Bruins Draft Recap

Before I start, I want to thank EliteProspects.com for being such a comprehensive and easy to use resource for this post.

With all that happened this weekend in sports, you can be forgiven for overlooking the NHL Draft. And as a Bruins fan, even I was a bit disinterested. After back-to-back drafts with premium picks, the B's would be selecting a very ho hum 24th.

The Bruins, however, made an interesting selection with their uninteresting pick. They took Malcolm Subban, a 6' 1" 188 pound 18 year old currently playing for the Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League. Three things make this pick interesting.

#1, Malcolm Subban is a goalie. Which means we get to mention Tim Thomas. And he wears the number 30.

#2, Malcolm Subban has an older brother named PK Subban, an easy to hate defenseman on the Montreal Canadiens. This guy:

#3, He also has a younger brother named Jordan, so he is Malcom in the Middle. He's also Malcolm S. This guy is a blogger's dream come true.

Subban had a 2.50 GAA with Belleville in 39 games last season. He had a save percentage of .923. Considering his age, and how much time it will take him to learn the position, I seriously doubt Tim Thomas leaving the Bruins had anything to do with this selection. And just because the Bruins got him doesn't mean their long-term plans for Rask have changed.

You're not going to get an instantly impactful player with the 24th pick. This guy has talent, room to improve, and could one day be a good NHL goalie. He'll likely stay in the OHL, get some playoff and national team experience (he played 5 games for Canada in the 2011 Under-18 World Junior Championship, Canada finished 4th), and in a few years he'll contend for a spot on the Bruins' depth chart.

The Bruins also traded the rights to restricted free agent Benoit Pouliot to Tampa Bay in exchange for Michel Ouellet and a 5th round pick.

I was never a fan of Benoit Pouliot. He just didn't fit in. He scored 16 goals, had 16 assists, but he never really seemed like a Bruin. He wasn't particularly physical, he wasn't a talented scorer, and he made more mistakes with the puck than most of the other forwards. He was a restricted free agent and I'm not upset that he's gone.

Michel Ouellet isn't an improvement though. He's 30 years old and hasn't played in the NHL since 2008. In the last three years he's played in Virginia, Germany, and Switzerland. Don't expect to see him play in Boston.

In the 3rd round, the Bruins selected Matthew Grzelcyk, a native of Charlestown, MA. He turned 18 in January. He's a 170 pound 5' 9" defenseman. He'll be playing at BU next season, where Coach Jack Parker turns regular defensemen into puck movers and scorers.

In the 5th round, the B's took Seth Griffith, a 19 year old center out of the OHL. He's 5' 9" and 180 pounds and plays for the London Knights. He's a scorer. In 68 games for London last season, he scored 45 goals and added 40 assists. In 19 playoff games he had 10 goals and 13 assists. The word on him is that he doesn't amaze you with talent, but he gets results.

Later in the 5th round, the Bruins made their only European selection. And it was an English winger. Cody Payne is from London, England but plays Juniors in Plymouth of the OHL. He's 18 years old, 6' 2" and 200 pounds. And he does this (he's in white and red):

In the 6th round, the Bruins selected Matthew Benning of the Spruce Grove Saints of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. He's 18 years old, 6' 0", and 216 pounds. That's a good frame for a defenseman. He's also able to score once and awhile and accumulate penalty minutes. His father and uncle both had lengthy NHL careers.

With their final pick in the 7th round, the B's took Colton Hargrove (who I think needs to be called Colton Hargrove III with a name like that). He turned 20 yesterday, he's 6' 1" and 215 pounds. He's from Dallas and played left-wing for the Fargo Force of the USHL. He'll be playing for Western Michigan this upcoming season. He scored 16 goals in 54 games last year, and earned 140 penalty minutes. Impressive.

So that's the Bruins' draft. Not spectacular, but there's some potential future Bruins there. Subban could get to Providence in 2 years. Grzelcyk should develop well at BU, where some quality NHL talent has recently been produced. Griffith can score. Payne can fight. Benning can hit. Hargrove can sit in the penalty box.

I like it.

Seguin Keeps Bruins In

The Bruins weren't going to win this series unless some of their key forwards woke up and scored. Krejci scored yesterday. Lucic had two assists. And Seguin scored the game-winner.

Seguin was dangerous all game. It was only a matter of time before he scored. He threatened frequently in the 1st, and he helped set-up Peverley's goal in the 3rd. Finally, the opportunity came for him in OT. He was confident, he was patient, he was Tyler Seguin. He waited for Braden Holtby to commit, then he attacked. And as good as the media has made Holtby out to be, Seguin is ridiculously more talented than him. And don't forget that Seguin has to practice against Tim Thomas. That might be part of the reason why he's becoming such a good player.

