I’m fine with what the Bruins are doing with their drafting and player development. I’m also fine with the folks who rank the Bruins 32nd in the NHL in drafting and player development. The mainstream NHL world doesn’t see what the Bruins see, and they don’t value players’ skills and personalities the same way the bruins do. Our organization has a tradition of great defensemen and great defense, and this influences every aspect of how the organization is managed. You’re a great scorer? Terrific. Can you back-check and be responsible in all 3 zones? Because if not, we have less interest in you. If people are saying the Bruins’ system is 32nd in the league, let them write that. I admire this organization because they value different things in players than teams like Toronto or Pittsburgh or Dallas.
How many teams make the move of shipping Joe Thornton to build around Bergeron as your star? The Bruins evaluate talent from a different point of view than some other teams. Could we have sold out a few times over the years and maybe grabbed another cup or 2? Perhaps, but that's risky. Success can not only be measured in Stanley Cups IMO. Sure it would be great to dominate and have a few more cups like Detroit did but do we then want to go close to a decade or so without even making the playoffs? We had 2 more shots at a cup in 2013 and 2019 and if we had won those we would still be where we are now. We don't have a great winning percentage in the Finals. Can't blame our draft system for that. Also one should consider the Bruins have brought in players who were drafted high such as Hall #1 or Zacha #6. Both were struggling and both turned their game around while here. Lindholm coming in and he was a #5 pick. Hampus was a #6 pick as well. Lots of folks practice hindsight when the evaluate our draft picks. You have to finish at the bottom to get the big draft picks consistently. Is that what we want? LOL We have lost a few tight series the last few years. It's going to happen. What you don't want happening is your team turns into Toronto LOL
Goalies are a different animal, they don’t sign that big deal after their first entry level deal. Almost always they need a couple of seasons in the AHL, a couple seasons backing up in the NHL and full time duty if you’re good enough. Swayman is good, maybe great but he wasn’t anointed the #1, he’s always had the safety net of Linus Ullmark and he hasn’t played 50 plus games in a season. None of this is his fault but how can you lock him up with a 8 x 8 deal when you have question marks?
There are many opinions on Don Sweeney's drafting and development history but the only thing that will ever matter are facts, so what have Don Sweeney’s results been? FACTS: I.E. DRAFT RESULTS: Don Sweeney has made 58 picks since becoming GM before the 2015 draft (10 draft years) Of those 58 draft picks, 9 players have made some level of impact as Boston Bruins, NINE!!! Debrusk Carlo Frederic McAvoy Swayman Lauko Beecher Lohrei Poitras. That’s it!!! Don Sweeney also drafted three other players that have some level of real NHL value with those 58 picks in: -Dan Valdr (career NHL backup / AHL tweener) -Jeremey Lauzon (bottom pair guy / given away by Sweeney in the expansion draft for nothing) -Ryan Lindgren (Top 4 D-Man pissed away in the Matt Belesky salary dump / Rick Nash concussion disaster) Lindgren was the ask by former Bruins interim GM Jeff Gorton to take on “some” of the rest of Belesky’s putrid contract Of the 9 guys that worked out in Boston Debrusk is gone, Lauko is gone and John Beecher’s ceiling is probably a solid, 4th line, PK/Faceoff specialist That leaves Carlo McAvoy Frederic Lohrei Poitras & Swayman A common theme of the guys that panned out is 7 of the 9 were 1st or 2nd round draft picks with only Lauko (being a 3rd round pick) and Swayman (being a 4th round pick) Scream Swayman all you want to but the reality is 90%+ of all NHL starting goalies were either 3rd to 7th round draft picks or unsigned/not drafted UFAs Proof? Just this past 2024 draft. Number of goalies taken in the 1st round? ZERO. 2nd round? Four. Rounds 3-7? NINETEEN!!! As Don Sweeney pissed away a good deal of the Bruins 1st and 2nd round draft picks away chasing playoff chokes or attempting to fix his UFA mistakes, how’s he done in rounds 3-7? Nothing short of DISASTROUS!!! From 2015-2023 the total number of forwards drafted by Sweeney in the 3rd to 7th rounds to play in the NHL? Three guys and this list isn’t full of world beaters -Jacob Lauko- 3rd round. 