Confirmed with Link: Bruins 2015 & 2016 2nd Round Picks to the Lightning for Brett Connolly

[Nose Face Killah]

Why can't people have an opinion. This player does have a history. They can look into his past. It's not like hes a new player that no one has ever seen. People can extrapolate what type of player he will be or what they think he will be .
Just another poster who sits too high for us to post with. You must be hanging with the grizzled vets of this site out on Twitter. Too bad, there are good posters here.

This is my opinion on the matter, in no way at all do I think I'm better than any other poster here.

 

[TCL40]

It'd be interesting to play him on Bergy's wing, because until DK gets back, that's really our #1 line anyway.

I also think Bergy would be a great mentor for him and Bergy can use a player on his line who is willing to throw hits (Smith has his upsides but he frustrates me in that he doesn't always hit or take the body when that's the best option).

Either way I'm pretty sure the plan for this kid is not to come in and start on our 4th line. For now with no Krejci he is likely playing with Bergy or Soderberg.

 

[Alicat]

I also think Bergy would be a great mentor for him and Bergy can use a player on his line who is willing to throw hits (Smith has his upsides but he frustrates me in that he doesn't always hit or take the body when that's the best option).

Either way I'm pretty sure the plan for this kid is not to come in and start on our 4th line. For now with no Krejci he is likely playing with Bergy or Soderberg.

Playing with Bergy and being around Krejci and even Kelly is going to be great for his development. Bergeron alone is going to be the best thing to ever happen to him professionally.

I'm excited to see him play but sadly, I fully expect people to absolutely crucify the guy for every mistake he makes.

 

[ODAAT]

Playing with Bergy and being around Krejci and even Kelly is going to be great for his development. Bergeron alone is going to be the best thing to ever happen to him professionally.

I'm excited to see him play but sadly, I fully expect people to absolutely crucify the guy for every mistake he makes.

clearly you speak of another fan base, we don`t do that here

 

[Krupp]

I'd love to see this kid inject something new and fresh into the top 6. He has that potential to do so.

Can anyone think of real reasons why he didn't pan out in Tampa? Any warning signs we should be looking for when he comes in?

 

[ODAAT]

I'd love to see this kid inject something new and fresh into the top 6. He has that potential to do so.

Can anyone think of real reasons why he didn't pan out in Tampa? Any warning signs we should be looking for when he comes in?

Guy Boucher ruined him<<<< no clue if he was even coached by Guy

No clue, might just be the case of a younger kid learning the game, depth chart in front of him afforded Yzerman the luxury to move him?

 

[Alicat]

I'd love to see this kid inject something new and fresh into the top 6. He has that potential to do so.

Can anyone think of real reasons why he didn't pan out in Tampa? Any warning signs we should be looking for when he comes in?

Injuries didn't help but he's the victim of Tampa having too many quality RWers. He was jumped over on the depth chart by guys like Kennedy and Palat.

 

[ODAAT]

Injuries didn't help but he's the victim of Tampa having too many quality RWers. He was jumped over on the depth chart by guys like Kennedy and Palat.

kind of what I thought, similar to the Center men in the B`s system, hard to crack that spot unless injuries are happening

 

[The Macho King]

Guy Boucher ruined him<<<< no clue if he was even coached by Guy

No clue, might just be the case of a younger kid learning the game, depth chart in front of him afforded Yzerman the luxury to move him?

Hey guys - thought I could give you an angle.

Part of it is he wasn't really Yzerman's guy. He was drafted right after Yzerman took the reins, but he didn't have his scouts in place and just went off of their assessment. He just isn't a Lightning-type player. Not a knock on the kid, but Tampa is built on high-IQ and speed and skill players all over the line up, and that's not really Connolly's game. He's got decent legs, but not a burner, he's got a good shot but not a great possession player, and he's not really a high iq type player.

I think in a slower system he'll have a chance to shine. He just didn't really fit in with our identity, but he's not a bad player by any stretch, as long as he stays engaged.

 

[TCL40]

I think on almost any other team except he would be in the top 9.

Tampa got some real good prospects in his position and the fact that they are more talented doesn't mean he lacks talent.

 

[TheBigBadB]

Just worried about his lack of creativity and that usually separates top 6 from bottom lines.

Fully on board and hope he pans out. They could use a home run trade right now

 

[vjcsmoke]

I'd love to see this kid inject something new and fresh into the top 6. He has that potential to do so.

Can anyone think of real reasons why he didn't pan out in Tampa? Any warning signs we should be looking for when he comes in?

Well, I'm still leery on this trade. It is a gamble.

But I feel what is important is not so much why he didn't get enough ice time in Tampa, but whether he will get enough ice time in Boston, his new destination.

What Connolly needs to do to earn ice time is to gain the trust of the coach. So even if we brought him in for offense, he will be expected to play the Bruins game -- 2-way play, grind, cycle the puck, crash the net, be responsible.

These are things that will earn him ice time. If Connolly can earn 20 minutes a night, at his current rate of sniping, I would expect him to have 20-25 goals for the season (combined with his tampa totals). If he can't earn that ice time, he will probably end up a flop. And I sure as hell hope we didn't just trade TWO 2nd round picks for a 3rd line or bottom 6 winger.

 

[Oates2Neely]

Any comparisons on this kid? I haven't watched much of him at all but it looks like he loves to shoot.

 

[turtlethedog]

A little late to the game but a few things for the board:

I LOVE this pickup. 15 goals puts him second on the Bruins. 3 assists tells me he was on a crap line down there and felt like he had to do everything himself. I think he can come here and have a positive impact immediately.

