position he's most comfortable with, and you're seeing some of the growing pains associated with that. He's been fortunate to play with some pretty smart wingers that have gone down low and helped out in that regard, and he's read off of that pretty well. It's an option for us, I think as I referenced earlier, he’s a smart enough player. He’s still going to want to attack offensively, which most offensively inclined players tend to do and get to the middle of the ice from that standpoint, but that's not problematic for our hockey club. Marsh [Brad Marchand] does it, Pasta [David Pastrnak] certainly does it. Good offensive minded players will figure out a way, and we're going to play the best players, and maybe it is an opportunity to move them around when he gets back, but we'll cross that bridge when we get there.”
On how Matt Poitras feels about leaving the Bruins to play for Team Canada in World Juniors…
“Well, I think I pointed that out earlier, any current player playing in National Hockey League wonders how they’re affected by leaving the team for a period of time. That being said, Matty [Matt Poitras] will answer the fact that I think it's a lifelong dream for all young Canadian kids to grow up and represent your country in the World Juniors. I think he's excited about it, I think the fact that he's coming back and joining our team probably takes a little pressure off of that. And he is, he's coming back, he's earned that, we made that commitment to him. He'll have to earn his right, just like he did coming out of training camp, to stay in our lineup and continue to contribute to our lineup. But I think the overall plan has been presented to him. We've certainly discussed it internally at length in terms of… not unlike when he doesn't play in the Island, but then turns around and plays against the Rangers on Saturday and has a little more renewed energy... and that was explained to him as well. So, I think that's all been received very well from him, but he's going through it for the first time, so he's going to have some mixed emotions.”
On what goes into the decision to manage Matt Poitras’ workload…
“Yeah, I mean, over the course of time anybody's going to wear down throughout the season. So, there are certain opportunities and situations – Are you winning your puck battles? Are you able to close defensively? Are you still able to generate and separate? Are you getting closed off? So just little things that certainly show up, and everybody has off nights per say, but if it's attributed to fatigue, we monitor these guys every day in practice in terms of where they are and where their recovery is at, so we have little things that will tip off what direction our players are headed in.”
On his overall evaluation of the team three months into the season…
“Well, I think we're positive about where our club is at. We described to them that it’s going to be a work in progress, and there’s going to be some growing pains associated with our hockey club. We're going to challenge the depth of our group, and we have done that… Charlie [Charlie McAvoy] has been out, Zacha’s [Pavel Zacha] been out, Geekie’s [Morgan Geekie] been out, Grzelcyk [Matt Grzelcyk] has been out. We prefaced most of the things, our goaltending we felt very good about and we continue to feel good about. Defensive structure of our group, went through a little bit of a lull for a couple of games, uncharacteristically, but then got right back, put the screws down a little bit, and tightened it up. We went into a real tough environment this past weekend, three really good teams in the Metro, and got the defensive game. Offensively, we're tracking okay there, we're in the top 10 of respected categories for both power play and in five-on-five. Probably a notch below from the finish standpoint, so we hope that comes back online and being healthy. Penalty killing remains to be really stout, again, partly goaltenders, they get a lot of credit in that regard what Joe [Joe Sacco] and the group does there. We’re a competitive group, we expect to be competitive, now we’ve got to stay healthy, keep moving forward, and keep getting better. As I said, you know, we've introduced some young players, so there's going to be some growing pains with each and every one of them, new bodies, when you think about where JVR, [James van Riemsdyk] Shatty, [Kevin Shattenkirk] and Geeks, [Morgan Geekie] and what they've came in and provided for our hockey club, leadership and production in different roles. Monty [Jim Montgomery] and the coaching staff have done a nice job of going through some pockets, not get too high when you’re up there, and then don't get too low when we hit some lows. And Brad [Brad Marchand] for that matter, wearing the captaincy for the first time, can’t go unnoticed in terms of responsibility and leadership that he's going through for the first time, learned from some pretty good guys prior to, but he's his own person he wants to lead from his own personality. And obviously David [Pastrnak] and Charlie [McAvoy] as being assistants are a big part of that. So, we're not comfortable, you’re never comfortable in this business, but we're proud of the group and how they've done so far, and we’ve got to continue to move forward.”
On Matt Poitras’ ice time in the third period and how he’s handled that…
“I mean, you're referencing probably two specific games that I recall that he got shortened. There's a lot of guys that go through the league and get their ice time shortened, and you play long enough, you’re going to go through that. Puck management, an extended shift in one case, it's just a real good learning opportunity. And that's exactly how was it was attributed, right back in the next night, and back in the situation rebounding to play in 14 minutes and contribute, not to strip away his confidence, making sure that communication is really positive in that sense. But you’ve got to go through some growing pains at times that every player goes through.”
On Ryan Mougenel’s assessment of Fabian Lysell over the weekend…
“Yeah, that was after yesterday's game. I was actually at yesterday's game, so I certainly heard Moug’s [Ryan Mougenel] frustration after the game as we sat down for about 20 minutes. The team played very well in the first period, their pace was up, execution was good. Fabian [Lysell] was a big part of that, he scored a nice goal on the powerplay with a downhill shot, managed the puck really well. And as the team started to stray away from… you give credit to Syracuse, because they got to their game, and our team departed from that… that's where a young player like Fabian… [Lysell] that's he’s specifically referencing. Managing the game and having an understanding, no different than really anybody else, but Brad [Brad Marchand] and Pasta [David Pastrnak] go through the same things…offensively inclined players are going to go through that, they want to do more. Sometimes it's just about maintaining within the team structure and executing, and that's something that Fabian [Fabian Lysell] and all young players are going to continue to go through… older players, for that matter, are going to go through. They want to do more, and that's a good quality to have, but you’ve got to do it within the framework of the team. It's not something that he hasn't heard directly from Moug, [Ryan Mougenel] and he's just trying to reaffirm that part.”