I thoroughly enjoy Eddie Olczyk's mis-analysis of Tim Thomas during the playoffs. He spouted the same crap last year. The NBC guys frequently critique the two time Vezina winner for his aggressiveness. I think Mr. Olczyk believes that if he laced up his skates today, he'd be able to score on Thomas with ease. But he has just a good of a chance to score on Thomas as he does of pronouncing a player's name correctly.

Thomas was great. Washington's first goal was a deflection off Zanon's leg. Their second goal came when the referees didn't call interference or high-sticking and the Caps had a de facto Power Play. Ironically, after the play Marchand couldn't return to the ice due to the flowing blood from the non-penalty. He got a stick to the face and Washington scored. Then again, the refs were primarily focused on clamping down the toughest, fiercest player in the NHL: Benoit Pouliot.

How much attention are the referees giving Pouliot's play? Pouliot has 6 penalty minutes this series. Ovechkin has 4. Who do you think has played rougher, pushed the rules further?

Speaking of penalties, the Washington fans properly displayed their ignorance when booing the 4 minute high-sticking call on Ovechkin. Stick to face equals a penalty. And blood makes it a 4 minute penalty. There's little grey area. What the hell were the Caps fans booing?

Then again, the lack of penalties on Ovechkin isn't new. He was 21st in the NHL with 215 hits in the regular season. He only received 26 penalty minutes. That's not a typo. He was only penalized 26 minutes. 21st most hits, 393rd most penalty minutes. It's impossible to be involved in so much physical play and not be penalized more. Clearly the refs have a different rule book for him.

The Bruins' Power Play looked much better than it's been in the first 5 games. The B's scored a PP goal in the 1st. And they were much better at entering the zone and maintaining possession. The next step is to move some bodies away from the puck. That makes it harder on the penalty killers. It opens up passing and shooting lanes, creates 2-on-1 situations, and forces the goalie to move around. And we've seen Holtby struggle when he's forced to move from post-to-post.

The Bruins' penalty killing is back to form too.

So we have another Game 7. This is familiar territory for many of the Bruins. If they can continue to grow on the Power Play; if Krejci, Seguin, and Lucic can contribute; and if Benoit Pouliot's rampaging can be harnessed, the Bruins should win.

I can't wait until Wednesday.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

Bruins Injury Updates

The Bruins have so many names on their injury report that we need a whole post to talk about them.

Patrice Bergeron, Adam McQuaid, and Max Suave (such a porn name) left Sunday's game with various injuries. The Bruins haven't released any details but Bergeron's currently listed with a foot injury. McQuaid has an "upper body" injury and Suave has a "lower body" injury.

Benoit Pouliot also has a lower body injury and seems to be day-to-day.

On the bright side, Andrew Ference returned to the lineup this weekend. Tuukka Rask seems optimistic that he'll be healthy for the playoffs. And Daniel Paille worked out with the team over the weekend.

Nine to Nil

Wow. 9 goals. 7 different scorers. 12 players with points.

One very typically Bruins aspect of this game was that the first three goals gave points to 8 different Bruins. This whole team contributes on offense and defense. And when it all clicks (and the other team surrenders as Calgary did early last night), the result is a relentless attack.

A big difference between this season's Bruins and last season's is their depth. They were already deep last year. This year, Seguin has become a full-time player. The Bruins are also getting significant contributions from Kelly (goal last night), Peverley (2 assists), and Pouliot (3 assists). They finally have a very good 3rd line, not just a collection of inconsistent and frequently slumping forwards (See: Ryder and Wheeler).

Last night Pouliot played on the Bergeron line, filling in for Marchand. And he had 3 assists.

There's another significant difference this year. Last year, when the B's took a 2 or 3 goal lead, they'd settle in, switch the cruise control on, and be satisfied. And they mostly won, but also lost a few times, or allowed games to get closer than they should.

This year, when the Bruins build a lead, they don't slow down. They speed up. They detect blood in the water and the frenzy begins. They see their teammates score, and they want in on the kill. They have a killer instinct this season. That's why they've scored so many quick back-to-back goals. That's why they've had so many 5+ goal games.

Paille's shorthanded goal is a great example. Down 8-0, the Flames casually passed across the ice, the pass missed its target, ricocheted off the boards, and a hustling Paille found it and scored.

Also, how about Tuukka Rask? His performance might be lost in the crooked number of goals. But he's only allowed 1 goal in the last 278 minutes he's been between the pipes. Wow.

Bruins host the Canucks Saturday afternoon. I don't think Luongo will be able to sleep if he saw what happened in this game.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo