Here is the transcript from the interview I conducted with Cam Fowler of the OHL's Windsor Spitfires before practice.
Fowler is the No. 3 North American Skater on the Central Scouting Service's midseason rankings and has been catching a little flak on internet message boards for what is perceived as a lack of upside because he hasn't played a flashy, dominant game in certain national televised viewings such as the World Jr. Championship and the CHL Top Prospects Game.
I'll relay what an NHL scout once told me and that is: you can't really gain a true appreciation on a player unless you see him live. Television is a start and gives a baseline, but so much happens behind the play and when a player doesn't have the puck.
It's a sage reminder of the importance of live scouting and why the guys in the profession log thousands of miles on the road in bad weather throughout a season to see these kids play in person.
Here's the transcript of the talk with Fowler:
Bruins2010DraftWatch: Congratulations on the big win at the World Junior Championship last month. What are some of the things you think are what helped propel you and your teammates to the gold medal in Saskatoon?
Cam Fowler: It was an unbelievable experience to be on such a great team with so many great players and friends. I think it just started right from the get-go at summer camp with Coach (Dean) Blais in August. He was already talking to us about how good it was going to feel to win gold on Canadian soil and he and the other coaches showed a lot of confidence in us as players. We bought into the systems (they wanted us to employ) and were ready to go. Another thing that helped was the fact that many of us are really close-- like a family. I think that closeness off the ice had a positive effect on the way we played on the ice and we just kind of took it from there and got great contributions from everybody.
B2010DW: How has your first season of major junior at Windsor gone?
CF: It's been a great season so far. I had a smooth transition coming to Windsor-- the guys on the team welcomed me with open arms and the coaching staff, too. Everyone's been great, and I'll include my billet family; they've been terrific in helping me to settle in, and I think that when you're comfortable, everything just falls into place. We have a lot of elite players, guys who won a Memorial Cup last year and understand what it takes to win at this level, so I've just tried to fit in to the best of my ability, listen to the coaches and have fun.
B2010DW: Ryan Ellis is a tremendous talent and veteran defenseman in the OHL. How has he helped your transition this year?
CF: Yeah, he really is a great player and teammate. Ryan's become one of my best buds off the ice, and like I said before, when you're close friends with your teammates off the ice, that all just translates when you're playing the games. But Ryan has been great to me; he took me under his wing when I got here and showed me around Windsor and really helped me to fit in with the team. We don't play a lot together on the ice, but we do work the power play. He's been in the (OHL) since he was a young kid, so he has so much experience and skill, and has taught me a lot.
B2010DW: I understand that you were born in Windsor, but are a dual-citizen. How did your decision to play for USA Hockey come about?
CF: Yes, I was born in Windsor, but when I was about one-and-a-half, my dad (Perry) got a job transfer (with Ford Motor Company) and we moved to Michigan. My dad is Canadian; he was born in Newfoundland and went to school at McMaster and then the University of Windsor. My mom (Bridget) is American from Grosse Point (a suburb of Detroit). I think the fact that I just grew up in Michigan and was a part of USA Hockey and later the National Team Development Program made it the right choice for me.
B2010DW: How beneficial was your time in Ann Arbor with the U.S. NTDP in preparing you for the OHL?
CF: It was huge. That’s one of the best programs in the world in terms of development. I went in as a skinny, underdeveloped 16-year-old and came out not only prepared for hockey, but for life. The big thing is the international experience. Not too many kids get to go to Russia, Slovakia and Sweden and play against the best players in the world for their age group. It really helped me to get that experience that I would not have gotten in any other program at that age.
B2010DW: Who are some of the guys you were closest with while a part of the program?
CF: That's difficult to answer with just a few names because I was with the same guys for two years and we became brothers. I roomed with Jerry D'Amigo. But I was also very close to Kenny Ryan, Kevin Lynch and Jeremy Morin. But there were so many great guys I got to know there.
Kenny is here in Windsor with me this year, which has been great because we've been teammates going back 10 years when we both played our minor hockey for Honeybaked. It's always nice to have a great friend when you're with a new team going through the same things you are. And, I've managed to keep in touch with "Jet" (Morin), who's playing in Kitchener this season. It's been different seeing him in another uniform, and we're actually playing them tomorrow, so I'm looking forward to the game. The Rangers are one of our big rivals, so it will be all business when we take the ice, but I hope to get a chance to talk to him at some point.
B2010DW: Although your focus is clearly on the OHL right now, have you given any thought to the upcoming NHL draft and taking your first real step as a pro? Are you feeling any pressure with so much of the hype that seems to be surrounding you these days?
