Draft Day game thread- storm the TD Garden like it's the Bastille

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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jk333 said:
All their picks were two way gritty players. It's beginning to look like Kelly, Campbell and McQaid were Neely/Sweeney's thing.
They learned exactly the wrong lesson from the second round exit last year. They needed to get faster, instead they thought they needed to get tougher.
 

Scoops Bolling

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At this point I'm just in shock. The day was partially salvaged with the Lucic trade, and then I thought, "hey, if they draft Barzal and Connor, that's a pretty massive infusion of speed and skill"...and then they went and did this, and there's just no reason for hope. The incompetence is clear at this point, and there's no hope of it being resolved because the issues run to the highest levels of the organization. 
 
We're fucked. This franchise is straight up fucked.
 

soxfan121

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Worth noting that the SI.com live blog of the draft has crashed after the DeBrusk pick, like Allan Muir just threw his hands in the air said "fuck it" and walked away.
 

PaulinMyrBch

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MYRTLE BEACH!!!!
Someone explain the basics of drafting to me. Seriously. I'm a more than casual Bruins fan but don't invest any time to understanding Providence or how kids make the show. So how long does it takes the 1 pick, 14-16, and later round picks to hit the NHL roster?
 
What is realistic with these 3 we just took? Actually, let me rephrase...what is realistic had we drafted the 13th, 14th, 15th best players available?
 

miracleofmidre

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I don't think this is a tank job, at least not the draft picks. Those smack of lack of preparation. Trading for picks that high on the day of the draft and then taking these guys means they just didn't prepare for the meat of the round, they prepared for one guy then had to take three. They picked guys they had scouted for the second round, the guys they knew, hence their later round projections.

This is utterly incompetent. Making a trade for a high pick is useful if you know you can do something with it, either via trade or through good, deep draft prep.
 

jk333

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miracleofmidre said:
I don't think this is a tank job, at least not the draft picks. Those smack of lack of preparation. Trading for picks that high on the day of the draft and then taking these guys means they just didn't prepare for the meat of the round, they prepared for one guy then had to take three. They picked guys they had scouted for the second round, the guys they knew, hence their later round projections.

This is utterly incompetent. Making a trade for a high pick is useful if you know you can do something with it, either via trade or through good, deep draft prep.
this is optimistic, in my opinion. I think these were the players that they wanted, after they scouted everyone.
 

soxfan121

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Muir at SI.com
 
8:46 p.m. Maybe in the future we'll all look back at June 26 as the day Don Sweeney proved himself to be the most astute prognosticator of talent in the NHL. More likely though, it'll be remembered as the day he gave away Dougie Hamilton for peanuts and then wasted Calgary's first-rounder on Zach Senyshyn, a player who skated mostly fourth line minutes for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and was widely expected to be available deep into the second round. Nothing wrong with reaching for a player, but this feels like a total mismanagement of the asset when players like Barzal, Konecny, White and others are still on the board. Someone needs to throw Sweeney a lifeline. The water's looking a little deep for him today.
 
 

Scoops Bolling

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miracleofmidre said:
I don't think this is a tank job, at least not the draft picks. Those smack of lack of preparation. Trading for picks that high on the day of the draft and then taking these guys means they just didn't prepare for the meat of the round, they prepared for one guy then had to take three. They picked guys they had scouted for the second round, the guys they knew, hence their later round projections.

This is utterly incompetent. Making a trade for a high pick is useful if you know you can do something with it, either via trade or through good, deep draft prep.
Except how fucking hard is it in that case to just look at the rankings from the national scouting services and saying "hmmm...well, this guy is really highly rated, and the guys we did look at should still be there in the 2nd, so let's just take whoever the consensus BPA is and move on".
 
Oh right, competence.
 

ivanvamp

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Scoops Bolling said:
Except how fucking hard is it in that case to just look at the rankings from the national scouting services and saying "hmmm...well, this guy is really highly rated, and the guys we did look at should still be there in the 2nd, so let's just take whoever the consensus BPA is and move on".
 
