[NHL] Boston Bruins Thread

[Tealey7]

Bruins Sign Highly Rated G Rask

Originally Posted by Bruins.com

Boston, MA -- Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today that the club and highly touted Finnish goaltender Tuukka Rask have agreed to terms on a multi-year contract. Per team policy, terms of the deal will not be disclosed. Rask will be traveling to the United States this weekend to join the Providence Bruins for the remainder of the AHL playoffs.

"We are very happy to come to terms with Tuukka after acquiring his rights last year," said Chiarelli. "This addition helps to shore up our goaltending situation for the future."

Rask, who is 20 years old and from Savonlinna, Finland, was originally drafted 21st overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. Boston acquired his rights on June 24, 2006 in a trade that sent goaltender Andrew Raycroft to Toronto.

Rask has played two seasons for Ilves Tampere in the top Finish league. Last season, Rask played 30 games and had a record of 12-8-7 with a goals-against average of 2.09 and a save percentage of .926.

In addition to his club play, Rask has also seen time with the Finnish junior and full national teams.

Details will be released tomorrow regarding a media conference call that will feature both Chiarelli and Rask.

Fans interested in learning more about Boston Bruins 2007-2008 ticket options should call 617-624-BEAR or visit www.bostonbruins.com.

Hm. He won't be as good as Tim Thomas has been. Onto the Providence Bruins. You'd think that being related to the Bruins, they'd be rubbish. But they aren't. Far from it. They are currently in the Calder Cup playoffs Division Finals, and are currently tied with the Manchester Monarchs 1-1. The P-Bruins are very close to the finals. If they win this series and the Conference Finals, they'll be there.

[Tealey7]

Various things have happened, so I'll update them in a concise way now.

NHL Entry Draft Lottery Results

I thought I'd posted these before. Obviously not. In light of the finish of the Stanley Cup, here is the first round order in full:

First Round Order:

Blackhawks
Flyers
Coyotes
Kings
Capitals
Oilers
Blue Jackets
Bruins <---------------------
Blues
Panthers
Hurricanes
Canadiens
Maple Leafs
Avalanche
Oilers (From Islanders)
Ducks (From Lightning)
Rangers
Flames
Wild
Penguins
Coyotes (From Stars)
Canadiens (From Sharks)
Flyers (From Predators)
Blues (From Thrashers)
Canucks
Blues (From Devils)
Red Wings
Capitals (From Sabres)
Senators
Oilers (From Ducks)

Nice stuff there, and like the NBA Draft, this could be quite a deep draft pool to pick from. In other news....

Alberts Agrees To Extend Contract

Originally Posted by Bruins.com

BOSTON, MA - Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today that the club and defenseman Andrew Alberts have agreed to a multi-year contract extension. Per team policy, terms of the deal will not be disclosed.

"Andrew is a young player with a lot of upside, and it was a priority of ours to get him signed to a multi-year deal this off-season," said Chiarelli. "He is a big, tough and physical player who we think is only going to get better as he continues to develop as a NHL defenseman."

"I am glad that we got this done early during the off-season and now I can concentrate on working out and preparing for next season," said Alberts. "Between my years at Boston College and my time with the Bruins, I have come to love playing in Boston and the fans here. I am very excited to be staying and playing in Boston for the foreseeable future."

The upcoming season will be Alberts' fourth with the Bruins organization after spending four years as a student-athlete at Boston College. The 6-4, 218 pound defenseman has appeared in 146 games in a Bruins uniform over the past two seasons, tallying 17 points (one goal and sixteen assists).

Last season Alberts appeared in 76 games for the Bruins, recording career season-highs in assists and points with 10. Alberts also led the team in penalty minutes with 124.

The Bruins acquired Alberts with their fifth pick (179th overall) in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. He joined the Providence Bruins in April 2005 after the conclusion of his senior season at Boston College. He then went on to finish the 2004-2005 AHL regular season, as well as play in the AHL playoffs.

