TSN: Keith Gretzky leaving Bruins to become Oilers AGM

[chizzler]

Not really mad over this. His drafts have been meh. Sweeney has been the one doing the transactions. He is definately replaceable.

 

[Bryanbryoil]

I'm surprised Chiarelli didn't appoint his "scout" brother to the AGM position. Did he follow Peter to the organization?

He did, I assume that he has the same role that he did in Boston, OHL scout, possibly head OHL scout. What was the consensus on his record with the Bruins? IIRC some of the better picks that the Bruins made during that time were from the OHL albeit the likes of Seguin and Hamilton were really highly touted as is.

 

[JOKER 192]

Who knows ? Maybe we can draft normally now.

 

[reffree]

Who knows ? Maybe we can draft normally now.

Don't know how to feel right now. Fans are always high on their prospect so the majority think Gretzky's departure is a huge lost. It might be, but right now, we now almost nothing about his drafting other than he had a tons of picks and got the consensus pick on some (later picks) and swing out of left field for others (high picks).

Too soon to decide if we should feel angry or thankful to Chiarelli right now.

 

[Era of Sanity]

I am propbably overgeneralizing but alot of his drafting with the Bruins suggests that he thinks he is smarter than everyone else and alot of his drafting results from Phoenix suggests that he isn`t.

 

[ODAAT]

A large portion of this fan base have bashed Gretzky and his picks up to now but are mad/disappointed/puzzled he`s leaving?

 

[EverettMike]

A large portion of this fan base have bashed Gretzky and his picks up to now but are mad/disappointed/puzzled he`s leaving?

I'm equally surprised, in the reverse too.

We really have no ****ing idea if this is a meaningful loss to the organization or not. Did he do a good job here, or a bad job, or an okay job? We're not going to know for at least a few more years, so how can anyone feel strongly?

If Jacob Zboril is a bust will this feel like that big of a loss? If Senyshn turns into an All-Star will we regret not promoting him ourselves?

:shrug:

Until then I'm fine.

 

[mikelvl]

He did, I assume that he has the same role that he did in Boston, OHL scout, possibly head OHL scout. What was the consensus on his record with the Bruins? IIRC some of the better picks that the Bruins made during that time were from the OHL albeit the likes of Seguin and Hamilton were really highly touted as is.

I believe that I recall Dom saying that he heard comments that he wasn't really seen all that much at OHL games. I don't want to put words in his mouth but I could have sworn that it was something like that.

 

[DominicT]

I believe that I recall Dom saying that he heard comments that he wasn't really seen all that much at OHL games. I don't want to put words in his mouth but I could have sworn that it was something like that.

I've only ever seen him in rinks twice. That doesn't mean we couldn't have been in different rinks. I've seen other scouts many, many more times though.

Drafting from the OHL under Mike's watch

2009: Lane MacDermid, Tyler Randell
2010: Tyler Seguin, Jared Knight, Ryan Spooner
2011: Dougie Hamilton, Alex Khokhlachev, Anthony Camara
2012: Malcolm Subban, Seth Griffith, Cody Payne
2013: Mitchell Dempsey
2014: None

 

[ODAAT]

I'm equally surprised, in the reverse too.

We really have no ****ing idea if this is a meaningful loss to the organization or not. Did he do a good job here, or a bad job, or an okay job? We're not going to know for at least a few more years, so how can anyone feel strongly?

If Jacob Zboril is a bust will this feel like that big of a loss? If Senyshn turns into an All-Star will we regret not promoting him ourselves?

:shrug:

Until then I'm fine.

me too Mike, in that "too early to tell" mode, while I think he most likely will wind up hitting on more than a few of those choices, I don`t think this is someone who`s absence will prove to be a huge loss

 

[mikelvl]

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/b...ky-edmonton/OoDj4KYm5ungcz0lRTqIFI/story.html

“I don’t think it comes as a total surprise to us at all,†said Bruins GM Don Sweeney. “The timing is not ideal this late in the summer. That would be the only thing.

“But Keith described it as a dream opportunity. With the family connection being a pull there, you have to look at it from the opportunity standpoint when anybody gets a position they think is ideal.

“It was something that was right for him. I don’t necessarily agree with the timing. But you have to respect and roll with it.â€

Feels like they are still not pleased with Chiarelli and think that he is giving them the needle.

“In particular, the last three drafts, Keith has done a nice job,†Sweeney said. “You realize there’s pressure involved, especially the last two years with the number of picks we had. I fully respect the impact he made on our hockey club going forward.â€

My gut tells me that we will look back and see that Gretzky did a really nice job getting the Bruins back on track. Time will tell though.

 

[Mpasta]

A large portion of this fan base have bashed Gretzky and his picks up to now but are mad/disappointed/puzzled he`s leaving?

It's almost as if this board has different opinions on how our drafting has gone recently in the 1st round.

 

[Greek_physique]

It's almost as if this board has different opinions on how our drafting has gone recently in the 1st round.

You could say...it's been 'OFF THE CHARTS' good

 

[Gee Wally]

I gotta put in my calendar 2 years from now be pissed off...........or not.

 

[Ice Nine]

A large portion of this fan base have bashed Gretzky and his picks up to now but are mad/disappointed/puzzled he`s leaving?

I'm equally surprised, in the reverse too.

We really have no ****ing idea if this is a meaningful loss to the organization or not. Did he do a good job here, or a bad job, or an okay job? We're not going to know for at least a few more years, so how can anyone feel strongly?