83 NHL Games. No longer with the team -Oscar Steen- 6th round. 66 NHL Games. No longer in the NHL -Joona Koppanen- 6th round. 5 NHL Games. No longer in the NHL That’s it at forward from rounds 3-7 in ten draft years by Don Sweemey? Lauko, Steen and Koppanen!!! Now tell me again how well Don Sweeney drafts and develops again? It gets even worse on defense as not a single defenseman ever drafted by Don Sweeney since he became GM in 2015 that was drafted in rounds 3 to 7 by him has ever played a single shift in the NHL. NOT ONE!!! Now tell me again how well Don Sweeney drafts and develops again? So since 2015, ten draft years, the total number of NHL defenseman added in rounds 3-7 was ZERO and the forward haul was Lauko, Steen and Koppanen. #terrible On no F.N. planet could this be considered anything less than disastrous drafting and developing results over a ten year span by any NHL GM, Don Sweeney included These results are why the Bruins prospect pool stinks today. Crap drafting and developing has burned them. Outside of 7 guys that were drafted in either the 1st or 2nd round alongside Lauko and Swayman, Don Sweeney hasn’t added anything to the Bruins big club in ten F.N. Draft years THIS IS NOT OPINION. IT IS WHAT HAPPENED. THESE ARE FACTS BRUINS HOMERS!!!! THESE ARE DON SWEENEY’S DRAFT RESULTS!!! Opinions are the land of Bruins homers and the homer driven media guys who still stick to the brainwashing that Don Sweeney has drafted well and that his farm system isn’t that bad Meanwhile back on Planet Earth…. so reality... Don Sweeney added ZERO d-men from rounds 3-7 in ten draft years. The only forwards he added in rounds 3-7 in 10 years were duds in Laudko Steen and Koppanen, none of whom are with the big clug anymore In 58 draft picks over 10 draft years, he’s added a grand total of 9 guys that have impacted the big club on some positive level And before homers and the homer driven media start talking about the state of the Bruins current farm system... At forward beyond Lysell and Letourneau (a boom or bust guy), they have nothing that looks like a sure fire Top 6 forward Every other forward such as Locmelis, Kuntar, Spicer, Duran, Harrison, etc.. are all 3-7 round draft picks with bottom 6 ceilings Don’t tell me these guys are going to turn into something when the guy you say can turn them into something, Don Sweeney, has added a whopping 3 forwards in 10 draft years from rounds 3 to 7 to the NHL, all duds in Lauko, Steen and Koppanen. Also again, Don Sweeney hasn’t drafted a single d-men in 10 draft years in rounds 3 to 7 that has played even a single shift in the NHL to date. Not one!!! So don’t tell me how players like Brunet, Myenberg, Jackson Edward, etc. are going to make it. Based on what? Again, not reality, otherwise known as Don Sweeney’s own draft history as AGAIN, no d-man drafted by Sweeney in 10 draft years in rounds 3 to 7 has ever played in the NHL, EVER!!! So saying Sweeney’s current stable of 3rd - 7th round forwards and or d-men will turn into something? What are you basing that on Bruins homers? It certainly can’t be reality, otherwise known as Don Sweeney’s own draft history in rounds 3 to 7 with Boston as their GM The Bruins Farm System stinks beyond Lysell and Letourneau at forward and neither one of them is considered some kind of can’t miss guy, both are more boom or bust players On defense the Bruins may have some bottom 6 NHL talent in Duran, Spicer, Jellvik, Harrison, etc; but again, these are all late round picks with limited offensive ceilings and or overall NHL upside In goal Michael Dipietro is 25. Brandon Bussi is 26 with ZERO NHL games experience. Swayman is going to sign a long term deal and Korpisalo is on the books for the next four years. Does anyone honestly think Dipietro at 25 and Bussi at 26 respectively have any real futures as starters or even backups in Boston? Sure doesn’t seem that way After those two it’s Philips Svedback in goal, who by all