On if he thinks moving forward that the NHL will implement more road management for star players…
“I mean, it's a tough league. Parity is there, so it's a hard league to win in. I don't know whether or not you can have just a master plan heading into the start of the season and say, ‘I'm gone sit out player X on a certain night’. Sometimes man games lost dictate that for you. In an ideal world, I think because of the metrics that we have in practice, we don't have those for games, but we track them in practice… and knowing where our players are at, and in Matty’s [Matt Poitras] case, he’s an 18 year old player going through the National Hockey League. And as I said, a lot of stuff going through training camp and trying to…in his mind… make this team. I think it applies in that case. So I think, you know, Anaheim was really honest about their plan, and good on them, they feel comfortable doing that. I think it's a tool now that's in everybody's toolbox to be able to utilize, and if it can be effective in the long run, then I think we will adopt it. But you're governed by a roster, you're governed by a cap, you're governed by man games lost and injuries, and you're trying to win. So those things collide pretty quickly.”
On his analysis of Matt Poitras in the most recent segment of play…
“You know, the league does get harder, and he's going through that for the first six months. As much as you want to talk to a player about that, you’ve got to go through it, live it, and know you're going on the road. You know, the matchups you lose, playing against guys for the very first time and realizing that the teams are pretty stout and going to close you off. So it's just a steep learning curve, and he's handled it really well. I mean, he comes back and in some of the games where he's made a couple of booboos, and hasn't lost his confidence, will go out and play the next play…doesn't play in Long Island, watches… actually mentioned to me that sometimes it is really beneficial to watch how hard this league is, how big some of the D are and when they're going to close you off, and then he'll make a really good play that helps set up a goal against the Rangers. I love that about him. He’s going through it for the first time, but he's learning from each one of those experiences, tried to apply it, and hopefully he's a lot better off coming out the other side.”
On what he thinks that Matt Poitras ultimately returns with after playing in World Juniors…
“Well, being born in St. Stephen New Brunswick, I hope he returns with a gold medal, that would be the first thing I would say having an opportunity to represent my country. Enjoying the experience, I think is also paramount, and playing his best hockey. As I referenced, going there to be a leader, to be probably looked up to in the fact that he's the only one that has played 30 games in the National Hockey League… or close to it. But also, it's a level playing field. Make sure you're respecting the people playing against you, and just because you played there, it doesn't mean your resume is any better than anyone else’s while you're there. You’ve got to go and play a really good two-way game, and as you referenced, he's trying to learn to appreciate even more. When you're told as a player who has the puck an awful lot coming up that you’ve got to give it up before you’re in places, that's a hard thing to process. Because now you're giving up what you what you think is one of your strongest attributes. That's building a team game, and understanding that you’ve got to win inches, especially when the game gets hard and you're playing against NHL players.”
On if he’s able to enjoy the World Juniors as a fan or if he’s still analyzing it from a work perspective…
“I think you're always going to… the nature is to evaluate. That's a heavily scouted tournament, you know, it's 19–20-year old’s because they're on the precipice of potentially impacting NHL lineups. So you're going to evaluate that and put it in the back of your mind as to who's made progress during the draft year, and you go back and talk a lot about that with your amateur scouts about who's made that progress. You do enjoy games, there's no question you enjoy that type of hockey. You don't have stakes involved in it, right? So win or loss you cheer for somebody, but you're not walking out of there grumpy when you lose.”
On what he’s looking for from Ian Mitchell to continue to grow and develop…
“Ian went down and played yesterday. Keeping him as sharp as possible, and getting him in minutes and some situations that maybe wasn't playing here. He got on the powerplay there yesterday, and you can see as his confidence and his puck poise in the offensive blue line sort of returning because he's got more touches, we've asked him to, from within the structure of our own game, to continue to learn to close and kill plays defensively, and then use your legs and your ability to transition pucks. It’s just keeping all of their guys sharp for that matter, because we call upon each and every one of them and we will continue to do that. Injuries aren’t likely to stop, I hope they do, but they're unlikely.”
On who will be going to watch the game from the coaching staff...
“We’ll get a lot of guys there. PJ [Axelsson] lives there, so it's a home game for him, and Ryan [Nadeau] will go, and Dean [Malkoc] will go, Jamie's [Langenbrunner] going, I’m likely to go, so we’ll be well represented to watch.”
On what caught his eye about Parker Wotherspoon’s style of play…
“Well he always provided, he was in Bridgeport and the Island for his whole career leading up to this year. In that league, you play against those teams an awful lot. Bridgeport was always a really stout team to play against, aggressive to defend, brought by the ability to transition pucks. So, we started to appreciate his game more and more. Now, you never know how it applies bringing it to your own organization, you hope those attributes continue to shine. He's shown the flexibility to play both left and right, which is another plus for us. He just brings a little bit more bite in some situations that we think lends to what our group needs overall and provides some balance.”
On AHL players like Parker Wotherspoon appreciating playing time in the NHL…
“Yeah, I mean, it's not an easy path, you know? Now again, it’s his first time changing a team, and sometimes you get a bump in that regard when you come to an organization, and some guys handle that well… very well…because they think it's there's a renewed positive approach to things, and how an outside team has now viewed you, as opposed to maybe you flatlined in your current environment. Parker [Wotherspoon] was excited to join our group, he knew our organization, he had done his research in terms of where he thought his strengths would be appreciated. And all he asked for was an opportunity, as all players would, regardless whether or not he's played 300 games down there. He wanted an opportunity to prove he could play in the National Hockey League, and we've always been committed when guys are playing well and the need is there, that we're going to give guys that opportunity, and it's up to them.”