CF: Anytime there's those high expectations, you're going to feel a little bit of pressure. To be honest, it's something I've been dealing with with for a few years. With the draft so close, I'd be lying if I said I didn't think about it. At the same time, it’s all about the team in Windsor and trying to achieve our ultimate goals of winning an OHL championship and defending the Memorial Cup title, so that’s where my focus is; on my team and teammates and continuing to win games.
B2010DW: What are your best attributes?
CF: The best ability I have is my skating. It's just something that has been natural for me since I was young. The other things are my first pass; getting the puck up the ice quickly and joining the rush.
B2010DW: What are two things you need to work on the most?
CF: A couple of big things I'm working on is my phyisicality and being a little nastier on the ice, as that’s something that is expected at the NHL level. I’m also working on my defensive intensity and being more aware in my own zone. That’s something the coaches here have helped me with a lot.
B2010DW: Who are some of the toughest players you've competed against at home and internationally over the past two years and why?
CF: That's a tough one, but I'll say Taylor Hall first of all, because it was definitely a challenge for me to go from using him as a teammate to give him the puck to do his thing to having to stop him, because he's so fast and skilled. I appreciated his ability when I was playing with him in Windsor earlier in the season, but then to have to be on the other side and see all the little things he does, I think it made me a better player and made him a better player. I think the whole experience of going up against one another made us better players. And, I'm happy for him because he really did have a great tournament, and I'm happy with the tournament I had.
B2010DW: You didn't see them in last month's tourney, but you have had some tough matchups against Team Russia. What are your thoughts playing against them, going back to last spring's Under-18 Championship in Fargo?
CF: Yeah, they're a tough team to play against for sure. We learned our lesson in the first game of the round robin against them (in the Under-18 tournament). We got into a run and gun game with them and it cost us. We lost 6-5 and it really left a bad taste in our mouths. We'd had some issues with them going back to when I was a 17-year-old and we had a bench clearing brawl against them, so every time we played them, we wanted to put a hurting on them. And then after we lost the first game in Fargo, we heard that they were stomping on the American flag and things like that, so when we played them again in the championship game we wanted to send a message. So, I think we did that when we beat them 5-0.
B2010DW: Jack Campbell...
CF: Yeah, he's an unbelievable goalie. He's so young, but so composed and skilled. He's one of the best goalies I've ever played with for sure.
B2010DW: What was your favorite NHL team growing up and are there any players you tried to emulate or pattern yourself after?
CF: I liked the Montreal Canadiens...I wasn't a die-hard or anything. I just liked watching them. But the players I tried to emulate weren' on Montreal. I liked Nicklas Lidstrom a lot when I was a kid growing up and watching him play in Detroit. Another player I've always liked watching is Scott Niedermayer. I think I have some similarities to the way he plays, so those are the players I've always tried to watch and take something from over the years.
***
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Buried under snow!
Well, the snowfall in our area has been steady and relentless since Friday, which has affected my internet connection among other things, so I'm sorry that I haven't had as many updates of late.
The good news is that I spoke to Windsor Spitfires' defenseman Cam Fowler today and will have a transcript of our interview up on the blog soon. I'm writing a more comprehensive feature for hockeyjournal.com, but am waiting to hear back from Taylor Hall before that one hits the streets.
As I had heard through multiple sources, Fowler is extremely well-spoken and has a very mature outlook on hockey and where he's going. I have to think that if the Bruins are picking third, and he happens to be on the board, there's no way they'd pass on him.
The good news is that I spoke to Windsor Spitfires' defenseman Cam Fowler today and will have a transcript of our interview up on the blog soon. I'm writing a more comprehensive feature for hockeyjournal.com, but am waiting to hear back from Taylor Hall before that one hits the streets.
As I had heard through multiple sources, Fowler is extremely well-spoken and has a very mature outlook on hockey and where he's going. I have to think that if the Bruins are picking third, and he happens to be on the board, there's no way they'd pass on him.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Bruins 2010 draft picks update: 8 Feb
Sorry I'm late, folks- internet and cable was down here from early Saturday a.m. until tonight.
Missed Boston's shootout loss to Vancouver and the shutout win over Montreal over the weekend. Congratulations to Adam McQuaid on his first NHL goal. He's a guy who won't score many of 'em even when he does become a full-time big leaguer, but it is nice to see that the Lone Wolf got the winner against the hated Habs.