Alberts made is NHL debut on October 5, 2005 in a 2-1 opening day loss to Montreal. He went on to appear in 73 games in the 2005-2006 season, recording one goal and six assists. His first career NHL point came on an assist in a 3-2 loss to Buffalo on November 19, 2005.

Nice stuff, as he really is a good player. Like Doc Rivers at the Celtics, I don't see how Lewis and Habschied have done much wrong with the Bruins. But like all sport, the coaching staff must carry the can for a poor team, or a supposedly good team, playing poorly.

Lewis and Habscheid Relieved Of Coaching Duties

Originally Posted by Bruins.com

BOSTON, MA – Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today that the club has relieved Head Coach Dave Lewis and Associate Coach Marc Habscheid of their coaching duties, and will reassign them to other positions within the club.

“Since the season has ended I have completed a thorough review of the team and the coaching staff, and I have determined that Dave Lewis and Marc Habscheid are not the proper fit for the Bruins at this time,” said Chiarelli. “I have a short list of candidates in mind, and I hope to have a new Head Coach in place in the near future.

“I want to thank Dave and Marc for their hard work and dedication this past year, and I am certain that they will have success in their future endeavors.”

Lewis, who became the 27th head coach in Bruins history on June 29, 2006, finished the 2006-2007 season with a record of 35-41-6. Prior to joining the Bruins, Lewis served as the Head Coach of the Detroit Red Wings from 2002-2004, where he amassed a record of 96-41-21-6.

Habscheid was named to Dave Lewis’ staff on July 13, 2006 following two years as the Head Coach of Canada’s National Men’s team.

Doug Houda, the third member of the Bruins 2006-2007 coaching staff, will remain in his position.

That's about it, apart from the fact that the NHL Entry Draft is on June 22nd and 23rd. Soon then.

[Tealey7]

NHL Entry Draft 2007 - B's Select Zach Hamill

Last night, we made our first round pick. His name is Zach Hamill, and he plays at Centre.

Originally Posted by Bruins.com

BOSTON, MA - The Boston Bruins selected Zach Hamill with the eighth overall selection in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft held tonight at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH. Bruins Hall of Famer Cam Neely announced the pick on behalf of the Bruins organization.

Hamill, a native of Vancouver, British Columbia, spent the last four seasons starring for the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League where he captured the Bob Clarke Trophy as the WHL's Top Scorer, as well as Everett's Most Valuable Player, for the 2006-07 season with 93 points (32-61-93).

Hamill is the Silvertips all-time leader in points with 61 goals and 126 assists for 187 points in 183 regular season games.

The NHL's Central Scouting Bureau tags Hamill as a "playmaking forward with good stick-handling ability, very good on special teams, especially the power-play, and as someone who sees the ice well and sets up his line mates with his good passing abilities."

Hamill also played for Canada's gold medal winning effort at the Under-18 Junior World Cup in 2005.

The final six rounds of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft will be held on Saturday, June 23, at 10:00 a.m. ET at Nationwide Arena.

The final rounds are tonight. In other news, a new era has begun...

B's Name Claude Julien Head Coach

Originally Posted by Bruins.com

BOSTON, MA - General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today that he has named Claude Julien the 28th Head Coach in Boston Bruins history.

Julien, a 47 year-old native of Kanata, Ontario, will be formally introduced to the Boston media today at a 10:30 a.m. ET press conference to be held at the TD Banknorth Garden.

Julien has four years of National Hockey League (NHL) head coaching experience and most recently served as the Head Coach of the New Jersey Devils. In his lone season with New Jersey, he held a record of 47-24-8 before being replaced on April 2, 2007 with three games remaining in the 2006-2007 regular season. At the time he was replaced by the Devils, Julien's club was in first place in the Atlantic Division.

Prior to being named head coach of the Devils, Julien spent three seasons as the Head Coach of the Montreal Canadiens, serving from January 2003 until January of 2006. During his tenure with Montreal, Julien led Montreal to a record of 72-71-16 in 159 games.

