Jason Bonsignore interview
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Wheatking
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- Sep 25, 2006
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I'm curious as to how many people listened to the interview before commenting. I didn't walk away from it thinking poorly of him. I bet there was a lot of truth in what he said. He lost me when he started complaining about the working out but it's not hard to believe that the organization didn't handle him properly. After the glory days how many 1st round picks panned out for us during Sather's time here? Obviously Smyth did. Arnott turned into a good player but it didn't work out in Edmonton.
Cawz
Registered User
Well, if he wasnt mentally tough enough to deal with being called fat, he didnt stand a chance in the NHL.
Cawz
Registered User
Penner seemed mentally tough. He just had no drive. I guess getting 18 millions of dollars to play a game for 4 years does that to some people.
MacT: "Youre fat"
Penner: "Yeah, but I'm rich *****!"
And that was the beginning of the end for Mac T. I guess the big difference was...Mac T used the vehicle of media to put the heat on his player...whereas...Slats' did it in a closed door session.
Thing is...Mac T ended up at least squeezing Penners' fat ass into a line-up for awhile...and for Penners' part...he did attend to his conditioning a bit more after that fateful attack.
But I don't know if Penner is 'mentally tough' or just 'mennonite stubborn'? Because he's NOT endearing himself in LA...for the same reason(s) he took heat here.
As for Bonsignore....I really think his comments today are just waaay too late to be compelling. Were talking about a player who was involved with a 100% different regime even a different era of NHL hockey altogether.
Probably an interview NYR fans should be more interested to listen to than todays Oil Country.
hockeyaddict101
Registered User
Come on people, this was a player that oozed bust long before he was drafted. When Bob Mackenzie labels you "million dollar hands, ten cent head" you know there is a problem.
Like today, Mackenzie worked tirelessly to gather the opinions of a consensus of scouts.
He was an extraordinary talent,
but his desire, work ethic and fitness were being questioned and all the scouts were aware of this.
I do not think the Oilers are 100% innocent but in this case I would tend to put 99% on Bonsignore.
I knew enough about him before that draft to groan when they picked him. The Oilers definitely made a mistake and that was calling his name on draft day!
Like today, Mackenzie worked tirelessly to gather the opinions of a consensus of scouts.
He was an extraordinary talent,
but his desire, work ethic and fitness were being questioned and all the scouts were aware of this.
I do not think the Oilers are 100% innocent but in this case I would tend to put 99% on Bonsignore.
I knew enough about him before that draft to groan when they picked him. The Oilers definitely made a mistake and that was calling his name on draft day!
40oz
..........
- Jan 21, 2007
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I felt pretty bad for him during the interview. The Oilers were definetly in the wrong with the situation with him. They knew what they were getting when the drafted him, they knew he needed coddling and had some attitude problems and they took the wrong approach in developing him.
But in the end he really is passing the blame onto the Oilers came across whiny and childish.
But in the end he really is passing the blame onto the Oilers came across whiny and childish.
I am the Liquor
ABK
- Oct 15, 2008
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There were shades of that for sure. I do appreciate the brutal honesty though. Guy has nothing left to lose so he can speak to what happened without fear of retribution. I found it quite refreshing. Reading between the lines I would say that the Oilers thought they could take his great talent and build the work ethic into him, which is a very risky proposition especially with the fourth overall pick.
Do that with a second or third rounder, or even a late first rounder. Not a top five pick. That's just asking for trouble, and trouble is what they got. His comment about "what happened to all the other first round picks? I wasnt the only one" was interesting and held some weight imo.
That time period was directly responsible for the garbage teams we have had to endure for the last fifteen years.
Trizent
Registered User
Gene's job isn't to lob softball questions. The Oilers and Rogers SNET are familiar with my thoughts about Gene. They know who I am (they don't care much either!). I think Gene is one of the nicest guys out there and is likely a great father to his kids and solid husband which to me makes him a great human and member of the community. You can be a nice guy and challenge people on their thoughts though. You have more credibility when you do and his job is all about credibility and communication. And don't be fooled, this board is frequented by a lot of Edm media types.
