Jason Bonsignore interview

[copperandblue]

It has probably very little to do with being misunderstood. It seems more like no one could care less to understand him. I understand your sentiment but mentally screwing a 19 year away from his home environment isn't that hard.

He was probably unprepared physically and mentally, and they punished him for it. The problem is how you work with young people. And seriously, comparing Messier during his peak with a teenager trying to make a team at 18-19 years old... its not really a good analogy.

From what i read and heard it seems Jason needed some special treatment, he probably lacked maturity. The organisation choose to **** him over and over and over to make sure he would understand what it takes. The thing is, that can break a kid or an adult even.

You would never do that today anywhere ... hopefully.

That's pretty rich, I am sure if Bonsignore was reading it he would appreciate the defence...however misguided it is.

 

[hockeyaddict101]

The misunderstood and mistreated comments with Bonsignore are laughable.

Since he had this reputation long before the Oilers had drafted him, how many coaches mistreated the poor, downtrodden athlete that received a pretty hefty signing bonus from the Oilers?

Poor unfortunate soul!

 

[Digger12]

Messier also missed a flight and was sent to the minors. Sather was known to give the sugar as a reward but he was not afraid to give the whip when he felt he needed to.

Yeah, I remember that incident.

Apparently, Messier got it in his head that he was supposed to go to the Municipal airport for the flight, not the International airport.

The thing with Sather was that he was a bit of a jackass, but he wasn't stupid either. His BS detector was more sensitive than most.

And yeah, the Oilers maybe could have "developed" BonBon better, but really...it's not like he was going to become some superstar no matter how much he was coddled and nutured. He had some pretty significant flaws with his character as well as his game in general that were never going to fully go away. As has already been mentioned multiple times, the greater error was in the Oilers drafting him in the first place.

I remember watching him a couple of times in camp, and I never saw a player who wanted the puck on his stick less than he did. He got rid of it as soon as he possibly could, regardless of the situation.

Every now and then though, he'd pull out some great individual effort that would drive you just crazy because it spoke to how much talent he had in him. Unfortunately, he was just another in a long line of young wastrels who liked the NHL lifestyle a lot more than he liked the NHL game.

At the end of the day, this is just one of those things where you have to look upwards and say "scoreboard".

 

[flashy]

In 10 years, Rob Schremp will be saying the exact same things.

Can you blame him? The guy is an offensive wizard, but because MacT gets a hard on for defensive players the guy never got his time in the bigs, until the islanders and he still was at a .5 ppg which isn't bad by any stretch.

The guy for 5 years was basically toyed with, it would be like benching shawn horcoff because he doesn't score enough...some players are just good a certain things....like i said another notch in Edmontons great development work

 

[joestevens29]

I know someone that is pretty close to Cleary.

You have no idea how he really felt.

At the time I don't think he liked in hindsight he admitted to the problems. If he truly hated it then he is a liar because he's come out many times with the same story.

Either way it doesn't matter if he liked it here or not the fact remains he had to make changes in order to become the player he is today. Didn't make those changes in PHO either.

 

[joestevens29]

Can you blame him? The guy is an offensive wizard, but because MacT gets a hard on for defensive players the guy never got his time in the bigs, until the islanders and he still was at a .5 ppg which isn't bad by any stretch.

The guy for 5 years was basically toyed with, it would be like benching shawn horcoff because he doesn't score enough...some players are just good a certain things....like i said another notch in Edmontons great development work

Wow you really are out to lunch. Robbie got cut from there of the worse franchises of the past decade and it's the teams fault that he was too lazy to listen and learn how to skate or play more of a two-way game?

 

[Philly85*]

Slats "BS detector" haha nice

 

[Alawishis]

Just want to say that his draft report on THN at the time said "Great hands, no heart" This is when Bob Mckenzie was still on their staff and a major contributer to the draft day preview.

He was noted for having a "sense of entitlement"

Not wanting to take what he says with a grain of salt, but his issues were widely known at the time.

Sather is the same guy that Messier and Gretzky and many other Oilers give major credit too, so perhaps I do take his words with a grain of salt.

Well said. It seems as though he still has some issues with entitlement, and now a lot of "poor me syndrome". He takes a little responsibility they tempers that by making is seem like it was a result of others actions. Usually people treat you a particular way because of an attitude you exude. If he was projecting entitlement, then it's totally understandable why they treated them the way they did. We all know Smyth is one of the hardest working best attitude guys in hockey, so I don't think it does him justice to compare his situation to him.

 

[I am the Liquor]

At the time I don't think he liked in hindsight he admitted to the problems. If he truly hated it then he is a liar because he's come out many times with the same story.

Either way it doesn't matter if he liked it here or not the fact remains he had to make changes in order to become the player he is today. Didn't make those changes in PHO either.

There was poor/no communication here. That was his complaint. He was shuffled around from PP to PK to top six to checking line to press box. He never knew where he stood with the coaching staff or the organization. He wasnt sure what was expected of him either from one game to the next.

