GDT: Bob Nicholson Press Conference 12:30

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

IMO our media showed some sack with Chia and more so with Ncholson while they lobbed softballs at McLellan.

A little, yeah. They were completely soft on the coach....

 

[dem]

The idea that there is a "Plan" that Chia is going to "Unveil" to get us into the playoffs next season is absolutely comical.

Who even says that?

 

[rickysusedsht]

The idea that there is a "Plan" that Chia is going to "Unveil" to get us into the playoffs next season is absolutely comical.

Who even says that?

exactly i thought that was the plan for this year hmm i must of missed that memo

 

[rboomercat90]

Has he done a good job with scouting? There are some promising prospects but until even one establishes themselves as a pro, I'm skeptical.

Also, Nicholson said that the Oilers have a good development system in place. Who exactly have they developed? 3 years in and I'm not seeing much outside of the obvious elite talents. It takes time obviously but as of now, it looks like same old same old.

It’s easy for them to praise the current development system when times are tough because that takes a few years to be proven wrong. They’ve been doing this since 2010. I remember when Lowe first announced the team was going to do a full rebuild that season. He was asked flat out if a team with as poor of a record of drafting and development as his was if it was wise to do what he wanted to do and his response was that those problems were in the past and they were much better now. History shows us they weren’t but it took years to see that. Same thing now. They’ll keep trotting that line out because it gives them time.

 

[Little Fury]

IMO Nicholson was right that Chia has done a good job with the scouting department. Like it or not we need a solid cupboard to bring new players through the organization or to use them via trade.

Way too soon to make that call one way or another. There's some big red flags there (like passing on Debrincat for Benson).

Hopefully next year we see Bear, Jones, Yamamoto, Safin, Maksimov, Marody and Skinner all down in Bako together. They should also bring some of the Euro D men over too. Look at how the Leafs have turned the Marlies into a proper pipeline, we should be following suit and not rushing any of these kids into the show, but giving them lots of opportunities in the A so we know what we have.

 

[bone]

Has he done a good job with scouting? There are some promising prospects but until even one establishes themselves as a pro, I'm skeptical.

Also, Nicholson said that the Oilers have a good development system in place. Who exactly have they developed? 3 years in and I'm not seeing much outside of the obvious elite talents. It takes time obviously but as of now, it looks like same old same old.

Khaira has shown promising development. But that's about it if you are looking AHL-up level development. Maybe a small argument in favor of Slepy, but not much. That said, the cupboard was pretty empty when Chia came to town and most of Chia's draft acquisitions haven't made it to AHL yet except a couple of first year AHL d-men.

The guys who haven't made the AHL yet look promising, but I want to see them develop beyond AHL. Then I'll believe development is working.

 

[Little Fury]

Khaira has shown promising development. But that's about it if you are looking AHL-up level development. Maybe a small argument in favor of Slepy, but not much. That said, the cupboard was pretty empty when Chia came to town and most of Chia's draft acquisitions haven't made it to AHL yet except a couple of first year AHL d-men.

The guys who haven't made the AHL yet look promising, but I want to see them develop beyond AHL. Then I'll believe development is working.

"The development is better!"

*watches fourth overall pick start to spiral into bust territory*

"They're restocking the cupboard!"

*trades two high picks in a deep draft, openly muses about trading a top 10 pick for immediate help*

 

[Soundwave]

The Bruins 2nd/3rd/4th/5th round draft honestly has been pretty mediocre from 2007-2015 too.

The only really notable player they drafted in that time outside of the 1st round was Ryan Spooner and that's not exactly a slam dunk player.

 

[McGoMcD]

"The development is better!"

*watches fourth overall pick start to spiral into bust territory*

"They're restocking the cupboard!"

*trades two high picks in a deep draft, openly muses about trading a top 10 pick for immediate help*

It's just comical. Don't worry every one Chia is building a winner long term by stocking the cupboard..... messes up #4 pick and trades 2 picks for a bust.... ok sure thing guys.

 

[Little Fury]

It's just comical. Don't worry every one Chia is building a winner long term by stocking the cupboard..... messes up #4 pick and trades 2 picks for a bust.... ok sure thing guys.

FWIW, I don't think they messed up the PJ pick. He was the consensus #3 choice. I'm concerned with his development and how much support he's getting from the org.

 

[Drivesaitl]

Thanks for posting this. The Montreal media is relentless.

Just to summarize, they called out Bergevin for signing Alzner because he's too slow then called him out when he compared Chara to Alzner (yep, he actually did). Asked him why he hasn't been able to find a center in 7 years while others have then used the Staal, Johansen and Turris examples while Bergevin continued to make excuses.

Then they asked him when are the Habs going to stop relying completely on Price and said other GMs build more of a balanced team because they are doing their job (used Washington succeeding with a backup as an example). It was a great listen, the Oilers media is such a joke.

I don't think its as simple as Oilers media, in general, being a joke. What we have here instead is carefully culled media. With many that don't tow the line weeded out. So that what is left is mostly syncophants. that don't happen in Montreal. Controversy would be more King there whereas people here just like the move on approach.

The Oilers org have done everything from restricting media access, forbidding certain media, being selective to who is allowed contact with the team or official pressers etc. They've done this for decades.

So that the Oilers get the insular media that it wants and the public hasn't been too overtly concerned with this.

This is an org that had a protester evicted from a public street near the Oilers office, by police, who removed the man from the vicinity. He was carrying a fire Lowe placard and the Oilers office phoned in terrified that he was harmful...

Next we have constant pressers where audio drops are commonplace when a not desired question is asked. This happened frequently in the exit interviews as well as convenient edits of what is supposed to be real time presentation. The org runs these on time delay and monitors what is acceptable or not for viewing. So that even if hostile questions are asked we barely hear the audio of the questions (purposely) and in the case they are unacceptable we don't hear the replies or we have Chia, Nicholson, simply refusing to answer the clear questions.

I think its convenient to blame the media. A guy like Principe is a family man with a good gig earning a living. He's also a nice guy, occasionally funny, and almost impossible to dislike. Sure he throws harmless lobs all the time but its part also of what is expected of him and the broadcast side of things particularly.


You can't just blame media where censure so completely exists.

 

[rboomercat90]

FWIW, I don't think they messed up the PJ pick. He was the consensus #3 choice. I'm concerned with his development and how much support he's getting from the org.

I know it’s hindsight but maybe there should have been a red flag with Puljijarvi when the only Finnish GM, the only GM in the league who could interview him in his native language and not through an interpreter, passed up on him when he was the consensus #3 pick. I don’t fault Chiarelli for picking him when he fell in his lap because they had to make a quick decision but as fans maybe we shouldn’t be surprised he hasn’t shown much so far.

 

[Little Fury]

I know it’s hindsight but maybe there should have been a red flag with Puljijarvi when the only Finnish GM, the only GM in the league who could interview him in his native language and not through an interpreter, passed up on him when he was the consensus #3 pick. I don’t fault Chiarelli for picking him when he fell in his lap because they had to make a quick decision but as fans maybe we shouldn’t be surprised he hasn’t shown much so far.

I think Jarko passed simply because they needed a centre more. IDK how much stock one can really put into those interviews anyway.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

Way too soon to make that call one way or another. There's some big red flags there (like passing on Debrincat for Benson).

Hopefully next year we see Bear, Jones, Yamamoto, Safin, Maksimov, Marody and Skinner all down in Bako together. They should also bring some of the Euro D men over too. Look at how the Leafs have turned the Marlies into a proper pipeline, we should be following suit and not rushing any of these kids into the show, but giving them lots of opportunities in the A so we know what we have.

The fact that Bear and to a lesser degree Jones, Maksimov, Safin, etc. are being talked about as legit prospects that were drafted beyond the 2nd round of the draft is a good thing. I'm willing to give Benson some time due to his injury history and TBH you can't get the BPA every pick. Maksimov and Skinner are too young to go down since they haven't played long enough in the CHL since they were drafted out of there IIRC.

 

[Cypress]

I may have stumbled upon something interesting in hindsight. I just rewatched the video and around 1:25 in he says "We're evaluating everyone in hockey operations and the OEG staff". Then around 12:12 he gets asked who's conducting the evaluation, and responds that it's Peter Chiarelli.

What all is encompassed by "hockey operations and OEG staff"? Does it include the OBC? Maybe we'll see some of those guys thinned out.

 

[McTonyBrar]

"The development is better!"

*watches fourth overall pick start to spiral into bust territory*

"They're restocking the cupboard!"

*trades two high picks in a deep draft, openly muses about trading a top 10 pick for immediate help*

The 4th overall pick is 19!...

 

[McTonyBrar]

The Bruins 2nd/3rd/4th/5th round draft honestly has been pretty mediocre from 2007-2015 too.

The only really notable player they drafted in that time outside of the 1st round was Ryan Spooner and that's not exactly a slam dunk player.

Heinenen, Bjork

 

[Little Fury]

The fact that Bear and to a lesser degree Jones, Maksimov, Safin, etc. are being talked about as legit prospects that were drafted beyond the 2nd round of the draft is a good thing. I'm willing to give Benson some time due to his injury history and TBH you can't get the BPA every pick.

See I think you can and should. Needs can change quickly from the day you pick a kid to the day they are ready to play.

Maksimov and Skinner are too young to go down since they haven't played long enough in the CHL since they were drafted out of there IIRC.

You're right about Maksimov but I'm pretty sure Skinner will be eligible having played four years of major junior this year.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

See I think you can and should. Needs can change quickly from the day you pick a kid to the day they are ready to play.



You're right about Maksimov but I'm pretty sure Skinner will be eligible having played four years of major junior this year.

What I meant was actually that you aren't always going to pick the best player because what appears to be the best player at a pick may end up not being so. I agree that in theory you could always pick the perceived BPA.

I was unaware of that. Seeing as goalies generally take a long time to marinate I'd sent him back to the dub next season and break Wells in next season at the pro level.

 

[smokingwriter]

Bob the Fraud.

Listen again to his 2014 address as he's leaving Hockey Canada for the greener pastures of Edmonton and the OBC. He devotes more time to talking about how he grew Hockey Canada (in terms of staff and resources) than he does talking about growing the game within Canada. No discussion about flatlining or declining enrollment numbers in minor hockey. No talk about high attrition rates or the high costs of entry for families who want to have a child in the game. No talk about poor international results at the junior level, the challenges posed by the Excited States National Team Development Program (and why Excited States hockey gets millions from the NHL while Hockey Canada gets peanuts), or whispers about cronyism within the HC hierarchy. And no discussion about the struggles and challenges faced by the women's program. Bob would rather talk about HC's growth and about the 2 Olympic gold medals that he wants to claim as his own when it was others who built those teams (and the grassroots who built the players for those teams).

Bob's a BS artist and nothing more than that. He's a skilled office politician and schmoozer who used those talents - not administrative or organizational talents - to move up the ladder at HC, and then into a cushy job with the Edmonton OBC.

 

[Dan Kelly]

I know it’s hindsight but maybe there should have been a red flag with Puljijarvi when the only Finnish GM, the only GM in the league who could interview him in his native language and not through an interpreter, passed up on him when he was the consensus #3 pick. I don’t fault Chiarelli for picking him when he fell in his lap because they had to make a quick decision but as fans maybe we shouldn’t be surprised he hasn’t shown much so far.

to be fair to Pool, he should have spent the last couple of years in the AHL and not with the Oilers. and with him being only 20 by next season, perhaps a 3rd year in the AHL wouldn't have hurt?

 

[RegDunlop]

Bob the Fraud.

Listen again to his 2014 address as he's leaving Hockey Canada for the greener pastures of Edmonton and the OBC. He devotes more time to talking about how he grew Hockey Canada (in terms of staff and resources) than he does talking about growing the game within Canada. No discussion about flatlining or declining enrollment numbers in minor hockey. No talk about high attrition rates or the high costs of entry for families who want to have a child in the game. No talk about poor international results at the junior level, the challenges posed by the Excited States National Team Development Program (and why Excited States hockey gets millions from the NHL while Hockey Canada gets peanuts), or whispers about cronyism within the HC hierarchy. And no discussion about the struggles and challenges faced by the women's program. Bob would rather talk about HC's growth and about the 2 Olympic gold medals that he wants to claim as his own when it was others who built those teams (and the grassroots who built the players for those teams).

Bob's a BS artist and nothing more than that. He's a skilled office politician and schmoozer who used those talents - not administrative or organizational talents - to move up the ladder at HC, and then into a cushy job with the Edmonton OBC.

Interesting take.
I was excited for Bob coming aboard. Though it truly signified change. It's been so disappointing watching him fade into the same ol same ol with this org

 

[smokingwriter]

Interesting take.
I was excited for Bob coming aboard. Though it truly signified change. It's been so disappointing watching him fade into the same ol same ol with this org

People who followed Hockey Canada closer than I did told me that Nicholson was toxic. Not because he's a bad man, per se, but because he's very self-focused on looking after Bob Nicholson first - then his buddies, then Hockey Canada, then hockey in Canada.

Katz made a PR hire with Nicholson that looked good cosmetically, but the downward trajectory of Hockey Canada since 2010 can be traced to the people running the organization. Truth be told, the fact that Lowe and other Edmonton Oiler "brass" spent so much time around Hockey Canada in the years before Nicholson's departure should have been a tip-off that Nicholson was setting himself up for a nice, lucrative landing spot in Edmonton while Canadian hockey burned.

 

[oobga]

Sideshow Bob is probably the best nickname for the Burger Baron I've heard so far. Lowe would be Krusty in this case of course.

 

[MessierII]

People who followed Hockey Canada closer than I did told me that Nicholson was toxic. Not because he's a bad man, per se, but because he's very self-focused on looking after Bob Nicholson first - then his buddies, then Hockey Canada, then hockey in Canada.

Katz made a PR hire with Nicholson that looked good cosmetically, but the downward trajectory of Hockey Canada since 2010 can be traced to the people running the organization. Truth be told, the fact that Lowe and other Edmonton Oiler "brass" spent so much time around Hockey Canada in the years before Nicholson's departure should have been a tip-off that Nicholson was setting himself up for a nice, lucrative landing spot in Edmonton while Canadian hockey burned.

Did Canadian hockey really burn?