Now, for the pick update for the June draft (not taking the lottery into account):
1st Round
2nd overall- Toronto (49 points; 19-29-11)
10th overall- Boston (59 points; 24-22-11)
2nd Round
32nd overall- Toronto
40th overall- Boston
43rd overall- Tampa Bay (61 points 25-21-11)
3rd Round
None- Traded to Buffalo for Dan Paille
4th Round
93rd overall- Carolina (49 points; 21-30-7)
100th overall- Boston*
*Conditional pick awarded to Buffalo if Dan Paille scores 16 goals
5th Round
130th overall- Boston
6th Round
160th overall- Boston
7th Round
190th overall- Boston
Missed Boston's shootout loss to Vancouver and the shutout win over Montreal over the weekend. Congratulations to Adam McQuaid on his first NHL goal. He's a guy who won't score many of 'em even when he does become a full-time big leaguer, but it is nice to see that the Lone Wolf got the winner against the hated Habs.
Now, for the pick update for the June draft (not taking the lottery into account):
1st Round
2nd overall- Toronto (49 points; 19-29-11)
10th overall- Boston (59 points; 24-22-11)
2nd Round
32nd overall- Toronto
40th overall- Boston
43rd overall- Tampa Bay (61 points 25-21-11)
3rd Round
None- Traded to Buffalo for Dan Paille
4th Round
93rd overall- Carolina (49 points; 21-30-7)
100th overall- Boston*
*Conditional pick awarded to Buffalo if Dan Paille scores 16 goals
5th Round
130th overall- Boston
6th Round
160th overall- Boston
7th Round
190th overall- Boston
Friday, February 5, 2010
Three guys you should know: Brandon Archibald, Stephen Silas and Julian Melchiori
If you're a Bruins fan and supporter who believes that the team needs to add skill and upside to the defense position, then a trio of Ontario-based defenders are worth keeping an eye on as the season progresses: Brandon Archibald, Stephen Silas and Julian Melchiori.
Archibald, who plays for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL, is a Michigander with a big frame (6-3, 205) who projects as a solid shutdown defender when he fills out. He's mobile and smart, and has been a dependable player on the blue line this season. He's not a fighter, but has shown a willingness to drop the gloves when challenged and has proven to be more than capable of holding his own. He may not have a big offensive upside, but he's a character player with the strong hockey skills to be a solid second-round projection right now.
I talked to a scout recently about him and this is what he said: "He's a young guy who's playing a big role on his team. He makes a good first pass and has a big (point) shot. I like him."
Silas is a two-way defenseman on the OHL's Belleville Bulls who doesn't have a lot of size (6-0, 180), but has been a consistent, steady presence for that club. He did participate in the CHL Top Prospects Game and while he didn't stand out, was solid.
"He's a smart puck mover," the scout said of Silas. "He's a calm guy with the puck who makes the right decisions. He's pretty good in his own end even if he isn't the biggest guy. He looks like a steady No. 4 defender (at the NHL level) if he keeps progressing."
Finally, Melchiori may be the most intriguing of the three.
At 6-3, 185, the late '91 birthdate has a lot of filling out to do, but is a superb skater playing for the Newmarket Hurricanes on the Ontario Jr. A circuit. He turned down a chance to play for the OHL's Oshawa Generals in favor of accepting a scholarship to UMass-Lowell (2010-11), and at last check, he's still committed to going the NCAA route.
"He's a very nice skater who is an offensive presence for his team," the scout said. "He's gotten way better as the year has gone on, and anytime you have a 6-3 guy who can move like he can, he's going to attract some attention."
Here's what Red Line Report had to say about Melchiori in their November issue, after he participated in the World Jr. A Challenge Tournament as a member of Team Canada East: "Tall, lanky defenseman is thin as a rail, but has surprisingly quick feet and acceleration...He's raw as hell, but has a nice frame to fill out and some pretty good tools."
All three are generating some buzz in scouting circles for their solid play and are probably worth following even though we're still smack dab in the middle of winter.
Archibald, who plays for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL, is a Michigander with a big frame (6-3, 205) who projects as a solid shutdown defender when he fills out. He's mobile and smart, and has been a dependable player on the blue line this season. He's not a fighter, but has shown a willingness to drop the gloves when challenged and has proven to be more than capable of holding his own. He may not have a big offensive upside, but he's a character player with the strong hockey skills to be a solid second-round projection right now.
I talked to a scout recently about him and this is what he said: "He's a young guy who's playing a big role on his team. He makes a good first pass and has a big (point) shot. I like him."
Silas is a two-way defenseman on the OHL's Belleville Bulls who doesn't have a lot of size (6-0, 180), but has been a consistent, steady presence for that club. He did participate in the CHL Top Prospects Game and while he didn't stand out, was solid.
"He's a smart puck mover," the scout said of Silas. "He's a calm guy with the puck who makes the right decisions. He's pretty good in his own end even if he isn't the biggest guy. He looks like a steady No. 4 defender (at the NHL level) if he keeps progressing."