Julien has posted a career NHL coaching record of 119-95-24 in the regular season, with a playoff record of four wins and seven losses.

Prior to joining the NHL coaching ranks, Julien spent four seasons with Hull of the QMJHL and three campaigns with Hamilton of the AHL. While with Hamilton, Julien was co-awarded the Louis A. R. Pieri Award as the league's outstanding coach during the 2002-2003 season.

Julien has also coached at the international level, having served as an assistant coach to Team Canada at the 2006 World Championships after he led Team Canada to a Bronze Medal as a head coach at the 2000 World Junior Championships.

A defenseman, Julien's professional playing career spanned 12 seasons from 1981-1992, highlighted by stints with the Quebec Nordiques between 1984-1986. Born April 23, 1960 in Orleans, Ontario, Julien and his wife Karen have a daughter, Katryna Chanel.

More modernisation has also taken place with our logo.

New Logos Announced

Originally Posted by Bruins.com

When, in the mid 1800s, Oliver Wendell Holmes called the State House in Boston, “the hub of the solar system,” he couldn’t have known how long-lasting the nickname would prove to be.

The elements here remain true to the long-lasting story that is the Boston Bruins. The B-spoke uses a centered more evenly placed B, creating a strong unified look amongst the spokes. The widening and openness of the B increases its legibility. The contrast of the black outlines combined with a white interior add to the strength of the logo. The angled serifs and cut corners on the B are found within the custom nameplate font and the Vintage Crest.

Each tweak and adjustment to the Bruins B-spoke is made for legibility, modernization and enhancement of a historic team and an icon of Boston.

VINTAGE CREST SHOULDER PATCH

The driving force behind this lies deep within the fabric of the enduring legacy of the Boston Bruins. As one of the Original Six teams, their immense heritage and winning tradition reaches back to the very genesis of professional hockey.

The Bruins’ retro crest today is immediately recognized by all as a symbol of immeasurable strength, both on and off the ice. The image
of the ‘Great Bruin,’ in complete control of his territory, serves as a stark warning to all who would challenge his supremacy.

The Boston Professional Hockey Club (BPHC) mark premiered on the Bruins first jerseys in 1924 during the Original Six years.

[Tealey7]

NHL Entry Draft 2007 - Bruins Select 5 More

It is the end of the NHL Entry Draft, and last night we picked five more players, to go with Zach Hamill, our first round choice.

http://cdn.nhl.com/bruins/images/upload/2007/06/reul_denis250x300.jpg

Originally Posted by Bruins.com

BOSTON, MA - The Boston Bruins selected defenseman Tommy Cross, defenseman Denis Reul, defenseman Alain Goulet, defenseman Radim Ostrcil and right-winger Jordan Knackstedt in the second day of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, held today at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH.

The Bruins opened their day by acquiring the 35th overall selection in the draft from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for the 38th and 69th picks.

With the 35th selection, the Bruins acquired Cross, a native of Simsbury, Connecticut, who stands 6'3", 195 pounds. The 17-year old defenseman recently completed his first season with Westminster Prep School in Connecticut where he posted 20 points (eight goals and 12 assists) in 25 games.

Cross also played for Team USA in the Under-18 Junior World Cup and won a silver medal in 2006. He was named Connecticut's Hockey Player of the Year in 2005-2006.

Cross has committed to Boston College and will matriculate there in the fall of 2008.

With the 130th pick the Bruins selected Reul. A 6'4", 214 pound defenseman from Bayern, Germany, the soon-to-be 18-year old recently completed his first season with the Heilbronn Falcons of Germany's 3rd Upper League. He recorded one assist in 16 regular season games with the Falcons.

Reul competed for Team Germany at the 2007 Under-18 World Championships.

