[mabrowndog]

WTF??? Bruins just traded their #126 pick to the Islanders. No info on this deal, nor on the one with San Jose on the earlier pick.

At #128 they take defenseman Andrew Bodnarchuk - Drumheller, Alberta, Canada ...Grew up in Nova Scotia ... 5-10/172, shoots L .... Played for Halifax of the QMJHL

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History

Bodnarchuk was originally selected by the Moncton Wildcats in the 2004 QMJHL Midget Draft in the fifth round, but was unwilling to give up his NCAA eligibility, and did not suit up for the Wildcats. Saint John selected him in the expansion draft, before being traded to Halifax, who enticed him to play in the QMJHL. Still only 17, he was expected to be a valuable contributor on the relatively inexperienced Halifax blue line. Though he ran into occasional difficulties in regards to consistency and discipline, his willingness to get his nose dirty in his own end despite his size deficiency, and his offensive awareness when on the rush were benefits. Bodnarchuk played in all situations on the rebuilding Mooseheads squad, appearing more at home on the power play than elsewhere, though he did not embarrass himself in his own end either. He finished his rookie campaign with 6 goals and 23 points, fourth in the league among rookie. He was a member of Team Quebec in the 2005 Canada-Russia Challenge and also played on Team Canada at the 2005 Under-18s. In 2004, he was a member of Team Atlantic at the Under-17 World Hockey Challenge.

A puck moving defenseman, Bodnarchuk is a very good skater and sees the ice well. He has a hard point shot and distributes the puck smoothly. He sometimes has problems handling physical pressure and needs to fill out and add some strength, but he does not mind getting in the face of the opposition from time to time in his own end. He also needs further polishing in his own zone, and needs to remedy his occasional discipline problems that saw him take a few inopportune penalties last season.

Bodnarchuk’s size could be a liability at the next level, and he will have to work hard when he gets an opportunity, but he has the talent and the two-way ability to be a good second-pairing defenseman with plenty of power play time. He will be an integral part of Halifax’s blue line next season.

This post has been edited by mabrowndog: 24 June 2006 - 10:17 PM

[jacklamabe65]

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Think Pat LaFontaine's skating with Brett Hull's shot."

Well, there's some hype he has to live up to in the end.

[BigMike]

mabrowndog, on Jun 25 2006, 03:10 AM, said:

WTF??? Bruins just traded their #126 pick to the Islanders. No info on this deal, nor on the one with San Jose on the earlier pick.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Apparently the deal was The Bruins traded their 4th (98) and 5th (126) round picks to the Islanders for the 3rd round pick (71)

71 was originally a Phoenix pick, and sounds like the Isles traded 98 to SJ

Bruins say they had Alexandrov as a top 12 guy on their list

http://www.bostonbruins.com/pressbox/press...ses.asp?ID=1710

[SoxScout]

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Kessel indicated that he can and wants to play in the NHL next season, and Gorton concurs when asked if Boston’s new prospect could make an immediate impact.

“Yeah, I do,” he said. “I think he’s one of the guys we felt could step into the league.”

Link

[mabrowndog]

B's 6th round pick #158



Levi Nelson, Center - Calgary, Alberta
5-11, 167, shoots L
2006 team: Swift Current Broncos (WHL)
62 Games: 21 G, 17 A, 63 PIM
Ranked #136 in North America by Central Scouting Bureau

Swift Current Player Profile

This post has been edited by mabrowndog: 24 June 2006 - 11:14 PM

[mabrowndog]

You know what's a great sign?

When the first few matches in a Google search of "Milan Lucic" are from "HockeyFights.com"

I love this guy already.

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Milan Lucic vs Garth Collins:

Lucic hits Collins against the side boards and the two decide to drop the gloves. Both guys grab a hold of each other and Collins starts off quickly throwing lefts. Lucic's helmet gets knocked off and they tie up for a couple of seconds. Lucic gets his right arm free and hits Collins with 5 or 6 punches. Collins tries to respond with a left that misses and Lucic throws a right as Collins falls to the ice. Lucic threw another punch or two while Collins was down. Win Lucic.

