Interview with Dorion in French for those who want to listen.
Who knows if everything he’s saying is the truth (I doubt it) but thought I’d share some of the key info (please note my French is rusty, so apologies if I got anything wrong!)
- Sens were debating between Jarventie, Kleven, and Peterka for the first second rounder in 2020. He suggests he never saw Jarventie play, but that Trent Mann said he thinks he’ll take longer but he’ll be better so he went with it. Goes on to say it’s okay, Mann often made good decisions like Pinto (who was not the choice of the scouting staff overall)
- Some Sens scouts had Byfield #1, some Laf, some Timmy. Overall list landed with Stützle at 2 behind Laf.
- Sanderson was their pick, not a lot of disagreement there. Dorion thought he’d be exceptional in all facets even though ppl didn’t see his offensive game and he wanted a dman. Mentioned they liked Raymond and Holtz too.
- In 2015 Ottawa had Kyle Connor ranked 6th overall (he wasn’t 100% sure if that was exact). Obviously he went one pick before Chabot.
- They tried to move up to get Schneider in 2020, Mann loved him. But was always impressed with Greig. Mentioned watching him in the game against MTL towards the end of the season and thinking wow he’s going to be good.
- He tried to always be involved in the first rounder but sometimes he didn’t get a chance. Never saw Shane Bowers.
- Gives Bob Lowes credit for Stone, Mann credit for Batherson and himself credit for Erik Karlsson picks.
- Saw Brady a ton bc the scouting team had a lot of questions about him. But mentions Jordan Greenway was centering him at BU and he’s not a centre so he never had the puck which explained the lack of goal scoring. Seems the tournaments he played in (under 18s? Idk can’t remember) was what convinced them he’d be a productive NHLer.
- Basically as soon as the 2017 run was over, Guy Boucher was telling Pierre every day that all that was missing was Matt Duchene (lol). Then when they started losing Melnyk told him he didn’t want to be in the playoffs one year out the next and to come up with a rebuild plan. He came up with a 100 page plan, says he said they should probably keep one of the stars to build around (paraphrased). Also later on says Stone didn’t want to be part of a rebuild but he wanted to sign him. Didn’t know about the Hoffman/Karlsson issues. When it came out he got terrible offers bc people knew the situation, he took the only one that made any sense.
- they kept the Brady pick in part because Pierre did not think they’d be as bad the next year. Mentions they liked 8 guys and their list was Dahlin, Brady, Svech, Hughes, Bouchard, Dobson, KK, Zadina. Isn’t 100% sure on the order but says Zadina was last and KK 7th. Also says he believes KK was rushed and it hurt him.
- Pierre saw Oscar Pettersson in his draft year and thought he’d be better than he is today. Isn’t sure they should’ve brought him over so young. Talked about the mental aspect of being away from home.
- Wanted Cody Glass for Karlsson the year before Stone trade. Interviewers asked without naming any names, in hindsight were there better offers for Stone that he turned down? He said no. One team offered him a deal that made no sense, one team offered a first rounder (said he checked the list and they would’ve taken an alright NHL player but not a guy that ended up being that good). His pro scouts loved Brannstrom and he was impressed when he saw him too.
- He was asked why he tried to accelerate the rebuild by trading all those picks when to outsiders it was clear they needed more time. He said 1. He had promised Tkachuk that by a certain year they’d try to compete 2. If he doesn’t get DeBrincat then Giroux might not have signed 3. Wanted to be in playoff mix so losing didn’t become a habit/acceptable.
- Adds that all the research they did indicated DeBrincat would want to sign long-term. His reasoning was played for Erie, wanted to be close to home and Ottawa is close to Detroit. Then says maybe he just wanted to get out of Chicago, but you just never know (this answer made absolutely no sense to me). Later he says they never spoke to him bc he had two years left, and they basically know people and they said he likes the idea of playing in Canada etc.
- Didn’t really commit to who they would have taken in 2022 but loved Kasper. Said he was very confident he’d be a 2C.