accounts took a step back last year in his development There aren’t opinions here but if you want a qualified one go to Dominic Tiano. Even Joe Haggerty himself seems to take Dom’s opinion very seriously and with quite a bit of respect (rightfully so) @dominictiano on X/Twitter or dom.hockey/ Here’s a spoiler alert, Dom isn’t very high on Boston’s prospect pool. The only forward he thinks that has some small shot at Top 6 potential beyond Lysell or Letourneau is smurf, Oscar Jellvik He doesn’t think there is a Top 4 defender in their farm system He doesn’t like their goaltending prospects Again, Dom thinks the Bruins current prospect pool stinks as a whole. So does the vast majority of the outlets and services that rank NHL farm systems as Boston's is universally ranked 28th to 32nd EVERYWHERE for a reason, it doesn't possess a whole lot of NHL upside Yes, Sweneey hasn't drafted much in the 1st or 2nd round. Neither did Tampa Bay from 2015-2023. Tampa's farm system stinks today too The difference? From 2015-2023 Tampa won 3 Cups, went to 4 Finals and played in 6. ECFS Boston from 2015-2023 failed to win more than 1 playoff round 8 of 9 years and won one lousy 2nd round series in a decade. Now do you see the difference They didn't win with the moves Sweeney made that pissed that high draft capital away and Don Sweeney has made that lack of high draft capital and not winning sting even more because his drafting in rounds 3 to 7 has yielded nothing of value beyond Jeremey Swayman and if you think hitting on one player in 10 draft years in rounds 3 to 7 is good, you're too lost to be saved anyway No opinions here. Just facts, reality, stats, who Don Sweeney actually drafted, what those results have actually been…. That stuff…. God fobrid we actually criticize Sweeney for these bad crap drafting results the way Bruins homers praise him for all those meaningless regular season wins (while also ignoring the mountain of playoff fails in the process) FACTS > OPINIONS
The Al Iafrate thing happened a couple years AFTER the "he should go learn how to yodel." Mick mixed up the story. Harry Sinden made the comment at the end of the Olympics IIRC in 1990? Joe Juneau got traded in 1994. BIG time difference Mick!
Yeah, these lower prospects that don't have impact on the game can't do too much. Especially second-rounders on down Like.. Krejci draft #63 Marchand draft "71-ish Ullmark # 163 I think Patrice Bergeron was 45th. Second round. Passed over numerous times because he didn't look like he was going to have much impact on the game He certainly didn't 🤔 I'm just having fun with you. Bruins development is one of the best. It's actually why we get an additional 10% for our prospects...
Bruins don't overhype their prospects. They keep them off the radar and decide when and how much value they're going to have. Unless it's the covid, revenues are down and you have this University of Maine fan favorite, that sells lots of #1 goalie jerseys. Other than that, they don't hype them up much... it controls their value Sway doesn't want to come back to Alaska - it seriously sucks here for anyone who's anybody... Nasty place. he doesn't belong here
Another great podcast. Mick is a must have guest every time
Sweeney back himself in a corner by trading ullmark gives swayman every leverage there is
Not many players are as good a guy as Pasta and sit at 45 50 and one time 60 …… he is a legit star in the league .
I’m fine with what the Bruins are doing with their drafting and player development. I’m also fine with the folks who rank the Bruins 32nd in the NHL in drafting and player development. The mainstream NHL world doesn’t see what the Bruins see, and they don’t value players’ skills and personalities the same way the bruins do. Our organization has a tradition of great defensemen and great defense, and this influences every aspect of how the organization is managed. You’re a great scorer? Terrific. Can you back-check and be responsible in all 3 zones? Because if not, we have less interest in you. If people are saying the Bruins’ system is 32nd in the league, let them write that. I admire this organization because they value different things in players than teams like Toronto or Pittsburgh or Dallas.