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Milan Lucic vs Michael Funk:

These two tie up during the Franson and Bubnick fight. The ref was right between the two trying to pry them apart. At first it didn't appear as though they were going to fight but after a couple of gloved punches and some chatting between the two they decide to scrap. Lucic gets Funk's helmet off and throws a couple of rights, the first one appeared to land with the other two coming up short. Funk responds with two rights that hit Lucic's helmet. The two grapple for a couple of seconds and Funk throws another right which is countered by a right from Lucic. Lucic was able to lock out Funk and he throws a couple more rights which connect. Funk tries a couple of short left and right hand jabs which don't do any damage and Lucic lands another right. Lucic comes back with an uppercut which just misses, followed by a right by Funk and another right by Lucic. Both punches didn't appear to land. Funk throws a right which comes up short followed by two rights by Lucic which also don't connect. At this point the two are tired and start to grab onto one another and the linesmen step in the seperate the two. The fight was pretty even and I wouldn't argue with somebody calling the fight a draw, however Lucic did land the better punches during the fight. So I would give the edge to Lucic.

Apparently he loves to dole out heavy hits:

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Vancouver Giants coach Don Hay doesn't think workhorse winger Milan Lucic will be suspended for the thunderous check that's sidelined Everett star Peter Mueller.

Lucic didn't receive a penalty on the play, which happened along the boards directly in front of referee Pat Smith, but the Silvertips feel that it was a charge and are expected to send a videotape to the WHL office for review.

Mueller, a member of the U.S. world junior team and a projected top-five pick in this summer's NHL draft, suffered a concussion on the play Saturday night in Everett and is out indefinitely.

"I didn't see a charge," Hay said Sunday after checking out the tape. "He kind of turned just as Milan went to hit him. I thought it was a clean hit. He hit him solid. I think his head hit the glass. Milan hits hard, but he hits clean. It wasn't like the ref didn't see it."

From the Vancouver Giants web site:

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Vancouver Giants forward MILAN LUCIC saw a childhood dream come true Saturday afternoon at the National Hockey League Entry Draft in Vancouver. Lucic was taken in 2nd round by the Boston Bruins, 50th overall.

Lucic is coming off a solid rookie season in the Western Hockey League. The 6’2” left winger had 9 goals, 10 assists, and 149 penalty minutes in 62 games.

“It’s just such an exciting feeling,” said Lucic after putting on a Bruins jersey for the first time. “I can’t describe it. It’s one big step in my hockey career and I’m looking forward to taking full advantage of this situation.”

Bruins Head Scout Scott Bradley, who lives in the lower mainland, saw Lucic play a lot this year in Vancouver and was happy to see him still available at the 50th pick.

“He’s a unique player that I think does a lot of the little things right,” said Bradley from the draft floor. “His hockey sense is a lot better than a lot of people think and he’s the type of player that’s going to go through the wall for you.”

Giants General Manager Scott Bonner, on hand at General Motors Place, was very happy for Lucic to be drafted in his hometown family and fans.

“I think Milan’s selection shows if you work real hard and stick to the plan, good things can happen,” says Bonner. “He’ll play a huge part for our club next season when we host the Memorial Cup and hopefully he plays a huge part in the Bruins future as well.”

[mabrowndog]

Here's a cool sequence:









Kick some ass, score a goal, become a folk hero. Something tells me this guy's going to remind us a lot of Cam Neely.

This post has been edited by mabrowndog: 25 June 2006 - 06:28 PM

[PedroSpecialK]

Superb draft. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect somebody like Kessel, who could have easily gone #1 overall just a month ago, to be there at #5. I really do like the Raycroft trade too - we just traded a 2nd-3rd string goalie on our depth charts for one of the top goaltending prospects in hockey who will be ready around the time that Toivonen becomes expensive. I'm already loving the Peter Chiarelli era.