Finally, Melchiori may be the most intriguing of the three.
At 6-3, 185, the late '91 birthdate has a lot of filling out to do, but is a superb skater playing for the Newmarket Hurricanes on the Ontario Jr. A circuit. He turned down a chance to play for the OHL's Oshawa Generals in favor of accepting a scholarship to UMass-Lowell (2010-11), and at last check, he's still committed to going the NCAA route.
"He's a very nice skater who is an offensive presence for his team," the scout said. "He's gotten way better as the year has gone on, and anytime you have a 6-3 guy who can move like he can, he's going to attract some attention."
Here's what Red Line Report had to say about Melchiori in their November issue, after he participated in the World Jr. A Challenge Tournament as a member of Team Canada East: "Tall, lanky defenseman is thin as a rail, but has surprisingly quick feet and acceleration...He's raw as hell, but has a nice frame to fill out and some pretty good tools."
All three are generating some buzz in scouting circles for their solid play and are probably worth following even though we're still smack dab in the middle of winter.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Nine losses and counting for B's...time to break out the Einstein
In my last post, I opined that it was time for Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli to make a change, any change to try and get the team on track.
He missed out on the Ilya Kovalchuk sweeps, which were won by the wily Lou Lamoriello and the New Jersey Devils, who didn't really surrender all that much for the sniper when you get down to it. But even after watching other teams make trades involving some pretty big names in the NHL, it isn't a requirement for Chiarelli to go out and make a big splash necessarily. He just needs to bring in one piece that will one day be part of a winning solution in Boston, but it's important that he take charge and make something happen because the players and the fans look like they're losing hope.
I've said that Andrew Cogliano or Sam Gagner, two pieces of a loser puzzle in Edmonton, might fit that bill. We're talking young players with speed and upside, who just haven't been able to make a difference on the only team that has been more moribund than Boston has since the calendar flipped over to 2010.
Boston's GM has chosen not to act, and tonight, his finest took a 2-0 lead thanks to Mark Recchi and Blake Wheeler, only to melt down for 39 seconds in the middle frame, allowing Glen Metropolit and Roman Hamrlik to tie it.
So once again, the Bruins and their fans are looking at a game in which the effort was there, but the finish wasn't Jaroslav Halak played a brilliant game in net, and while Tuukka Rask was very good at the other end, his teammates couldn't bail him out of the 3-2 shootout loss that saw former BC star Brian Gionta deke left, then flip the backhand into the net for the only tally, while Marc Savard was denied by Halak moments later.
Mr. Chiarelli...and, I'll try to put this as delicately as I can here... Your team is a gongshow. If you aren't thinking about selling, then perhaps you might want to start. Your blueprint just isn't working.
The only other thing I can think of to define the moment is something that the great Albert Einstein once said: "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
I've not seen nine consecutive losses by a Boston Bruins team in my lifetime. Not even during the darkest days of the 1997 cellar finish and the Dave Lewis fiasco a decade later. But, this team needs help, and we're looking at the same exact lineup night after night as the losses mount and the points slip away in the standings.
It's Chiarelli's job to figure out who might be able to help them at least get going in a respectable direction and then get it done.
He missed out on the Ilya Kovalchuk sweeps, which were won by the wily Lou Lamoriello and the New Jersey Devils, who didn't really surrender all that much for the sniper when you get down to it. But even after watching other teams make trades involving some pretty big names in the NHL, it isn't a requirement for Chiarelli to go out and make a big splash necessarily. He just needs to bring in one piece that will one day be part of a winning solution in Boston, but it's important that he take charge and make something happen because the players and the fans look like they're losing hope.
I've said that Andrew Cogliano or Sam Gagner, two pieces of a loser puzzle in Edmonton, might fit that bill. We're talking young players with speed and upside, who just haven't been able to make a difference on the only team that has been more moribund than Boston has since the calendar flipped over to 2010.
Boston's GM has chosen not to act, and tonight, his finest took a 2-0 lead thanks to Mark Recchi and Blake Wheeler, only to melt down for 39 seconds in the middle frame, allowing Glen Metropolit and Roman Hamrlik to tie it.
So once again, the Bruins and their fans are looking at a game in which the effort was there, but the finish wasn't Jaroslav Halak played a brilliant game in net, and while Tuukka Rask was very good at the other end, his teammates couldn't bail him out of the 3-2 shootout loss that saw former BC star Brian Gionta deke left, then flip the backhand into the net for the only tally, while Marc Savard was denied by Halak moments later.
Mr. Chiarelli...and, I'll try to put this as delicately as I can here... Your team is a gongshow. If you aren't thinking about selling, then perhaps you might want to start. Your blueprint just isn't working.
The only other thing I can think of to define the moment is something that the great Albert Einstein once said: "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
I've not seen nine consecutive losses by a Boston Bruins team in my lifetime. Not even during the darkest days of the 1997 cellar finish and the Dave Lewis fiasco a decade later. But, this team needs help, and we're looking at the same exact lineup night after night as the losses mount and the points slip away in the standings.
It's Chiarelli's job to figure out who might be able to help them at least get going in a respectable direction and then get it done.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
The Bruins are woeful...change needed
For all the focus this space has had on Toronto's failings throughout the season, the Bruins are giving the Leafs a run for their money when it comes to ineptitude.
After watching the Bruins lose to the Washington Capitals tonight, it has become clear to a lot of B's fans that Peter Chiarelli needs to do something, anything to change the face of his team because nothing is working.
The team can't score goals...that much has been known for quite some time, but the B's showed little life or fight after a great first period tonight gave way to a putrid final 20 minutes, which saw the Capitals score three goals (one empty netter) while the Bruins couldn't get anything past Jose Theodore. (Before I go on, let me tell you something about Theodore...I talk to him often here in D.C. and he's pretty open about his deep dislike of the Bruins. His hatred of them (fueled in his youth as a Montreal Canadiens fan) propels him to great lengths whenever he plays Boston. He still holds a deep-seeded grudge against them over Kyle McLaren's hatchet job against Richard Zednik in 2002, and Theodore showed it again tonight. The guy simply loves to play against...and beat the Bruins.)
Obviously, playing the top team in the East, who entered the game with a 10-game winning streak and boosted it to a franchise-record 11 consecutive victories, gave the Bruins little margin for error tonight. The home team took an early lead on a 5-on-3 power play, when David Krejci banked a shot off of Theodore's inside left pad, just squirting into the net. But that was it. Once former 700-pound line alum Mike Knuble tied it early in the second, you just hoped the Bruins would find a way to score again, but deep down inside, unless you're the ultimate optimist, you knew it wasn't coming.
The Boston GM misjudged his team. He assumed that the youngsters who played great last season would take the next step. He figured that Michael Ryder and Dennis Wideman would continue to anchor a solid veteran core after their 28-goal and 50-point seasons. He no doubt thought he had repeat winners in the troika of coach Claude Julien, defenseman Zdeno Chara and goaltender Tim Thomas. Julien and Chara are off their games, and Thomas, who is forced to playwith next to no margin for error each and every night (a crushing kind of pressure you have no idea about if you've never played the position), hasn't been as sensational as he was last season. Tuukka Rask has been outstanding as a rookie, but those screaming for him to take over as the starter on this team ask yourselves this: Do you really want Rask thrown into this pool of dreck? Think of the future, baby!
I'm stating the obvious here, but the fans aren't going to take much more of this. Even though Chiarelli is dealing form a position of weakness, I'm of the belief that it's time he did something.
I'm no fan of the deals Brian Burke made (and J.S. Giguere and Co. are making me look silly thus far, shutting out the Devils tonight, 3-0), but he at least did SOMETHING. Right or wrong...for better or worse. He made deals that the jury is still out on, and he could end up being lauded as a genius. In the midst of this "staganant" trade market, he found a way to pull the trigger and effect major change within his team and organization. Chiarelli cannot make excuses about the trade market any longer. Three big deals have gone down in the last 48 hours including the two Toronto made.
Now, I'm not saying he has to go out and pay a king's ransom to get a rental player in Ilya Kovalchuk, who isn't about to sign with anyone without keeping his options (and a potential return home to the KHL) open. I'm not even saying Chiarelli needs to make a season-saving move. That may be a bridge too far (and I'm not talking the Tobin either); I don't believe this team has it in them to be a serious contender, although they can clearly regain a playoff spot. But, the team, as constructed, is flawed and ineffective.
Trying to fix the offense on the cheap with Miroslav Satan was a failure. No harm done, because he didn't cost any assets beyond the money and cap hit it took to bring the former 40-goal man in for what has been a pretty mediocre audition. Satan is the Boston encore edition of Joe Murphy 10 years ago... remember him? Like Murphy, Satan is a washed-up former scorer who is good for the odd tally, but couldn't give a hoot about playing defense and ultimately isn't worth a spot on the top-three lines of any NHL playoff-caliber club.