Goulet, selected by the Bruins with the 160th pick, is from Kapuskasing, Ontario. An 18-year old defenseman, he stands at 6'1" inches and 186 pounds and spent last season with the Aurora Tigers of the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League. In 43 games, he notched 10 goals and 32 assists for a total of 42 points. He was ranked second amongst defensemen in scoring last season in the OPJHL and plans to attend University of Nebraska-Omaha this fall.

The Bruins exercised a trade with Colorado to acquire the 169th pick of the draft, sending their sixth round pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft to the Avalanche (the pick was originally Calgary's). The Bruins then used the 169th selection to pick Ostrcil, an 18-year old defenseman from Vsetin, Czech Republic.

Standing at 6' and 194 pounds, Ostrcil spent the last two seasons in the HC Vsetin system of the Extraliga in his native Czech Republic. Last season, Ostrcil played 25 games with Vsetin Jr., where he notched eight goals and 13 assists for 21 points, and also played 37 games with Vsetin, where he posted two points with a goal and an assist each.

With their final pick of the day, the Bruins selected Knackstedt with the 189th overall selection. A 6'2" 195 pound right-winger from Saskatoon, Saskatchelalalalanackstedt is an 18-year old power forward who spent three seasons with the Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League before being traded to the Moose Jaw Warriors half way through his 2006-2007 campaign. While with the Warriors, Knackstedt played in 39 games scoring 13 goals and 26 assists for 39 points. In his WHL career, he has posted 99 points in 196 games with 36 goals and 63 assists.

All Our Picks

Round 1: Zach Hamill (C)
Round 2: Tommy Cross (D)
Round 5: Denis Reul (D)
Round 6: Alain Goulet (D)
Round 6: Radim Ostroil (D)
Round 7: Jordan Knackstedt (RW)

Emphasis on defence seems to be the order of the day. The NHL Entry Draft is now complete.

[Tealey7]

Bruins Announce PreSeason Schedule

Hoping to eradicate the mediocrity of last season, we will begin this season in September with a 6 game preseason.

Originally Posted by Bruins.com

BOSTON, MA - Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced the club’s 2007-08 pre-season schedule today. The Bruins, who will open their training camp at the TD Banknorth Garden on September 13, will play six exhibition games during this year’s pre-season.

The Bruins will begin their pre-season exhibition schedule on the road in St. John’s, Newfoundland on September 18 against the New York Islanders.

Boston will host its next two games in New England, with the first coming against the New Jersey Devils at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire on September 20. The Bruins will then host the Toronto Maple Leafs at the TD Banknorth Garden on September 22.

The Bruins will head back on the road for two games against the Montreal Canadiens - one in Halifax, Nova Scotia on September 23 and one in Montreal at the Bell Centre on September 27 - before wrapping-up their pre-season at the TD Banknorth Garden against the Islanders on September 30.

The Bruins complete training camp practice schedule will be released at a later date.

The Bruins, who open their 2007-2008 NHL campaign in Dallas on October 5, will play their regular season home opener on October 18 at 7:00 p.m. ET when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning at the TD Banknorth Garden.

The Schedule

Sept 18th: Islanders
Sept 20th: Devils
Sept 22nd: Maple Leafs
Seplalala: Canadians
Sept 27th: Canadians
Sept 30th: Islanders

[Tealey7]

It's been a while....

Bruins Sign Hamill, Curry and Sigalet

One a draft pick, one an unrestricted free agent, one as a restricted free agent. How fun.

Originally Posted by Bruins.com

BOSTON, MA – Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today that the club has signed center Zach Hamill, defenseman Sean Curry and goaltender Jordan Sigalet. Hamill was signed to an entry-level contract, Curry was signed as an unrestricted free agent and Sigalet was re-signed as a restricted free agent. Per team policy, terms of the deals will not be disclosed.

Hamill, the Bruins’ first pick (eighth overall) in June’s 2007 NHL Entry Draft, has spent the past four seasons with the Everett Silvertips of the Western Hockey League. The 5’11”, 180-pound center has tallied a franchise record of 187 points (61 goals and 126 assists) in 183 career Everett games.