Sounds like a staff that doesnt have a clue. I think from what we have seen that has been pretty evident.

 

[0ilerman]

Can you blame him? The guy is an offensive wizard, but because MacT gets a hard on for defensive players the guy never got his time in the bigs, until the islanders and he still was at a .5 ppg which isn't bad by any stretch.

The guy for 5 years was basically toyed with, it would be like benching shawn horcoff because he doesn't score enough...some players are just good a certain things....like i said another notch in Edmontons great development work

It's unbelievable that this guy's still gets mentioned. Rob Schremp is a never was. He was given more than enough opportunity to prove he was a bonafide NHLer, and never could. He's a great pair of hands attached to a body and mind that simply don't cut it in the top levels of hockey.

Offensive Wizard

Thats like calling Alex Plante a "defensive magician"

 

[CupofOil]

Can you blame him? The guy is an offensive wizard, but because MacT gets a hard on for defensive players the guy never got his time in the bigs, until the islanders and he still was at a .5 ppg which isn't bad by any stretch.

The guy for 5 years was basically toyed with, it would be like benching shawn horcoff because he doesn't score enough...some players are just good a certain things....like i said another notch in Edmontons great development work

Uh, he's out of the league now. Boy, it sure did work out for him elsewhere. It's all the Oilers fault that he didn't succeed.

 

[hockeyaddict101]

Yeah, I remember that incident.

Apparently, Messier got it in his head that he was supposed to go to the Municipal airport for the flight, not the International airport.

The thing with Sather was that he was a bit of a jackass, but he wasn't stupid either. His BS detector was more sensitive than most.

And yeah, the Oilers maybe could have "developed" BonBon better, but really...it's not like he was going to become some superstar no matter how much he was coddled and nutured. He had some pretty significant flaws with his character as well as his game in general that were never going to fully go away. As has already been mentioned multiple times, the greater error was in the Oilers drafting him in the first place.

I remember watching him a couple of times in camp, and I never saw a player who wanted the puck on his stick less than he did. He got rid of it as soon as he possibly could, regardless of the situation.

Every now and then though, he'd pull out some great individual effort that would drive you just crazy because it spoke to how much talent he had in him. Unfortunately, he was just another in a long line of young wastrels who liked the NHL lifestyle a lot more than he liked the NHL game.

At the end of the day, this is just one of those things where you have to look upwards and say "scoreboard".

You and I remember Bonsignore the same way. It was obvious he had tremendous talent but a player less motivated I can not remember.

He also had no interest in any physical contact either, he went through the motions and got the result of the effort he put in.

 

[dasivon]

Sather's mistake in 1994 wasn't the way he treated Bonsignore. It was the fact he actually drafted him. If this was today, and with the phsych tests and magnitude of interviews, this guy doesn't even get considered for the first round. He' probably a 3rd round longshot throw it out, take a chance kind of pick. From the interview, it sounds like he never had the personality to be a pro hockey player. Looks like the reports from junior and the failures in other pro stops proved t. But Jason says no one gave him a chance. Boo hoo.

I see Bonsignore as the Schremp of his day, but with a bigger body (often compared to Lemieux in body type). We've seen a few drops lately due to the same issues - Esposito, Schremp, etc.

Today - I absolutely agree. With the attitude issues he's a 20-30 pick.

 

[Matte99]

That's pretty rich, I am sure if Bonsignore was reading it he would appreciate the defence...however misguided it is.

Not really sure what's so rich about it, most of it is common sense.

I'm pretty sure he wasn't innocent but he was an immature kid, professional adults needs to know how to handle them don't you think? Not saying he would have been a star or something but supporting bullying based on the fact he was a first round pick and should be grateful, that's rich.

 

[copperandblue]

Not really sure what's so rich about it, most of it is common sense.

I'm pretty sure he wasn't innocent but he was an immature kid, professional adults needs to know how to handle them don't you think? Not saying he would have been a star or something but supporting bullying based on the fact he was a first round pick and should be grateful, that's rich.

No I still think it's pretty rich and at best skirts the limits of common sense. His comments yesterday - although no doubt rooted in some version of the truth - are dripping in exaggeration and selective reasoning.

Was he treated harshly? Most likely.

Is it justified to treat someone bluntly when they are a multimillion dollar investement but aren't committed to take it seriously? Most definately.

At any rate, we clearly won't agree on this one.

 

[Matte99]

No I still think it's pretty rich and at best skirts the limits of common sense. His comments yesterday - although no doubt rooted in some version of the truth - are dripping in exaggeration.

Was he treated harshly? Most likely.

Is it justified to treat someone bluntly when they are a multimillion dollar investement but aren't committed to take it seriously? Most definately.

At any rate, we clearly won't agree on this one.

True!