Jason B was real candid and sincere in his comments. I agree on some and disagree on others. Dean McAmmond was a casualty in 94 (or 95) camp because of Jason B's contract. Dean deserved to make the team or get some regular season looks, but didn't. Just saying that to say that perhaps Jason has a point that the Oilers felt they had to break the kid or wake him up (my words not Jason's) that the Oilers also gave him more chances because he was a #1.
Perhaps Gene, instead of saying, "That wouldn't happen now with the Oilers" when there are players in recent history that would say they didn't get a fair crack with the team, Gene could have been even remotely hard hitting. Does anyone think Gene's asks tough questions (I mean within the media)? Not likely and I guess that is his choice and Rogers SportsNet's choice. Gene is a smooth communicator, too much schtick for my liking, and a talented on-air talent.
Also just want to make sure I understand ground rules. We can be evaluate players and management, but no one else?
Give credit where credit is due, while these guys didn't "draw" this interview out of Jason (Jason was clearly ready to get some stuff off his chest), they didn't get in Jason's way, which shows good talent is also the role of interviewer.
Dimensha
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- Jul 14, 2010
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It isn't? I mean based on everything I've ever seen it seems that this is exactly what his job is, along with providing a bit of entertainment while hosting Oilers games. He has done this as long as I have watched him, so I'm guessing this is what he was hired to do, otherwise why would he still be employed?
And I'm sure when Gregor hired him to co host a couple shows he did it because he just wanted Gene to come in and do his "thing" for a few hours in the middle of summer.
Trizent
Registered User
Well, I'm glad that more reporters -- sports, political, business don't take the same tact. We'd never find out about anything if reporters were puppets. Gene benefits from others asking tough questions.
But you are right and I alluded to this, clearly SNET doesn't have much problem with this. They are happy with Gene. Again, I think Gene is quite talented, intelligent, and frankly a great man.
Well the beginning of the end for MacT was Lowe keeping his job 2 summers before that. The guy couldn't ice a competitive roster. I mean you're talking about a core of Horcoff, Hemsky, Souray and Penner as your best vets with a supporting cast featuring guys like Robert Nilsson and Patrick O'Sullivan.
Gene Principe didn't call him a bust at all.
"We are going to talk to a 1st round non -bust" is what he said on Grant Fuhr coming next. What you take out of that statement is up to you.
OneSharpMarble
Registered User
Gene Principe didn't call him a bust at all.
"We are going to talk to a 1st round non -bust" is what he said on Grant Fuhr coming next. What you take out of that statement is up to you.
I bet he wouldn't have said it if Bonsignore was sitting across the table from him. Completly unnessessary, unprofessional and chicken **** cowardly.
This ^^
Sounds to me like he wasn't nearly ready to be a pro, but I do believe Sather handled him poorly.
Who knows what could have been
if you don't want to listen to the whole interview you can read the whole thing here:
http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.p..._i_feel_like_i_let_everyone_in_edmonton_down/
http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.p..._i_feel_like_i_let_everyone_in_edmonton_down/
Jumptheshark
Rebooting myself
For those who suggest the oilers handled him wrong. I remember his draft very well and there were large red flags about his attitude and commitment to the game before the draft. His former coach said that when motivated he could be the best player on the ice. But when he was not motivated he was a non factor or a disturbance for the team
This comment is so wrong. Many players have their best seasons in Edmonton. Weight, Marchant, Comrie, Smyth, Penner, grier, Anson Carter, Jason Smith, Jarret Stoll, Raffi Torre, etc.
Cleary has stated that is was Mactavishs coaching that made him learn how to stay in this league.
Fourier
Registered User
Things have changed substantially in the scouting world since Bonsignore was drafted, both with the Oilers and in general.