Hamill won the Bob Clarke Trophy as the WHL’s top scorer in 2006-07 with 32 goals and 61 assists for 93 points. The Vancouver, British Columbia native was named a WHL First Team West All-Star in addition to earning Everett’s Most Valuable Player honors. He also participated in the 2007 Canadian Hockey League’s Top Prospects game.

Hamill,18-years old, is slated to play for Team Canada in the Under-20 Summit Series between Canada and Russia this September. He won a gold medal with Team Canada in the 2005 Under-18 World Cup.

Curry, a 6’5”, 230-pound defenseman has spent the past two seasons with the Providence Bruins. The native of Burnsville, MN has tallied nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points while amassing 266 penalty minutes in 136 AHL Bruins games over two seasons.

The 25-year old Curry spent his first three professional seasons in the Carolina Hurricanes organization with their AHL affiliate in Lowell. Curry was selected by the Hurricanes with their sixth pick (211th overall) in the seventh round in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

Sigalet has spent the past two seasons with the Providence Bruins (AHL). In his career in Providence, the Surrey, British Columbia native, has posted a goals-against average of 2.47 and a record of 34-16-4.

Last season, the 26-year old Sigalet appeared in 25 games for Providence, earning a 15-5-2 record with a 2.39 goals-against average and .915 save percentage. The 6’1”, 180-pound Sigalet was called up from Providence on three occasions during the 2005-2006 season, backing up Andrew Raycroft in six games. He made his NHL debut against Tampa Bay on January 7, 2006.

Sigalet was Boston’s sixth pick (209th overall) in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft. He played four years of college hockey at Bowling Green University, where he captained the team during his senior season and was a Hobey Baker Finalist.

Our regular season schedule has been announced as well. We start a five game away stand away to the Stars of Dallas.

[Tealey7]

Game Review - Bruins @ Islanders (Preseason)]

Last night, our preseason campaign started away to the Islanders. Could this be a new beginning, or another false dawn?

Originally Posted by Bruins.com

St. John's, Newfoundland -- Boston forward Jeff Hoggan scored two goals and Chuck Kobasew added another when the Bruins defeated the New York Islanders, 3-1, Tuesday night in an exhibition game played in Canada. Four fights dominated the storyline, as the Black & Gold sought to make it clear to the league, and perhaps themselves, that they would be a harder team to play against in the upcoming National Hockey League campaign.

"I thought we controlled the play most of the night," said Marc Savard. "We wanted to set the tempo from game one, not game one of the regular season, but starting right now in training camp.

"I think we did that tonight."

New Bruins head coach Claude Julien, making his debut behind the Boston bench was pleased with what he saw.

"It was a real good effort from our whole team," he said. "When you look at that roster, there is not much to complain about."

The Isles, making a swing through the Canadian Maritimes during their 2007 training camp, entered the game with a 0-1 record on their exhibition docket, having fallen to the Atlanta Thrashers, 4-3, in overtime on Monday night. Boston was playing just the first of six preseason games in their schedules.

New York rested many of their starters, but the Bruins brought a few of their bigger guns along, including last year's points leader, Savard, and captain, defenseman Zdeno Chara. But the story coming into the evening was who amongst the players on the fringe would make the biggest impression on the new coaching staff and management regime.

Would it be Mark Stuart, the big defenseman who has come achingly close to permanently making the big club several times? Would it be Hoggan, who was a useful checking forward for both the Boston and Providence Bruins during the 2006-07 season? Or perhaps one of the rookies would take the spotlight? And with Super Series Team Canada captain Milan Lucic, sneaky sniper Brad Marchand and steady two-way defenseman, and former captain of the Michigan Wolverines, Matt Hunwick, on the trip, there were certainly plenty of candidates in that vein.

In reality, it was all of the above.

The Bruins simply did not look like a team playing their first exhibition contest, and instead employed an aggressive team concept, which left the shorthanded Islanders scrambling for most of the evening.