Oh right, competence.
 
Well to be fair, Belichick does this kind of thing all the time.  Getting the player he wants, regardless of where they are "ranked" by so-called "experts".  Usually works out pretty well for the Patriots.
 
I am not suggesting that Sweeney is nearly as good at this as Belichick is…but the principle is the same.
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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Scoops Bolling said:
Except how fucking hard is it in that case to just look at the rankings from the national scouting services and saying "hmmm...well, this guy is really highly rated, and the guys we did look at should still be there in the 2nd, so let's just take whoever the consensus BPA is and move on".
 
Oh right, competence.
Because that would mean they'd have to admit they're not the smartest guys in the room.
 

scottyno

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Scoops Bolling said:
Except how fucking hard is it in that case to just look at the rankings from the national scouting services and saying "hmmm...well, this guy is really highly rated, and the guys we did look at should still be there in the 2nd, so let's just take whoever the consensus BPA is and move on".
 
Oh right, competence.
plus it's not like just because you have your eye on 1 specific guy as a mid first that you don't scout anyone else and have a set of rankings in case things change or you don't get your guy
 

Jed Zeppelin

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Worst part of this is my childhood idea of the greatness of the Neely-era Bruins is forever tainted. I have no frame of reference for how bad today was.
 

miracleofmidre

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Scoops Bolling said:
Except how fucking hard is it in that case to just look at the rankings from the national scouting services and saying "hmmm...well, this guy is really highly rated, and the guys we did look at should still be there in the 2nd, so let's just take whoever the consensus BPA is and move on".
 
Oh right, competence.
Never underestimate the stubbornness of the incompetent.

I could have it wrong, without a doubt. But I don't think they are wired to just throw a dart at someone who is ranked in the slot they are picking at, just because, especially if they haven't researched that player. But there's no good explanation, and both of those offered here could be right on. If they targeted these guys so far above their ranking and felt like they should take them, then they have no concept of value or no skill in negotiation and/or foresight. And if they weren't prepared for today's trade and then just grabbed who they know then they are similarly incompetent.

The answer is the same either way. Not a good day, and a very bad sign of what's to come over the next few years.
 

Hearts Alive

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I cannot process the damage Sweeney/Neely did to the Bruins today.  I am literally sick to my stomach.  How on earth do you pass on Barzal three times?  How can you reach so far on a pick that you could have easily gotten with 2/3 of your second rounders?  How do you have 3 picks in a row in the deepest draft in a decade and not at least go BPA 2 out of 3?  
 

BigMike

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miracleofmidre said:
I don't think this is a tank job, at least not the draft picks. Those smack of lack of preparation. Trading for picks that high on the day of the draft and then taking these guys means they just didn't prepare for the meat of the round, they prepared for one guy then had to take three. They picked guys they had scouted for the second round, the guys they knew, hence their later round projections.

This is utterly incompetent. Making a trade for a high pick is useful if you know you can do something with it, either via trade or through good, deep draft prep.
 
See, I don;t agree.   This team analyzed every player available in the 6-20 range. Their pick was 14,  it's not like they just scouted Zboril knowing he would be the guy there at 14, he could have easily gone before them. 
 
If for example they had a pick at 6 and then suddenly dropped a couple in the 24/25 range then I could maybe see having a hole in scouting.    Although it doesn't work that way
 
PaulinMyrBch said:
Someone explain the basics of drafting to me. Seriously. I'm a more than casual Bruins fan but don't invest any time to understanding Providence or how kids make the show. So how long does it takes the 1 pick, 14-16, and later round picks to hit the NHL roster?
 
What is realistic with these 3 we just took? Actually, let me rephrase...what is realistic had we drafted the 13th, 14th, 15th best players available?
 
Realistically you expect players to spend 2 years in Juniors, and then a year in the AHL .    Zboril is more advanced and might be able to compete for a job sooner.
 
