BOSTON, Mass – Even though the Boston Bruins have a top ten pick in the draft, and the event is just a few short weeks away, you can forgive most observers if they are a little preoccupied by the Stanley Cup finals. However, you can rest assured despite the fact the club is involved in the finals the Bruins scouting department is checking their lists twice to see which top talent they will tab with the ninth overall pick. The Bruins have been active with their young talent and early draft choices. Due to the fact they acquired two first round picks and a second round pick from the Toronto Maple Leafs for Phil Kessel, the club has had a wealth of draft picks. The abundance allowed the Bruins to trade their 2010 first round pick as part of a package for Nathan Horton and they traded their 2011 first round pick to the Leafs in a package (along with their 2008 first rounder Joe Colborne) for Tomas Kaberle. Even though the team dealt some of its young talent at the trade deadline, the Bruins are in decent shape for the future. Tyler Seguin, who was the second overall pick in the 2010 draft, the Bruins have 2009 first rounder Jordan Caron and 2010 draft choices Jared Knight and Ryan Spooner in the system. The Bruins also have the 8^th overall pick in the 2007 draft in Zach Hamill in the organization, but the book is still out on the young center.

Defensively the Bruins have plugged holes with players acquired from other organizations such as Adam McQuaid (Columbus), Matt Bartkowski (Florida) and Steven Kampfer (Anaheim). The Bruins also hold out hope for Ryan Button who was selected with the 86^th overall pick in the 2009 draft and Tommy Cross who went 35^th overall in the 2007 draft. The Bruins believe they have their next number one goaltender in Tuukka Rask who has already had success at the NHL level on their current roster. The Bruins are usually all over the place in the draft. Their assessment of young players sometimes differs than the rankings from Central Scouting, so they will “go off the board” compared to conventional thinking. The tendency to do so makes the Bruins a tough club to handicap when it comes to the draft. One thing is certain. The Bruins salary cap will not be able to handle the weight of a top 10 draft pick therefore it is almost assured that the pick will spend another year in junior hockey. Another variable to factor in is the fact the ninth slot sometimes sees a top ranked player that has slipped on draft day. High rated defenders Cam Fowler and Brandon Gormley slid past the ninth spot in last year’s draft, Jared Cowen was selected ninth in the 2009 draft and Tyler Myers went 12^th in the 2008 talent roundup. It’s possible a player ranked in the top five by the Central Scouting Bureau may be sitting there for the Bruins to snap up. Because the Bruins have their higher ranked prospects on the forward lines most people anticipate Boston tabbing a defenseman with their first pick. It says here that should a top-ranked forward slide down the Bruins will either deal the pick or go with that forward. They might select a forward anyway. A player such as Mika Zibanejad could play in the Swedish Elite League for another year or two until an NHL slot (and salary) opens up. It would not be a surprise if the Bruins tab a forward such as Sven Bartschi, Zack Phillips, Brandon Saad or Joel Armia. Defensively the Bruins could give a nod to Duncan Siemens, Jamie Oleksiak or Nathan Beaulieu. Of course if Adam Larsson somehow falls here the Bruins will grab him as quickly as they may with Dougie Hamilton should Hamilton fall. Unless something out of the ordinary happens (a top player sliding, a much higher than expected Bruins evaluation of a player) an educated guess says Beaulieu will be the pick. The Bruins paid a high price for Kaberle, a defenseman who can move the puck and help out on the power play. It is possible they could believe that Beaulieu could become that type of player in time—at far less the cost of Kaberle. At 6-2, 174 Beaulieu is a bit slight for an NHL defender and the Bruins would allow him the luxury to bulk up in junior hockey for at least another season.
“He’ll be an offensive-defenseman, said Central Scouting’s Chris Bordeleau. “He’s a good skater, good puck-mover. He has a good shot and is very poised with the puck. He’s a veteran who has a lot of responsibilities for Saint John.”
The Bruins like to “activate” their defenseman and ask them to pinch down low and rotate with the forwards to maintain puck pressure and possession. A starting defender on the Bruins needs to know when to join into the offensive attack and when to back off and control their gaps defensively. In 2010-11, Beaulieu led Saint John defensemen in scoring with 45 points on the strength of 12 goals and finished the season with a plus-44 rating which bettered his plus-43 mark from the season before. “He’s gotten better, bigger and stronger, he’s playing a lot better defensively,” said Saint John coach Gerard Gallant. “He’s a guy who gets a lot of opportunities because he jumps into the rush very well.” Also on the plus side for Beaulieu is his tremendous run through the Memorial Cup playoffs as the Sea Dogs took the championship. In addition Beaulieu was named an all-star during the tournament. If the Bruins think the way we do, then you can expect Boston to make the following announcement come draft day. “With the ninth overall pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, the Boston Bruins select, from the Memorial Cup champion Saint John Sea Dogs, defenseman Nathan Beaulieu.” To learn more about Nathan Beaulieu click here. Contact the author at Tom.Schettino@prohockeynews.com
Contact the photographer at Lewis.Bleiman@prohockeynews.com