 

[Bryanbryoil]

For those that can't listen to it at work you can read it at the link below.

http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.p..._i_feel_like_i_let_everyone_in_edmonton_down/

 

[Master Lok]

Why is it that so many players from left the oilers and became better players elsewhere?

Boyd Devereux
Dan Cleary
Jochen Hecht

off the top of my head.

and why is it, that almost 90% of the players bring here suck? What player has come here and actually met or exceeded expectations after being brought here.

Edmonton has had the worst development for players i've ever seen.

You have no idea what you're talking about. How much experience do you have with other NHL franchises to actually compare how the Oilers development system is ... or are you merely just picking names out of the hat.

Tell me what happened to Boyd Devereaux and how the Oilers failed him? Tell me what happened to Dan Cleary and how the Oilers failed him. And Jochen Hecht?

Since apparently you have no knowledge of what you're talking about....

Boyd Devereaux was drafted sixth overall by the Oil. He played parts of 1997/98 and 98/99 with both the AHL and the NHL team, before spending the entire year of 1999-2000 with the NHL team. By 22, he scored 27 pts in his first complete (ie. no AHL) NHL season in 82 games, and centred the Oilers fourth line. As I recall, it was a good season for him and he showed promise playing with George Laraque and vet Jimmy Dowd. At 22, Devereaux was developing WELL with the Oilers but he suffered a very serious concussion near the end of the season. Doctors were convinced that it was career threatening and on their advice, the Oilers decided not to re-sign Devereaux, making him a free agent. Much to their surprise, several months later Devereaux recovered from the concussion and signed with Detroit. And Devereaux never scored more than his 27 points with the Oilers, for the rest of his career. Let me put simply for you - his BEST season was with the Oilers at age 22. So tell me again how was he an example of poor development by the Oilers?

Your worst example was Jochen Hecht. He was not even drafted by the Oilers, but drafted by the St. Louis Blues. He developed in the German league and played one year in the AHL with the Blues' farm team. He then proceeded to play two full NHL seasons with the Blues, scoring 34 and 44 points in two seasons. He was traded to the Oil and played for the oilers for ONE SEASON, scoring 40 pts. After one season he was traded to the Sabres. So tell me ... how in the world does Jochen Hecht qualify as a poor example of Oilers development when he spent one season with the oilers franchise, and three with the Blues prior to the Oil?

 

[Everest]

Its evident in his language and tone....this is something he needed to say in order to have closure.

 

[Tarus]

One thing that bugs me in that interview, Sather telling him he wasn't going to give him a million dollars. Bonsignore plays it up as Sather being an ass and not liking him, but I remember Sather from those days, an ass yes, sarcastic as hell, definately.

I totally sounds more like Sather chomping on a cigar with a smirk on his face making a sarcastic remark than Bonsignore's context of "I don't like you, don't expect a million dollars out of me"

So tell me ... how in the world does Jochen Hecht qualify as a poor example of Oilers development when he spent one season with the oilers franchise, and three with the Blues prior to the Oil?

Rumors from around the time were Hecht hated it in Edmonton and quietly demanded a trade out, which Bonsignore was hinting at(player mistreatment).

 

[zeus3007*]

I disagree, its not like nobody was going to draft Steve Kelly or Jason in the first round, these two would of gone to some other team most likely shortly after had we not drafted them.

Why is it that so many players from left the oilers and became better players elsewhere?

Boyd Devereux
Dan Cleary
Jochen Hecht

off the top of my head.

and why is it, that almost 90% of the players bring here suck? What player has come here and actually met or exceeded expectations after being brought here.

Edmonton has had the worst development for players i've ever seen.

Cleary is the only one of those players you could make a case for to me. Devereaux was developing as a nice depth player for us until he had major injury issues and we decided not to risk bringing him back. He wasn't much better in Detroit than he was for us.

And we had Hecht for, what, one season? And we didn't have room for him in our lineup, so we traded him instead of stunting his development. He's been an average second liner for his career since shortly after he left, but like I said, we had no room for him at the time.

 

[Reimer]

Its evident in his language and tone....this is something he needed to say in order to have closure.

If this is in fact what he was doing then I'm glad he was able to get his closure with this silly rant.

 

[Everest]

If this is in fact what he was doing then I'm glad he was able to get his closure with this silly rant.

I wouldn't describe it as 'silly'. It just seems odd its been so long between happening and ending up talking about it... finally.

 

[Reimer]

I wouldn't describe it as 'silly'. It just seems odd its been so long between happening and ending up talking about it... finally.

To me that is exactly why it's silly. It's about 10 years too late.

 

[Everest]

To me that is exactly why it's silly. It's about 10 years too late.

I agree. But its better late than never.

Slats' had a dark side. He was (at times) arrogant, beyond shrewd and bullish. Not many Oiler fans talk about it...but...its true.

I think he's maybe mellowed in his silvering years...but...he was not a terrific character fit for quite a few players/people & prospects he got involved with.