I had heard rumors the Bruins didn't like Connor, so I am not stunned they passed on him.   I had heard they loved Sen.
 
Debrusk, I don't know what to say,   being a poor skater is such a hard hill to climb, especially for a little guy
 

RedSox040713

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Is it too early to buy an Austin Mahone jersey, or are they going to trade the first pick next year for some gritty 4th liners and 7th round picks?
 

Myt1

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I mean, at least the question of what level of GM you'd get if you replaced the guy who put together a pretty great 8 year run got answered today.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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In light of today's events they've lost the benefit of the doubt that they scouted hard and saw something they liked that would be great.
 

Toe Nash

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Luis Taint said:
So who are the top five players in next year's draft.
The problem is so long as they have Tuukka and Bergeron/Krejci they're not going to be terrible. So they're stuck in purgatory. Expect them to not sell at the deadline (and maybe add something), miss the playoffs, and end up with something like the #10 pick -- worst of all worlds.
 

Dinkleberries

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There was a stretch of time when I stoped watching the Celtics because, from top to bottom, they were bad. Really bad. I was growing up throughout the Bird years and he retired the year I graduated high school, and we all know how the long, slow decline went and they finally bottomed out with little talent, bad coaching, and brutal mismanagement with a large helping of terrible luck. That was all a long painful process that took years and years and it got to the point that I just couldn't stomach it anymore and I stopped watching them for the most part. The Bruins, or rather Sweeney and Neely, have accomplished a similar feat in one awful Black Friday. It is staggering how incompetent every step has been today and I really hope that this is rock bottom. I am struggling to see a way out of this horrible mess anytime soon. Goddamnit.
 

miracleofmidre

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BigMike said:
See, I don;t agree.   This team analyzed every player available in the 6-20 range. Their pick was 14,  it's not like they just scouted Zboril knowing he would be the guy there at 14, he could have easily gone before them. 
 
If for example they had a pick at 6 and then suddenly dropped a couple in the 24/25 range then I could maybe see having a hole in scouting.    Although it doesn't work that way
Yes, for sure it could be this. But one thing we don't know is whether Sweeney defied internal scouting, perhaps he's swinging his dick around a little to show he's the boss despite the guys doing the legwork telling him he was crazy and should have taken Berzal.

I guess all I can say is the one big takeaway is that this makes me think that Don Sweeney is incompetent. And of course this reflects poorly on Neely and Jacobs. The end result is a massive multi-year shit sandwich for the fans.
 

MiracleOfO2704

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There is a way out, but it essentially involves Charlie Jacobs admitting this was a mistake, firing Sweeney immediately, getting Neely out of any position of importance in the organization, and taking some time to identify a new core, acquire them, and develop them.
 
My fear is that step 1 won't even take place, that Charlie thinks things are A-OK tonight because Cam told him so.
 

TSC

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Their D is so bad right now that Tuukka and Bergeron won't be enough to keep this team out of the bottom 5.

So why the fuck did they pick up Jones, when they now have Tuukka, Subban, and Gothberg(McIntyre, whatever).

Sweeney has shown that he has absolutely no plan whatsoever. It's embarrassing and sad. And the fact he was hired after such a lengthy "review" makes me think Neely is ultimately the big problem here.

My god we are so fucked.

No great D.
No great goal scorers.

Outside of Bergeron, maybe Pastrnak - no great forwards..

And no real prospects to look forward to.

This sucks.
 

Steve Dillard

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So, Julien took two months to convince Sweeney to stop drafting youngsters who might need to be played, like that annoying Pasternak kid last year?
 

ngruz25

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Hey there's a full season of Ryan Spooner, and maybe Joe Morrow takes a big step forward, and they have to move one of Subban or Jones for help, and I'm out of optimism.
 

BoSoxFink

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Steve Dillard said:
So, Julien took two months to convince Sweeney to stop drafting youngsters who might need to be played, like that annoying Pasternak kid last year?
I wanted Julien gone as much as anyone, but to blame this on him is ridiculous.