How many teams make the move of shipping Joe Thornton to build around Bergeron as your star? The Bruins evaluate talent from a different point of view than some other teams. Could we have sold out a few times over the years and maybe grabbed another cup or 2? Perhaps, but that's risky. Success can not only be measured in Stanley Cups IMO. Sure it would be great to dominate and have a few more cups like Detroit did but do we then want to go close to a decade or so without even making the playoffs? We had 2 more shots at a cup in 2013 and 2019 and if we had won those we would still be where we are now. We don't have a great winning percentage in the Finals. Can't blame our draft system for that.
Also one should consider the Bruins have brought in players who were drafted high such as Hall #1 or Zacha #6. Both were struggling and both turned their game around while here. Lindholm coming in and he was a #5 pick. Hampus was a #6 pick as well. Lots of folks practice hindsight when the evaluate our draft picks.
You have to finish at the bottom to get the big draft picks consistently. Is that what we want? LOL We have lost a few tight series the last few years. It's going to happen. What you don't want happening is your team turns into Toronto LOL
Joe you are 100 percent corecct on Pasta and Mac Avoy! worth every penny and the contract will age well. Mick on the other hand you aged out!!!
Goalies are a different animal, they don’t sign that big deal after their first entry level deal. Almost always they need a couple of seasons in the AHL, a couple seasons backing up in the NHL and full time duty if you’re good enough. Swayman is good, maybe great but he wasn’t anointed the #1, he’s always had the safety net of Linus Ullmark and he hasn’t played 50 plus games in a season. None of this is his fault but how can you lock him up with a 8 x 8 deal when you have question marks?
There are many opinions on Don Sweeney's drafting and development history but the only thing that will ever matter are facts, so what have Don Sweeney’s results been?
FACTS: I.E.
DRAFT RESULTS:
Don Sweeney has made 58 picks since becoming GM before the 2015 draft (10 draft years)
Of those 58 draft picks, 9 players have made some level of impact as Boston Bruins, NINE!!!
Debrusk Carlo Frederic McAvoy Swayman Lauko Beecher Lohrei Poitras. That’s it!!!
Don Sweeney also drafted three other players that have some level of real NHL value with those 58 picks in:
-Dan Valdr (career NHL backup / AHL tweener)
-Jeremey Lauzon (bottom pair guy / given away by Sweeney in the expansion draft for nothing)
-Ryan Lindgren (Top 4 D-Man pissed away in the Matt Belesky salary dump / Rick Nash concussion disaster) Lindgren was the ask by former Bruins interim GM Jeff Gorton to take on “some” of the rest of Belesky’s putrid contract
Of the 9 guys that worked out in Boston Debrusk is gone, Lauko is gone and John Beecher’s ceiling is probably a solid, 4th line, PK/Faceoff specialist
That leaves Carlo McAvoy Frederic Lohrei Poitras & Swayman
A common theme of the guys that panned out is 7 of the 9 were 1st or 2nd round draft picks with only Lauko (being a 3rd round pick) and Swayman (being a 4th round pick)
Scream Swayman all you want to but the reality is 90%+ of all NHL starting goalies were either 3rd to 7th round draft picks or unsigned/not drafted UFAs
Proof? Just this past 2024 draft. Number of goalies taken in the 1st round? ZERO. 2nd round? Four. Rounds 3-7? NINETEEN!!!
As Don Sweeney pissed away a good deal of the Bruins 1st and 2nd round draft picks away chasing playoff chokes or attempting to fix his UFA mistakes, how’s he done in rounds 3-7?
Nothing short of DISASTROUS!!!