- Doesn’t know what DeBrincat was thinking. All year his agent said yes he likes it here, he’s just gonna see how things go. Pierre said in his exit meeting with ADB and DJ when ADB left the room he said no chance he’s signing here. Confirms his agent told every team he’d only sign in Detroit so he got what he could for him.
- Basically traded for Chychrun cause he wanted a top 4. Thought Chabot could play the right side (doesn’t think so anymore). Thought Sanderson could too since he’s so good. He didn’t do it for that year specifically but for the next two.
- The interviewers keep pushing him on these trades and he keeps defending his thought process. Talks about how free agents wouldn’t come here bc they hadn’t made the playoffs in years so this was the only way to attract players of this calibre. (Very clear this guy hasn’t learned a thing)
- Was asked if he felt pressure from Melnyk that the rebuild was taking too long and then from the sale process. He said no Melnyk pressure - It was just that he didn’t want a losing culture. Then says he told DJ once Andlauer bought the team that both of them had one year and they had to make the playoffs.
- No hard feelings towards Andlauer, he paid for the team and had the right to put whoever he wants in place. He’s happy with what he left Staios with. Thinks if he’d stayed they were on track to make the playoffs. (The delusion is hard to listen to at this point, but he acknowledges that’s just his opinion)
- Asked about rounds 4 to 7 and his drafting philosophy there. He said don’t focus on negatives, focus on what they do well. Values character and hockey sense. Players can improve skating, hands etc. Never used to mind taking a player who’s skating was weak but also mentions the game has changed and now skating is so much more important than it used to be. Told his staff get players who have self-drive.
- Says Mark Stone has the best hockey sense he’s ever seen. Batherson one of the best too.
- Pierre is most proud of the Karlsson pick as Sens head scout. As GM he’s most proud of the Burrows trade (no I’m not kidding). Says we don’t know how good Burrows was in the room and believes if he didn’t get hurt we would have beaten Pittsburgh.
- didn’t see Boucher live. Says he likes first watching players live and then through video. Mann saw him as a Tom Wilson type. He is 100% certain and had it confirmed to him that Boucher was gone within the next 5-7 picks.
Anyway this took forever and I’m dumber having listened to it. Grateful we have Staios now.
Who knows if everything he’s saying is the truth (I doubt it) but thought I’d share some of the key info (please note my French is rusty, so apologies if I got anything wrong!)
- Sens were debating between Jarventie, Kleven, and Peterka for the first second rounder in 2020. He suggests he never saw Jarventie play, but that Trent Mann said he thinks he’ll take longer but he’ll be better so he went with it. Goes on to say it’s okay, Mann often made good decisions like Pinto (who was not the choice of the scouting staff overall)
- Some Sens scouts had Byfield #1, some Laf, some Timmy. Overall list landed with Stützle at 2 behind Laf.
- Sanderson was their pick, not a lot of disagreement there. Dorion thought he’d be exceptional in all facets even though ppl didn’t see his offensive game and he wanted a dman. Mentioned they liked Raymond and Holtz too.
- In 2015 Ottawa had Kyle Connor ranked 6th overall (he wasn’t 100% sure if that was exact). Obviously he went one pick before Chabot.
- They tried to move up to get Schneider in 2020, Mann loved him. But was always impressed with Greig. Mentioned watching him in the game against MTL towards the end of the season and thinking wow he’s going to be good.
- He tried to always be involved in the first rounder but sometimes he didn’t get a chance. Never saw Shane Bowers.
- Gives Bob Lowes credit for Stone, Mann credit for Batherson and himself credit for Erik Karlsson picks.
- Saw Brady a ton bc the scouting team had a lot of questions about him. But mentions Jordan Greenway was centering him at BU and he’s not a centre so he never had the puck which explained the lack of goal scoring. Seems the tournaments he played in (under 18s? Idk can’t remember) was what convinced them he’d be a productive NHLer.
- Basically as soon as the 2017 run was over, Guy Boucher was telling Pierre every day that all that was missing was Matt Duchene (lol). Then when they started losing Melnyk told him he didn’t want to be in the playoffs one year out the next and to come up with a rebuild plan. He came up with a 100 page plan, says he said they should probably keep one of the stars to build around (paraphrased). Also later on says Stone didn’t want to be part of a rebuild but he wanted to sign him. Didn’t know about the Hoffman/Karlsson issues. When it came out he got terrible offers bc people knew the situation, he took the only one that made any sense.