The game began auspiciously for Boston, who arrived shortly before the warm up period after a quick flight from New England, when former St. John's Maple Leaf Shawn Thornton was greeted with a nice round of applause from the pro-Bruin crowd at the Mile One Centre before the drop of the puck. Shortly thereafter, Thornton, the veteran pugilist scored a take down against the Isles Kip Brennan in a one-sided fight, which seemed to swing the momentum of the evening toward the Boston squad.

Hoggan then put the B's up 1-0 at 15:54 of the first stanza when, off a pass by Hunwick, he tucked the puck past Islander goalie Mike Morrison. Minutes later, on the power play, Chuck Kobasew scored the second Boston goal at 18:17, with help from Chara and David Krejci, to send the Bruins to the locker room leading, 2-0, after 20-minutes.

The second period saw Boston continue its aggressive play.

Hoggan scored another goal, shorthanded, after taking a pass from defenseman Andrew Ference and fluttering a puck past Morrison from the face off dot at just 2:16 of the second period.

"That was a lot of fun," said Hoggan. "It's preseason, but it's a big confidence booster and it's nice to contribute early.

"Everyone did some good things.

"That's the trend we want to set, right there."

Even without their superstars, New York valiantly attempted to make a game of it. They closed the gap to one goal when, with Hunwick in the box for hooking, a Bruins defender had his stick crack in front of the goal. The resulting play left Boston starting goalie Tim Thomas screened and the puck on the stick of the Islanders Chris Campoli after he took a pass from Martinek. He sent it through the weakened Boston defense and beat Thomas at 3:10

Thomas, who made several big saves during his 29-plus minutes of service, and allowed only the one goal, yielded to former Bowling Green standout Jordan Sigalet shortly thereafter, and the Islanders continued to press during the younger keeper's portion of the contest.

But Chara, who looked as if he wanted to drop his gloves with Islanders tough guy Chris Simon, was eventually obliged by Brennan and the big B's defenseman landed several punches, but lost his footing on the final one, slipped to the ice with his opponent, and ended the bout prematurely.

The Bruins captain explained the fight as just "part of the game."

After Chara served notice to the Isles in the second frame, Boston came out of the room angry before the third period. Andrew Ference took on Josef Vasicek when the later took liberties while he checked Peter Schaefer and Lucic, who fought during Boston's rookie game on Sunday, took on Matt Spiller later in the period.

"It's part of the game, right?" asked Ference as he prepared to leave the arena. "It was a power play breakout and Schafe kind of chipped it by and it looked like (Vasicek) kind of got a bit of a knee (in there).

"It's just one of those things…like Coach and the GM said over the summer, its just being tough to play against."

Lucic, who scored the most definitive victory of the evening in his bout, agreed with his older teammates.

"Obviously, when you get into those dirty areas fights are going to come if you are going to make those hits," he said. "And also, paying the price down low, and getting the puck to your line mates, creates scoring chances."

In essence, Julien saw what he had prescribed before training camp.

"The effort was there," he said. "Obviously, the results were there.

"I thought the guys focused on what we had to do and seemed excited about playing this game.

"It was a good team effort," said Julien.

Almost an entirely different Bruins team will take on the Devils Thursday night in Manchester.

Nice to see a win for a change.

Who Got The Goals?

No score summary thing on ESPN, or anywhere for that matter, so I'll just do a quick update on this.

Jeff Hoggan (Bruins) x2
Chuck Kobasew (Bruins)
Chris Campoli (Islanders)

Bruins 3-1 Islanders

How Did The Goalie Do?

None of that either. But it was Tim Thomas keeping goal.

Current Northeast Division Standings

Ottawa: 1-0-0
Boston: 1-0-0
Montreal: 1-1-0
Toronto: 0-0-1
Buffalo: 0-0-0

Cool. Our next game is on Thursday night at home to the New Jersey Devils.