The Oilers should never have taken him that high given the red flags so simply by selecting him they actually need to accept a significant part of the blame as far as the lost opportunity for the franchise is concerned.
But you also wonder how much background work they actually did on the kid. Today they would likley have a complete profile on the kid. They would have interviewed him several times, talked to people around him, would have tested his physical fitness and would have a very good sense of his willingness to dedicate himself to becoming and NHL'er.
There is also no question that the Oilers as an organization were probably close to their all-time low point when JB joined them. Their scouting was a mess, and you csan be sure that there was no money for any frills.
The Oilers should never have taken him that high given the red flags so simply by selecting him they actually need to accept a significant part of the blame as far as the lost opportunity for the franchise is concerned.
But you also wonder how much background work they actually did on the kid. Today they would likley have a complete profile on the kid. They would have interviewed him several times, talked to people around him, would have tested his physical fitness and would have a very good sense of his willingness to dedicate himself to becoming and NHL'er.
There is also no question that the Oilers as an organization were probably close to their all-time low point when JB joined them. Their scouting was a mess, and you csan be sure that there was no money for any frills.
Its obvious he was treated in a way that belongs to the past aka "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger". When I was in the navy we had a mix of old officers and new ones. The new ones had modern leadership training but oldschoolers had exactly the same attitude as Jason was subjected too.
Today we know more, and we demand more from leaders. What is good for one youngster can be devastating to another. With the cap, developing young players is extremely important and that put the focus on doing what's best for the player, not treating them like crap thinking "if they made of the right stuff" they will become great. For Jason it seems clear that the treatment he was subjected to didn't help him at all, it was simply detrimental to his development. Training that hard without eating??? WTF is that all about? Mentally abuse a teenager in the hope to make him harder? It would today be called "pure stupidity" but lets be nice here on the forum and simply name it ignorance and incompetence.
If anyone was treated like that at their job, they would have grounds for a lawsuit.
Today we know more, and we demand more from leaders. What is good for one youngster can be devastating to another. With the cap, developing young players is extremely important and that put the focus on doing what's best for the player, not treating them like crap thinking "if they made of the right stuff" they will become great. For Jason it seems clear that the treatment he was subjected to didn't help him at all, it was simply detrimental to his development. Training that hard without eating??? WTF is that all about? Mentally abuse a teenager in the hope to make him harder? It would today be called "pure stupidity" but lets be nice here on the forum and simply name it ignorance and incompetence.
If anyone was treated like that at their job, they would have grounds for a lawsuit.
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Lowe in Oil
Registered User
It's up to him to show what he can do.
So what? Prove that you're worth it. What did Jason say to provoke those words? "Will you give me a million dollars?
Maybe he was overweight. If my boss told me something negative, I'd try to work my a$$ off and get better.
Maybe they wanted to see how much he wanted it.
Hard to believe. He does not know what exactly how Smyth was treated behind closed doors. Maybe smyth never *****ed when he was made to go to the rink at 5:30am.
Maybe he should have articulated a bit more.
All he had to do was work hard and show he wanted it. Have some heart. Get up at 5am go to the rink like you were told, show them that you really wanted to be in the NHL. Lose some weight show your passion. But obviously he had no passion. End of story.
Lowe in Oil
Registered User
Hecht played well here.
What about Jason Smith, who rejuvenated his career in Edmonton? And Pronger.... Matt Greene... off the top of my head.
joestevens29
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- Apr 30, 2009
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That was because he wasn't giving a full effort.
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/indepth/feature-hockey-cleary.html
He made it clear that he was the reason why he failed before Detroit.
OK I'm having a hard time not seeing him as a childish bitter old man. He's trying to create the image that Edmonton doesn't take good care of their prospects. Lowe and Mac-T allowed Chorney, Gagner, Nilson and Cogliano to get rushed into the NHL. Tambolini is the GM now, not Sather or Lowe. Renny is the coach now, not Mac-T or Green.
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