Fans feel that it is time for Boston to make a change, and Ryder is a good place to start. The guy just doesn't play the kind of hockey that is going to win the Bruins enough games to justify his presence. He was a bad decision and it's time to cut him loose for cents on the dollar. Problem is- what team will want an underachieving streaky scorer who, when off his game, plays the kind of pathetic, uninspired hockey that brings back visions of Dmitri Khristich? Ryder is an easy scapegoat, but at this stage, he is what he is. Anyone who thinks he is worth the $4 million over three years that the Bruins outbid at least one other team to secure his services for hasn't watched Ryder this season, skating up and down the wing, misfiring on shots, failing to hit the net, and playing with an overall sense of malaise.
While no proponent of buy-at-a-premium with minimal results types of moves that see teams pay overinflated rates for declining veteran players, I do feel that some kind of change needs to be made, though. For the sake of the players who do care and who have given their all so far this season. Patrice Bergeron is really the only one who comes to mind right now, and I'm sure there are others.
It's hard to pile on with everyone else who's been clamoring for moves since the wheels started to come off earlier this year, when we saw that the offense was going to be hard to come by, and then crippling injuries to key players started to take their toll. I'm no hockey GM with a degree from Harvard Yard, but Chiarelli has surrounded himself with smart hockey guys who should be able to help him with some solutions.
Andrew Cogliano? Another underachiever on the NHL's bottom-feeder in Edmonton, but a player with real speed to burn who may just need a change of scenery to kickstart his game. Sam Gagner? Once coveted by the Bruins in the '07 draft, but would the Oil give him up before they're sure he isn't a future 30-goal guy like his dad, Dave? Ray Whitney? Still an effective scorer at 36, but no serious threat to make this team seen as anything more than a pretender, and with Carolina moving up in the standings, the asking price for Whitney is going up, not down.
I don't have the answers, but I do know this: It's only February, and the Bruins are in danger of blowing all of the goodwill they earned through the blood, sweat and honest effort of the 2008-09 season. This season's Bruins look a lot like the patchwork Ruins of a decade ago who had some viable parts, but relied on too many not-good-enough guys to get the job done.
The fact that a club who came within one overtime goal of the Eastern Conference finals last spring after a No. 2 overall regular season finish can look this unskilled and listless is a scathing indictment on Chiarelli's judgment in assembling this roster. Ripping him for trading Phil Kessel is too simplistic an approach: Kessel didn't want to be in Boston and made his intentions known. However, there are a lot of players not pulling their weight you can criticize him for. And, the buck stops with the GM, just as he got the credit last year.
The team needs a change for credibility's sake, but the real challenge for the GM will be in not surrendering the wrong assets to at least right the ship. You can bet this blog will be keeping a close eye on said assets, mainly the two top-10 picks this club currently possesses, with a total of five in the top-40 of what is shaping up to be one of the deepest drafts since 2003. I know that you have to give to get, but when trading draft picks like that, it has to be for players who are part of a long-term solution in Boston, not a quick, band-aid fix to save face in what is starting to look like a lost season.
This is Chiarelli's first real, true test. I can't imagine Cam Neely abiding the fact that the team has lost seven consecutive games at home for the first time in more than 75 years. This is embarrassing, and Neely of all people isn't going to accept it. From anyone.
I do think that those B's fans who have been demanding change since November will probably get it.
But, be careful what you wish for. If the GM makes any more bad decisions like some of those that have hamstrung his team, the long-term potential for success could hang in the balance.
After watching the Bruins lose to the Washington Capitals tonight, it has become clear to a lot of B's fans that Peter Chiarelli needs to do something, anything to change the face of his team because nothing is working.
The team can't score goals...that much has been known for quite some time, but the B's showed little life or fight after a great first period tonight gave way to a putrid final 20 minutes, which saw the Capitals score three goals (one empty netter) while the Bruins couldn't get anything past Jose Theodore. (Before I go on, let me tell you something about Theodore...I talk to him often here in D.C. and he's pretty open about his deep dislike of the Bruins. His hatred of them (fueled in his youth as a Montreal Canadiens fan) propels him to great lengths whenever he plays Boston. He still holds a deep-seeded grudge against them over Kyle McLaren's hatchet job against Richard Zednik in 2002, and Theodore showed it again tonight. The guy simply loves to play against...and beat the Bruins.)
Obviously, playing the top team in the East, who entered the game with a 10-game winning streak and boosted it to a franchise-record 11 consecutive victories, gave the Bruins little margin for error tonight. The home team took an early lead on a 5-on-3 power play, when David Krejci banked a shot off of Theodore's inside left pad, just squirting into the net. But that was it. Once former 700-pound line alum Mike Knuble tied it early in the second, you just hoped the Bruins would find a way to score again, but deep down inside, unless you're the ultimate optimist, you knew it wasn't coming.