From 2015-2023 the total number of forwards drafted by Sweeney in the 3rd to 7th rounds to play in the NHL? Three guys and this list isn’t full of world beaters
-Jacob Lauko- 3rd round. 83 NHL Games. No longer with the team
-Oscar Steen- 6th round. 66 NHL Games. No longer in the NHL
-Joona Koppanen- 6th round. 5 NHL Games. No longer in the NHL
That’s it at forward from rounds 3-7 in ten draft years by Don Sweemey? Lauko, Steen and Koppanen!!!
Now tell me again how well Don Sweeney drafts and develops again?
It gets even worse on defense as not a single defenseman ever drafted by Don Sweeney since he became GM in 2015 that was drafted in rounds 3 to 7 by him has ever played a single shift in the NHL. NOT ONE!!!
Now tell me again how well Don Sweeney drafts and develops again?
So since 2015, ten draft years, the total number of NHL defenseman added in rounds 3-7 was ZERO and the forward haul was Lauko, Steen and Koppanen. #terrible
On no F.N. planet could this be considered anything less than disastrous drafting and developing results over a ten year span by any NHL GM, Don Sweeney included
These results are why the Bruins prospect pool stinks today. Crap drafting and developing has burned them.
Outside of 7 guys that were drafted in either the 1st or 2nd round alongside Lauko and Swayman, Don Sweeney hasn’t added anything to the Bruins big club in ten F.N. Draft years
THIS IS NOT OPINION. IT IS WHAT HAPPENED. THESE ARE FACTS BRUINS HOMERS!!!! THESE ARE DON SWEENEY’S DRAFT RESULTS!!!
Opinions are the land of Bruins homers and the homer driven media guys who still stick to the brainwashing that Don Sweeney has drafted well and that his farm system isn’t that bad
Meanwhile back on Planet Earth…. so reality...
Don Sweeney added ZERO d-men from rounds 3-7 in ten draft years.
The only forwards he added in rounds 3-7 in 10 years were duds in Laudko Steen and Koppanen, none of whom are with the big clug anymore
In 58 draft picks over 10 draft years, he’s added a grand total of 9 guys that have impacted the big club on some positive level
And before homers and the homer driven media start talking about the state of the Bruins current farm system...
At forward beyond Lysell and Letourneau (a boom or bust guy), they have nothing that looks like a sure fire Top 6 forward
Every other forward such as Locmelis, Kuntar, Spicer, Duran, Harrison, etc.. are all 3-7 round draft picks with bottom 6 ceilings
Don’t tell me these guys are going to turn into something when the guy you say can turn them into something, Don Sweeney, has added a whopping 3 forwards in 10 draft years from rounds 3 to 7 to the NHL, all duds in Lauko, Steen and Koppanen.
Also again, Don Sweeney hasn’t drafted a single d-men in 10 draft years in rounds 3 to 7 that has played even a single shift in the NHL to date. Not one!!!
So don’t tell me how players like Brunet, Myenberg, Jackson Edward, etc. are going to make it. Based on what?
Again, not reality, otherwise known as Don Sweeney’s own draft history as AGAIN, no d-man drafted by Sweeney in 10 draft years in rounds 3 to 7 has ever played in the NHL, EVER!!!
So saying Sweeney’s current stable of 3rd - 7th round forwards and or d-men will turn into something?
What are you basing that on Bruins homers?
It certainly can’t be reality, otherwise known as Don Sweeney’s own draft history in rounds 3 to 7 with Boston as their GM
The Bruins Farm System stinks beyond Lysell and Letourneau at forward and neither one of them is considered some kind of can’t miss guy, both are more boom or bust players
On defense the Bruins may have some bottom 6 NHL talent in Duran, Spicer, Jellvik, Harrison, etc; but again, these are all late round picks with limited offensive ceilings and or overall NHL upside
In goal Michael Dipietro is 25. Brandon Bussi is 26 with ZERO NHL games experience. Swayman is going to sign a long term deal and Korpisalo is on the books for the next four years.