If Jacob Zboril is a bust will this feel like that big of a loss? If Senyshn turns into an All-Star will we regret not promoting him ourselves?

:shrug:

Until then I'm fine.

Honestly, I also have no idea. Apparently, 2014 was the first draft he was in charge. Pasta was a great pic, but there have been several reaching pics under him as well, especially in 2015 and 2016 first round.

He was also one of the biggest boosters of the Seguin trade (if we can take his comments in Behind the B seriously). So, there's that.

But then again, so was Bradley (on Behind the B) who is now being put in charge of "amateur" scouting. So, there's that.

I doubt a lot will change under Bradley. He's been around since the Chiarelli era.

 

[Jean_Jacket41]

Who knows ? Maybe we can draft normally now.

Is normally better or worse?

 

[Ice Nine]

Who knows ? Maybe we can draft normally now.

I wouldn't mind that at all.

 

[PlayMakers]

Hard to know how to feel.

Most of Chiarelli's drafts were abominations.

Honestly, several of the early picks by Sweeney have been head scratchers.

BUT, look at the 2014 Draft, Pastrnak, Donato, Heinen, Bjork, Johansson. I bet every one of those guys plays in the NHL.

2015: Senyshyn, DeBrusk, Carlo, JFK, Lauzon, Vladar, Gabrielle and Zboril all have shown real promise.

2016: McAvoy could be the #1 they're desperate for. Lindgren could be his partner for 15 years. Frederic looks like he has the makeup of an NHL'er, even if it's as a Nick Bonino type. Oskar Steen could be a sneaky steal late in that draft too.

So I don't know what to think! Who picked those guys? Who made the call? Who made the call to pass on Colin White?

Sometimes I feel like the GM butts in on 1st round picks and then turns it over to the scouts after the TV show ends (if you know what I mean). That would certainly explain why they do better in Rd2 than Rd1. I don't know.

I do agree with Sweeney that the timing sucks. Tough to hire a guy for such an important job with camps starting up in what 4/5 weeks?

I also really hope the B's and Oilers bury the hatchet. These teams would make good trade partners as the Oilers need some vets to show the kids how to win and the B's need some youth. PC and now Gretz know all the prospects and players in our organization so one would think that would make deals easier too. And let's face it, Don Sweeney needs a friend out there. He seems to have trouble making deals that improve the hockey club. Nobody is lining up to give him fair value. To think, the Bruins could have got Taylor Hall for Dougie Hamilton if these guys got along and Sweeney didn't give in to his demands last year...

 

[toasterjam]

I am propbably overgeneralizing but alot of his drafting with the Bruins suggests that he thinks he is smarter than everyone else and alot of his drafting results from Phoenix suggests that he isn`t.

I think this is exactly how I feel at this point.

 

[BruinDust]

Didn't Scott Bradley run the Bruins draft table back in the late 90s/early 2000s?

 

[ashnathan]

Didn't Scott Bradley run the Bruins draft table back in the late 90s/early 2000s?

I feel like he was the deciding factor in trading Segs, they were teetering on the edge then he had his little spiel and the trade was made (probably not how it happened but thats how it appeared on behindtheB so I have no faith in the man at all.

 

[chizzler]

Didn't Scott Bradley run the Bruins draft table back in the late 90s/early 2000s?

Is Bradley in charge now? Is this confirmed?

 

[riverhawkey91]

I am propbably overgeneralizing but alot of his drafting with the Bruins suggests that he thinks he is smarter than everyone else and alot of his drafting results from Phoenix suggests that he isn`t.

I don't think that's necessarily fair to say.

People get so caught up mock drafts and player rankings and the supposed BPA that they forget different teams have different needs and different styles.

If you look back at his drafting in AZ, while there weren't a ton of stud players (Wheeler, Yandle and OEL realistically), he still averaged about 2 legit NHLers a year. That's something you can't at all say for Boston, where if it weren't for the two Toronto picks, we wouldn't have a single NHLer between '07 and possibly '14 (with the exception of Hutchinson, if you actually want to count him, and possibly Spooner now if you think he's legit).

Between his drafting in Arizona and what things have been like here, I think it's pretty obvious the plan all along was to take guys that they comfortably felt would become legitimate NHL players in some capacity. That doesn't mean they'll necessarily get any 1st line players out of the group, and they likely passed on some guys who could end up being real good NHL players, but considering how bare our cupboard was, I think it's exactly what this team needed. As Playmakers mentioned, nearly every pick in 2015 looks legitimately on track for the NHL, and 2014/2016 could end up the same way with the way all of these guys are developing.

I get why some fans criticize him and disagree with his draft strategy, I just don't think it has anything to do with him thinking he's smarter than anybody.

 

[Ice Nine]

I also really hope the B's and Oilers bury the hatchet. These teams would make good trade partners as the Oilers need some vets to show the kids how to win and the B's need some youth. PC and now Gretz know all the prospects and players in our organization so one would think that would make deals easier too. And let's face it, Don Sweeney needs a friend out there. He seems to have trouble making deals that improve the hockey club. Nobody is lining up to give him fair value. To think, the Bruins could have got Taylor Hall for Dougie Hamilton if these guys got along and Sweeney didn't give in to his demands last year...

The bolded part is painful to read.

But I think this Gretzky move will make any "hatchet burying" even more impossible. These are two organizations clearly at loggerheads. Until Neely, Sweeney, or Chiarelli are cleared out of either, we won't see Peace In Our Time.

 

[BruinDust]

Is Bradley in charge now? Is this confirmed?

No idea.