The Boston GM misjudged his team. He assumed that the youngsters who played great last season would take the next step. He figured that Michael Ryder and Dennis Wideman would continue to anchor a solid veteran core after their 28-goal and 50-point seasons. He no doubt thought he had repeat winners in the troika of coach Claude Julien, defenseman Zdeno Chara and goaltender Tim Thomas. Julien and Chara are off their games, and Thomas, who is forced to playwith next to no margin for error each and every night (a crushing kind of pressure you have no idea about if you've never played the position), hasn't been as sensational as he was last season. Tuukka Rask has been outstanding as a rookie, but those screaming for him to take over as the starter on this team ask yourselves this: Do you really want Rask thrown into this pool of dreck? Think of the future, baby!
I'm stating the obvious here, but the fans aren't going to take much more of this. Even though Chiarelli is dealing form a position of weakness, I'm of the belief that it's time he did something.
I'm no fan of the deals Brian Burke made (and J.S. Giguere and Co. are making me look silly thus far, shutting out the Devils tonight, 3-0), but he at least did SOMETHING. Right or wrong...for better or worse. He made deals that the jury is still out on, and he could end up being lauded as a genius. In the midst of this "staganant" trade market, he found a way to pull the trigger and effect major change within his team and organization. Chiarelli cannot make excuses about the trade market any longer. Three big deals have gone down in the last 48 hours including the two Toronto made.
Now, I'm not saying he has to go out and pay a king's ransom to get a rental player in Ilya Kovalchuk, who isn't about to sign with anyone without keeping his options (and a potential return home to the KHL) open. I'm not even saying Chiarelli needs to make a season-saving move. That may be a bridge too far (and I'm not talking the Tobin either); I don't believe this team has it in them to be a serious contender, although they can clearly regain a playoff spot. But, the team, as constructed, is flawed and ineffective.
Trying to fix the offense on the cheap with Miroslav Satan was a failure. No harm done, because he didn't cost any assets beyond the money and cap hit it took to bring the former 40-goal man in for what has been a pretty mediocre audition. Satan is the Boston encore edition of Joe Murphy 10 years ago... remember him? Like Murphy, Satan is a washed-up former scorer who is good for the odd tally, but couldn't give a hoot about playing defense and ultimately isn't worth a spot on the top-three lines of any NHL playoff-caliber club.
Fans feel that it is time for Boston to make a change, and Ryder is a good place to start. The guy just doesn't play the kind of hockey that is going to win the Bruins enough games to justify his presence. He was a bad decision and it's time to cut him loose for cents on the dollar. Problem is- what team will want an underachieving streaky scorer who, when off his game, plays the kind of pathetic, uninspired hockey that brings back visions of Dmitri Khristich? Ryder is an easy scapegoat, but at this stage, he is what he is. Anyone who thinks he is worth the $4 million over three years that the Bruins outbid at least one other team to secure his services for hasn't watched Ryder this season, skating up and down the wing, misfiring on shots, failing to hit the net, and playing with an overall sense of malaise.
While no proponent of buy-at-a-premium with minimal results types of moves that see teams pay overinflated rates for declining veteran players, I do feel that some kind of change needs to be made, though. For the sake of the players who do care and who have given their all so far this season. Patrice Bergeron is really the only one who comes to mind right now, and I'm sure there are others.
It's hard to pile on with everyone else who's been clamoring for moves since the wheels started to come off earlier this year, when we saw that the offense was going to be hard to come by, and then crippling injuries to key players started to take their toll. I'm no hockey GM with a degree from Harvard Yard, but Chiarelli has surrounded himself with smart hockey guys who should be able to help him with some solutions.
Andrew Cogliano? Another underachiever on the NHL's bottom-feeder in Edmonton, but a player with real speed to burn who may just need a change of scenery to kickstart his game. Sam Gagner? Once coveted by the Bruins in the '07 draft, but would the Oil give him up before they're sure he isn't a future 30-goal guy like his dad, Dave? Ray Whitney? Still an effective scorer at 36, but no serious threat to make this team seen as anything more than a pretender, and with Carolina moving up in the standings, the asking price for Whitney is going up, not down.
I don't have the answers, but I do know this: It's only February, and the Bruins are in danger of blowing all of the goodwill they earned through the blood, sweat and honest effort of the 2008-09 season. This season's Bruins look a lot like the patchwork Ruins of a decade ago who had some viable parts, but relied on too many not-good-enough guys to get the job done.
The fact that a club who came within one overtime goal of the Eastern Conference finals last spring after a No. 2 overall regular season finish can look this unskilled and listless is a scathing indictment on Chiarelli's judgment in assembling this roster. Ripping him for trading Phil Kessel is too simplistic an approach: Kessel didn't want to be in Boston and made his intentions known. However, there are a lot of players not pulling their weight you can criticize him for. And, the buck stops with the GM, just as he got the credit last year.