[mabrowndog]

NMB on the draft:

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"We spent a lot of time with Phil," said [Interim GM Jeff] Gorton. "We've interviewed twice now and we grilled him pretty good. We've spent a lot of time talking to his coaches and the people around him and getting a sense of what's true and what's not true. We're really comfortable with him as a player, his ability, his upside, and we feel the people in our organization can help him develop into a real good hockey player. I think he's one of the guys who we felt could step into the league."

KPD on Kessel:

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A very important note to remember about the Golden Brett: He required a one-year tuneup with Moncton in the American Hockey League before he went on to become every bit Bobby's boy. Most, most, most (are we making this clear?) of these kids need time, and the percentages should remind everyone that Kessel probably will not be the exception to the rule. Emotion aside, the dream of a quick franchise turnaround aside, the odds favor him going back to the University of Minnesota in the fall. There is a chance he will skate with some of Boston's youngest prospects in sort of a young guns camp in August (plans yet to be finalized).

[Quintana Daydream]

NHsoxfan4, on Jun 25 2006, 12:50 AM, said:

If this is what we have to look forward to with the new front office, I'm psyched. Chiarelli still has his hands tied with the Sens, but it's something to dump a big question mark for a top prospect, and a Hannu clone (though he's not proven vs. NA hockey).
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Toronto papers/blogs are highly skeptical of this trade for the Leafs. Globe and Mail blog claim this could be an embarassment for the Leafs....

Hannu is more talented than Raycroft IMO, so this is a no lose situation. Tim Thomas is a perfectly capable NHL backup. Great day....

[Steve Dillard]

Kessel is a grade a douche and imature, a product of two wannabie athlete parents who controlled him. He could challenge for Jim Carrey's sidekick in "dumb and dummer." His fomer teammate and fellow Wisconsin kid Jack Skille (last year's CHicago #1 pick) hates him.

That said, I'll hold my nose and hope this supremely talented kid matures. Take a look at his stats vs. the world best.

Year	Tournament	Team	GP	G	A	Pts
2003-04	U17 World	USA	6	6	4	10
2004	U18 World	USA	6	7	3	10
2005	U18 World	USA	6	9	7	16
2005	WJC	USA	7	4	2	6
2006	WJC	USA	7	1	10	11

That's basically dominating vs. the best 17 year olds, then the 18s, and then the under 20s at the WJC. (comparison - Toews had two assists this year at the WJC, and 9 points at the U18s; Staal had 2 points at the U18s, and 7 at the U17s.) Only Backstrom at 4 was comparable - I would have loved to have him too.

[Rough Carrigan]

And, was Phil Esposito's mailbox overflowing with invites from Mensa while he was setting scoring records for the Big Bad Bruins?

[Eddie Jurak]

mabrowndog, on Jun 25 2006, 01:20 AM, said:

Kick some ass, score a goal, become a folk hero.  Something tells me this guy's going to remind us a lot of Cam Neely.
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Minus the 395 goals...

[Eddie Jurak]

BigMike, on Jun 24 2006, 11:05 PM, said:

I assume the Bruins got a great look at Marchand during the memorial cup when he was playing against Martin Karsums.  Every review I saw from people who saw those game LOVE Marchand.

You mean playing with Karsums. They were teammates and linemates. The Bruins must must know this kid VERY well from scouting Karsums.

[SawxSince67]

CNNSI likes the B's draft...

Boston Bruins
A year ago, some scouts would have selected Phil Kessel over Sidney Crosby. This year, he fell into the Bruins laps (5th), and while there are questions, there's also a real chance they got the best forward in the draft. Yuri Alexandrov (37th) captained the Russian Under-18 Team and could become a top-four defender. Brad Marchand (71st) has a chance to become a Steve Sullivan-type center.
Grade: A-

[SoxScout]

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Hey Phil, congratulations on being drafted 5th overall. Which player are you looking forward most to playing with?

Phil Kessel: Patrice Bergeron. I've played against him and he's an unbelievable talent.

Small Kessel Interview