BUT... the more I think about it, if this kid is a top 10 pick, world class talent and so on and so forth why, at less than a million dollar cap hit, is Tampa willing to let him walk for 2nd round picks? Brings a little doubt into my mind....

 

[Therick67]

Just worried about his lack of creativity and that usually separates top 6 from bottom lines.

Fully on board and hope he pans out. They could use a home run trade right now

Sounds like a perfect fit here

 

[PlaceboFan]

These are things that will earn him ice time. If Connolly can earn 20 minutes a night, at his current rate of sniping, I would expect him to have 20-25 goals for the season (combined with his tampa totals). If he can't earn that ice time, he will probably end up a flop. And I sure as hell hope we didn't just trade TWO 2nd round picks for a 3rd line or bottom 6 winger.

That's a bit unreasonable standard. No forward in the Bruins plays 20 minutes a night. Bergeron's average TOI is 17:47, Krejci's is 18:06.

 

[Artemis]

A little late to the game but a few things for the board:

I LOVE this pickup. 15 goals puts him second on the Bruins. 3 assists tells me he was on a crap line down there and felt like he had to do everything himself. I think he can come here and have a positive impact immediately.

BUT... the more I think about it, if this kid is a top 10 pick, world class talent and so on and so forth why, at less than a million dollar cap hit, is Tampa willing to let him walk for 2nd round picks? Brings a little doubt into my mind....

Tampa's up to its elbows in young RWs. Sometimes a young talented player can get lost in the shuffle. Solid deal, IMHO.

 

[RussellmaniaKW]

That's a bit unreasonable standard. No forward in the Bruins plays 20 minutes a night. Bergeron's average TOI is 17:47, Krejci's is 18:06.

kind of a tangent, but the fact that we have Patrice Bergeron, one of the best all around players in the world on this team and he plays under 18 minutes a night is infuriating. guy helps the team in some way every time he's on the ice. He should be playing 20+ minutes a night.

 

[Shoebottom]

A little late to the game but a few things for the board:

I LOVE this pickup. 15 goals puts him second on the Bruins. 3 assists tells me he was on a crap line down there and felt like he had to do everything himself. I think he can come here and have a positive impact immediately.

BUT... the more I think about it, if this kid is a top 10 pick, world class talent and so on and so forth why, at less than a million dollar cap hit, is Tampa willing to let him walk for 2nd round picks? Brings a little doubt into my mind....

Yeah, a little troubling. But hopefully the proscouts did their work. I also think Stevie Y believes in his ability to draft something they need with those two picks.

 

[TCL40]

A little late to the game but a few things for the board:

I LOVE this pickup. 15 goals puts him second on the Bruins. 3 assists tells me he was on a crap line down there and felt like he had to do everything himself. I think he can come here and have a positive impact immediately.

BUT... the more I think about it, if this kid is a top 10 pick, world class talent and so on and so forth why, at less than a million dollar cap hit, is Tampa willing to let him walk for 2nd round picks? Brings a little doubt into my mind....

Same reason the Brujns have NHL ready centers in Providence but can't crack the line up.

There is a reason Koko and Spooner's names always get tossed in with trade speculation-because they are expendable because we are deep at center but other teams need them. Bruins are flush with talented centers. I would also add we have the same issue with Dmen. I have no doubt that the three Dmen we currently have in Providence would get slots on almost any other NHL team. Problem is most of our Dmen are more suited to 3rd pairings.

Tampa is pretty flush with RW. He was in their eyes expendable because they didn't have a place for him and two picks were worth losing him.

 

[Randomtask68]

Does anyone know if Connolly was ever used as a one timer option on the PP similar to Ovechkin? Would be nice to have a right handed threat from that area of the ice.

 

[VanIsle]

Any comparisons on this kid? I haven't watched much of him at all but it looks like he loves to shoot.

NHL Player(s) Comparison:

– At his best: A hydrid of: Tomas Vanek, Peter Forsberg, Patrick Marleau

Interesting Notes: (NHL.com)

Connolly became the first 16-year-old to score 30 goals in the WHL since Patrick Marleau in 1995–96

http://thehockeywriters.com/the-hockey-spy’s-2010-nhl-entry-draft-preview-–-brett-connolly/

Old scouting report, thought it was interesting.

I can't believe I don't know much about they guy considering he was born 50km away from me.

 

[BruinDust]

Any comparisons on this kid? I haven't watched much of him at all but it looks like he loves to shoot.

Best comparison I can see is a younger non-injury prone Joffrey Lupul.

 

[BruinDust]

Does anyone know if Connolly was ever used as a one timer option on the PP similar to Ovechkin? Would be nice to have a right handed threat from that area of the ice.

On the highlight pack on the Bruins page he played his off-wing down low on the PP on a 5 on 3 and was set-up for the one-timer from a bad angle and scored.

Not sure he has the big blasting off-wing one-timer similar to Ovechkin who takes his one-timers a bit further back than the one Connolly scored.

 

[Krupp]

There are plenty of concerns to have about a kid who's ability suggests he should be playing in the top 6 getting traded for second round picks by a team with plenty of firepower. But there is this: there are too many grinders and pass-first players on this team, and only one or two REAL shooters in Marchand and Smith. Loui apparently can shoot, but doesn't do it often enough. Having another shooter is absolutely necessary at this point to improve the forwards group overall. With the addition of Talbot this team has brought back some grit, but grit doesn't necessarily transfer into goals. It helps, but as was evidence last year, having someone who you can rely on to shoot and put the puck in the back of the net is all the more important these days.

HOPEFULLY, Brett can do that. Boston's not Tampa, and that may be all the difference he needs to motivate himself. It's probably asking too much for him to be a power forward while we're at it...