The team needs a change for credibility's sake, but the real challenge for the GM will be in not surrendering the wrong assets to at least right the ship. You can bet this blog will be keeping a close eye on said assets, mainly the two top-10 picks this club currently possesses, with a total of five in the top-40 of what is shaping up to be one of the deepest drafts since 2003. I know that you have to give to get, but when trading draft picks like that, it has to be for players who are part of a long-term solution in Boston, not a quick, band-aid fix to save face in what is starting to look like a lost season.
This is Chiarelli's first real, true test. I can't imagine Cam Neely abiding the fact that the team has lost seven consecutive games at home for the first time in more than 75 years. This is embarrassing, and Neely of all people isn't going to accept it. From anyone.
I do think that those B's fans who have been demanding change since November will probably get it.
But, be careful what you wish for. If the GM makes any more bad decisions like some of those that have hamstrung his team, the long-term potential for success could hang in the balance.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Bruins 2010 draft picks update: 1 Feb
February is here!
So is Monday, which means I'm back with the draft pick position update for the Bruins. Boston blew its chance at a win on Saturday, squandering Mark Recchi's third period power play goal by allowing Anze Kopitar's man advantage strike and then losing in the shootout when Jarret Stoll roofed a wicked wrister on Tim Thomas (this after Marc Savard had scored in the previous round, but Thomas failed to stop Ryan Smyth on the ensuing attempt.) It was great to see Marco Sturm back after he missed six games to a mystery injury (and he made a splash with his team leading 16th goal to tie the game late in the 2nd), but the offense still isn't capable enough to call the Bruins a contender this year, and now defensive and goaltending issues are further exposing the B's as a pretender.
Toronto is a new-look team the day after adding Dion Phaneuf, Fredrik Sjostrom and J.S. Giguere, but will they be improved? I don't think so, and you can read my analysis below this post for more. What is true is that Carolina's recent surge has dropped the Leafs to the 29th position in the league, above the drowning Edmonton Oilers, who haven't won a game in 2010 and are now seven points behind the Leafs with no signs of having any chance of getting back into the race.
We don't know how the picks will look like next week, but here is where things stand if the season ended today:
2010 Boston Bruins Draft Picks
1st Round
2nd overall- Toronto (45 points; 17-28-11)
7th overall- Boston (55 points; 23-21-9)
2nd Round
32nd overall- Toronto
36th overall- Tampa Bay (55 points; 22-21-11)
37th overall- Boston
3rd Round
No pick- Traded to Buffalo for Daniel Paille*
* Conditional fourth-round pick also due if Paille scores 16 goals
4th Round
93rd overall- Carolina (45 points; 19-28-7)
97th overall- Boston
5th Round
127th overall- Boston
6th Round
157th overall- Boston
7th Round
187th overall- Boston
So is Monday, which means I'm back with the draft pick position update for the Bruins. Boston blew its chance at a win on Saturday, squandering Mark Recchi's third period power play goal by allowing Anze Kopitar's man advantage strike and then losing in the shootout when Jarret Stoll roofed a wicked wrister on Tim Thomas (this after Marc Savard had scored in the previous round, but Thomas failed to stop Ryan Smyth on the ensuing attempt.) It was great to see Marco Sturm back after he missed six games to a mystery injury (and he made a splash with his team leading 16th goal to tie the game late in the 2nd), but the offense still isn't capable enough to call the Bruins a contender this year, and now defensive and goaltending issues are further exposing the B's as a pretender.
Toronto is a new-look team the day after adding Dion Phaneuf, Fredrik Sjostrom and J.S. Giguere, but will they be improved? I don't think so, and you can read my analysis below this post for more. What is true is that Carolina's recent surge has dropped the Leafs to the 29th position in the league, above the drowning Edmonton Oilers, who haven't won a game in 2010 and are now seven points behind the Leafs with no signs of having any chance of getting back into the race.
We don't know how the picks will look like next week, but here is where things stand if the season ended today:
2010 Boston Bruins Draft Picks
1st Round
2nd overall- Toronto (45 points; 17-28-11)
7th overall- Boston (55 points; 23-21-9)
2nd Round
32nd overall- Toronto
36th overall- Tampa Bay (55 points; 22-21-11)
37th overall- Boston
3rd Round
No pick- Traded to Buffalo for Daniel Paille*
* Conditional fourth-round pick also due if Paille scores 16 goals
4th Round
93rd overall- Carolina (45 points; 19-28-7)
97th overall- Boston
5th Round
127th overall- Boston
6th Round
157th overall- Boston
7th Round
187th overall- Boston
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