- they kept the Brady pick in part because Pierre did not think they’d be as bad the next year. Mentions they liked 8 guys and their list was Dahlin, Brady, Svech, Hughes, Bouchard, Dobson, KK, Zadina. Isn’t 100% sure on the order but says Zadina was last and KK 7th. Also says he believes KK was rushed and it hurt him.
- Pierre saw Oscar Pettersson in his draft year and thought he’d be better than he is today. Isn’t sure they should’ve brought him over so young. Talked about the mental aspect of being away from home.
- Wanted Cody Glass for Karlsson the year before Stone trade. Interviewers asked without naming any names, in hindsight were there better offers for Stone that he turned down? He said no. One team offered him a deal that made no sense, one team offered a first rounder (said he checked the list and they would’ve taken an alright NHL player but not a guy that ended up being that good). His pro scouts loved Brannstrom and he was impressed when he saw him too.
- He was asked why he tried to accelerate the rebuild by trading all those picks when to outsiders it was clear they needed more time. He said 1. He had promised Tkachuk that by a certain year they’d try to compete 2. If he doesn’t get DeBrincat then Giroux might not have signed 3. Wanted to be in playoff mix so losing didn’t become a habit/acceptable.
- Adds that all the research they did indicated DeBrincat would want to sign long-term. His reasoning was played for Erie, wanted to be close to home and Ottawa is close to Detroit. Then says maybe he just wanted to get out of Chicago, but you just never know (this answer made absolutely no sense to me). Later he says they never spoke to him bc he had two years left, and they basically know people and they said he likes the idea of playing in Canada etc.
- Didn’t really commit to who they would have taken in 2022 but loved Kasper. Said he was very confident he’d be a 2C.
- Doesn’t know what DeBrincat was thinking. All year his agent said yes he likes it here, he’s just gonna see how things go. Pierre said in his exit meeting with ADB and DJ when ADB left the room he said no chance he’s signing here. Confirms his agent told every team he’d only sign in Detroit so he got what he could for him.
- Basically traded for Chychrun cause he wanted a top 4. Thought Chabot could play the right side (doesn’t think so anymore). Thought Sanderson could too since he’s so good. He didn’t do it for that year specifically but for the next two.
- The interviewers keep pushing him on these trades and he keeps defending his thought process. Talks about how free agents wouldn’t come here bc they hadn’t made the playoffs in years so this was the only way to attract players of this calibre. (Very clear this guy hasn’t learned a thing)
- Was asked if he felt pressure from Melnyk that the rebuild was taking too long and then from the sale process. He said no Melnyk pressure - It was just that he didn’t want a losing culture. Then says he told DJ once Andlauer bought the team that both of them had one year and they had to make the playoffs.
- No hard feelings towards Andlauer, he paid for the team and had the right to put whoever he wants in place. He’s happy with what he left Staios with. Thinks if he’d stayed they were on track to make the playoffs. (The delusion is hard to listen to at this point, but he acknowledges that’s just his opinion)
- Asked about rounds 4 to 7 and his drafting philosophy there. He said don’t focus on negatives, focus on what they do well. Values character and hockey sense. Players can improve skating, hands etc. Never used to mind taking a player who’s skating was weak but also mentions the game has changed and now skating is so much more important than it used to be. Told his staff get players who have self-drive.
- Says Mark Stone has the best hockey sense he’s ever seen. Batherson one of the best too.
- Pierre is most proud of the Karlsson pick as Sens head scout. As GM he’s most proud of the Burrows trade (no I’m not kidding). Says we don’t know how good Burrows was in the room and believes if he didn’t get hurt we would have beaten Pittsburgh.
- didn’t see Boucher live. Says he likes first watching players live and then through video. Mann saw him as a Tom Wilson type. He is 100% certain and had it confirmed to him that Boucher was gone within the next 5-7 picks.
Anyway this took forever and I’m dumber having listened to it. Grateful we have Staios now.