Does anyone honestly think Dipietro at 25 and Bussi at 26 respectively have any real futures as starters or even backups in Boston? Sure doesn’t seem that way
After those two it’s Philips Svedback in goal, who by all accounts took a step back last year in his development
There aren’t opinions here but if you want a qualified one go to Dominic Tiano. Even Joe Haggerty himself seems to take Dom’s opinion very seriously and with quite a bit of respect (rightfully so)
@dominictiano on X/Twitter
or
dom.hockey/
Here’s a spoiler alert, Dom isn’t very high on Boston’s prospect pool.
The only forward he thinks that has some small shot at Top 6 potential beyond Lysell or Letourneau is smurf, Oscar Jellvik
He doesn’t think there is a Top 4 defender in their farm system
He doesn’t like their goaltending prospects
Again, Dom thinks the Bruins current prospect pool stinks as a whole.
So does the vast majority of the outlets and services that rank NHL farm systems as Boston's is universally ranked 28th to 32nd EVERYWHERE for a reason, it doesn't possess a whole lot of NHL upside
Yes, Sweneey hasn't drafted much in the 1st or 2nd round. Neither did Tampa Bay from 2015-2023. Tampa's farm system stinks today too
The difference? From 2015-2023 Tampa won 3 Cups, went to 4 Finals and played in 6. ECFS
Boston from 2015-2023 failed to win more than 1 playoff round 8 of 9 years and won one lousy 2nd round series in a decade. Now do you see the difference
They didn't win with the moves Sweeney made that pissed that high draft capital away and Don Sweeney has made that lack of high draft capital and not winning sting even more because his drafting in rounds 3 to 7 has yielded nothing of value beyond Jeremey Swayman and if you think hitting on one player in 10 draft years in rounds 3 to 7 is good, you're too lost to be saved anyway
No opinions here. Just facts, reality, stats, who Don Sweeney actually drafted, what those results have actually been…. That stuff….
God fobrid we actually criticize Sweeney for these bad crap drafting results the way Bruins homers praise him for all those meaningless regular season wins (while also ignoring the mountain of playoff fails in the process)
FACTS > OPINIONS
The Al Iafrate thing happened a couple years AFTER the "he should go learn how to yodel." Mick mixed up the story. Harry Sinden made the comment at the end of the Olympics IIRC in 1990? Joe Juneau got traded in 1994. BIG time difference Mick!
He was talking about swayman not pasta ...wake up.people.
The negotiating smells like Harry Sinden
Tough league to sign without over paying regrets. Seems a lot of cooks in the kitchen on this one, 3 years good number no more...
Pasta has proven himself, COME ON!
Lysell is overrated big time
Find a buyer for swayman and sign and trade him! Try to get a scorer! We will never win a cup without scoring.
Lewis Gross wants ATM: ALL THE MONEY!! Greedy agent is misleading his client.
Joe and Mick , who the KCUF cares .Just watch the games and shut the KCUF up ! ! !
None of the Bruin prospects are impact players.
Yeah, these lower prospects that don't have impact on the game can't do too much. Especially second-rounders on down
Like..
Krejci draft #63
Marchand draft "71-ish
Ullmark # 163
I think Patrice Bergeron was 45th. Second round. Passed over numerous times because he didn't look like he was going to have much impact on the game
He certainly didn't
🤔
I'm just having fun with you. Bruins development is one of the best. It's actually why we get an additional 10% for our prospects...
Bruins don't overhype their prospects. They keep them off the radar and decide when and how much value they're going to have.
Unless it's the covid, revenues are down and you have this University of Maine fan favorite, that sells lots of #1 goalie jerseys.
Other than that, they don't hype them up much... it controls their value
Sway doesn't want to come back to Alaska - it seriously sucks here for anyone who's anybody...
Nasty place. he doesn't belong here