AUSTIN, Texas – I want to say nice things about Alexandre Burrows, I really do. As a matter of fact one of the articles planned for the Pro Hockey News in between Stanley Cup finals games would have detailed his rise from being an undrafted junior player to playing for the Stanley Cup.
 
We are talking about a guy who used to play for the Baton Rouge Kingfish, the Greenville Grrrowl and the Columbia Inferno. We are not talking about a two-week conditioning period either. Burrows appeared in 134 ECHL games before moving on to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose for good and subsequently onto the Vancouver Canucks’ roster.
 
Through no fault of his own Burrows became the central figure in yet another NHL travesty. Did Burrows bite Boston’s Patrice Bergeron during a scrum after the first period of game one? Absolutely he did. The video says it all. After all, who am I supposed to believe the NHL office or my own lying eyes?
 
Let’s be fair to the NHL office. You know the one that had such an obvious conflict of interest heading into the Finals that they decided to allow Colin Campbell, their chief disciplinarian, leave his job heading into the league’s showcase event. Or did the league finally decide months later it was unwise to allow a man who called one player a “faker” and who tried to get an official fired after he called a penalty on Campbell’s son to continue on?
 
Yet after the Burrows incident it is clear the new boss is just like the old boss. The statement from Mike Murphy is farcical on its face and he probably should trademark the structure. I have a feeling it could rank with “if it doesn’t fit you must acquit” in the defense attorney hall of fame. Here it is in its glory;
 
“After reviewing the incident, including speaking with the on-ice officials, I can find no conclusive evidence that Alex Burrows intentionally bit the finger of Patrice Bergeron.”
 
Isn’t that great? Now you have to have intent? Good luck proving intent. Now I guess each and every player can get off by saying they did not have intent after they perform some heinous act of mayhem.
 
(“Mr. Murphy,” said player B, “I did not intend to elbow player A’s face into the boards.” “Thanks for clearing that up son,” said Murphy. “Guess I can’t prove you intended to do it. Go on your way now.”)
 
Before we go on about just the past week’s follies, let’s remind everyone this isn’t the first time the Bruins have been jobbed by the league. Marc Savard (Campbell’s “little faker”) suffered a serious concussion due to a blind-side check by Matt Cooke. That time Campbell could not find a way to suspend Cooke, then we find out later Campbell had called Savard a faker. Savard’s career hasn’t been the same and probably never will be.
 
Then there was the curious case of Scott Walker who sucker-punched Aaron Ward during the 2009 playoffs earning an automatic suspension for instigating a fight with less than five minutes to play. But wait, it turns out the suspension wasn’t served after all as the NHL got together with Walker and figured a way around it. The argument at the time was Walker thought he was involved in an altercation. Too bad that didn’t make the instigator part go away, but whatever.
 
Many times it seems the league has a policy of making things up as it goes along. That type of disciplinary system undermines the process. At least with the WWF you know the results are plotted out, but with the NHL you can never be too sure.
 
Now we turn to this year’s follies. This season the finals can’t even get underway before a city announces they are leaving a major US market for greener pastures in western Canada. This is followed by Campbell stepping down in favor of Murphy and then maybe Brendan Shanahan. There’s more certainty in the chain of succession in North Korea than there is in the NHL.
 
Of course Campbell would not have been handling supplemental discipline in this series anyway as his son now plays for the Bruins. And then, the icing on the cake, the Burrows affair comes along to reinforce why hockey ranks fifth of the four major sports here in the US. (That is not a mistype).
 
Everyone in Vancouver realizes they dodged a bullet and were able to dress a first line player due to the NHL’s decision. It’s a big joke in the Pacific Northwest. Burrows was introduced as a “vegetarian” on national television in the US before the game by his team captain. The sign shown on the Jumbotron (and national television) after the game was “Burrows has a hunger for the Cup”. During a scrum in game two the Canucks Maxim Lapierre put his hand near Bergeron’s face.
 
Meanwhile the joke is on the NHL where most of the media isn’t laughing with the NHL but at them. You can call the league a garage league and you will be surprised just how many people agree with you.
 
A garage league? You think? The league owns one team. Another team is run by a group of creditors and in Atlanta they couldn’t give a franchise away. Who hands out supplemental punishment against the Phoenix Coyotes to avoid a potential conflict of interest? The NBA office?
 
Of course, in true NHL fashion Burrows could not go out and play a pedestrian game and get lost in the flow. Just like in the Pink Panther serials the clueless inspector can’t bumble along in anonymous fashion—disaster has to strike in the most public of ways.
 
For Murphy, the NHL and commissioner Gary Bettman it was indeed a total disaster as Burrows wasn’t just a star in a game he should have been suspended for, he was THE first star.
 
The league needs to step back, draw clear guidelines for supplementary discipline and allow the fans and media to worry about intent. It is only then the league can begin to be taken seriously. Until then I’ll just watch in amusement and wonder if indeed the league does have an agenda.
 
Perhaps Forrest Gump summed it up best for the NHL when he said “stupid is as stupid does”.
 
Contact Tom.Schettino@prohockeynews.com
 

BOSTON, Mass – On the morning of April 17^th the Boston Bruins were about as low as a team could get. They had just dropped the first two games at home in the opening round of the playoffs. The Bruins had only managed a single goal and had been outscored by a 5-1 margin. Once again it looked as if the Bruins would fall victim to the arch-rival Montreal Canadiens.
 
But something happened on the way to the bones of another season. The Bruins won the next three games including one contest in overtime and another one in double overtime. Montreal would rally to win game six, but Nathan Horton’s goal 5:43 into overtime in game seven allowed the Bruins to advance. This time it would be the Canadiens who would be seeing ghosts and not the other way around.
 
Boston erased more ghosts of season’s past when they swept through the Philadelphia Flyers, a team that just the season before made history by erasing the Bruins three games to none lead. That win led to a series against Tampa Bay which required seven games to complete. Once again it would be Horton who would score the series-winning goal.

 
Now, for the first time since the 1990 season, the Bruins are in the Stanley Cup finals. It’s a round that has seen the Bruins go down in defeat five times since they last captured the Stanley Cup in 1972. In 1990 the Bruins played a western Canadian powerhouse in the Edmonton Oilers, this season they will play another powerhouse from the west in the Vancouver Canucks.
 
By no means should the Bruins be considered the favorites in this series despite the fact the club won the only matchup between the two clubs this year. Vancouver gathered 117 points this season to the Bruins 101. The Canucks were the best regular season team during the NHL season and have a chance to be crowned as the best postseason club. Nearly all of Canada is behind them.
 
Oddly enough there is some symmetry in this season’s playoff run for the Bruins. They were the higher-seed in the opening round in which they knocked off the Canadiens. After that series they were the lower-seed against the Flyers. They then were the higher seed and needed seven games to defeat the Lightning. If the pattern holds the Bruins will sweep the higher-seeded Canucks.
 
A Boston sweep isn’t likely to happen, but the Bruins are capable of defeating the Canucks. It will all start in goal with Tim Thomas. Boston is one of the top five-on-five clubs in the league. They are one of the best clubs in the league at pinching down and “activating” their defensemen in the attacking zone. Boston is able to do so because the forwards are committed to covering for the pinching defenseman and because of Thomas’ ability to rescue the club should the club’s containment and gap control break down.
 
In addition to Thomas the bedrock which holds the club together consists of defensemen Dennis Seidenberg and Zdeno Chara. Both Chara and Seidenberg average over 28 minutes per game (playoff ice time stats are skewed by unlimited overtime games), but not by much. For example Seidenberg played 27:57 in the final game against Tampa Bay while Chara saw 26:44 of ice time.
 
“We’ve been talking about them (Seidenberg and Chara) for a while because they have been that good,” said Boston coach Claude Julien. They’ve been a great shutdown pair…they’ve been a key reason why we’ve had success.”
 
Andrew Ference and Johnny Boychuk are the next tier of defensemen with Tomas Kaberle and Adam McQuaid providing spot relief for the big two.
 
The Bruins offense has been led by David Krejci and Nathan Horton. Krejci is tied for the league lead in goals (10) and is fifth in points (17). Horton also has 17 points; but most importantly the bullish forward has three game-winners, two of which have been series-winning goals. Patrice Bergeron is the club’s best two-way forward. The Bruins assistant captain has been amazing on face-offs and has chipped in a team-leading 11 assists.
 
“Bergeron is to us what (Ryan) Kesler is to them,” said Julien. “He shows up, plays hard every game, he’s a great faceoff guy, power play, penalty kill, does it all for us.”
 
Milan Lucic rounds out the first line with Krejci and Horton. Lucic has not produced at a high rate in the playoffs, but he has been dominant on the puck and is a large reason why the Bruins control the puck for the majority of the game. Interestingly enough Lucic is a Vancouver legend from his junior hockey days.
 
Bergeron most often plays with Brad Marchand (6-6-12) and Michael Ryder (5-6-11). Ryder’s goals have come in bunches, in just three of the club’s 18 games, but he has been unsung defensively. Marchand’s ability to grate on opponent’s nerves and score makes a difference. That being said Marchand is in the midst of a slump with only a single score registered against the Lightning in the conference finals.
 
The third line features Mark Recchi (scoreless and a -5 in the conference finals) and Chris Kelly. Rich Peverely and Tyler Seguin split time on the third unit. Peverely sees spot duty on the fourth line, but has also seen time with the first line when necessary. Seguin scored three goals and three assists against Tampa Bay, but his ice time was limited when Bergeron returned from injury.
 
Penalty-killers Gregory Campbell and Daniel Paille round out the forward lines, they don’t see much time, but when they do it comes during important sections of the game. The club’s spares are Shawn Thornton up front and Steven Kampfer or Shane Hnidy on defense. So how can the Bruins pull this off? They need to limit the Vancouver power play. They need to chip in a few power play goals of their own, and of course Thomas has to play well. Will they do so? It’s tough to judge, there has been a bit of magic to the Bruins’ run.
 
Maybe midnight hasn’t struck yet. Each time an obstacle has been put up they have managed to overcome it. Their last challenge begins on Wednesday evening in Vancouver.
  Contact Tom.Schettino@prohockeynews.com

AUSTIN, Texas – In a recent “open letter” I said it would be a “shame” and a “money grab” if the Winnipeg franchise was not called the Jets. Well if it takes a big man to admit a mistake, then call me a big man this morning.
 
I checked in with a couple of sources around the NHL and something was brought to my attention that changes my tune.
 
Although I truly appreciate the name “Jets” there is more to it than meets the eye. Or perhaps I just needed to think about it a bit more and not operate solely on emotion.
 
It turns out there is a problem with naming the club the Jets in regards to NHL history. When the Jets left Manitoba to head to Arizona they took more than the players, they took all the Jets records and history with them.
 
While it is true the club could be named the Jets, they will have the Thrashers franchise records behind them.
Of course the Winnipeg Thrashers doesn’t work, but if the club comes up with a name other than the Jets there would be more to it than just re-branding for the sake of the dollars.
Contact Tom.Schettino@prohockeynews.com