Boston Bruins: Keith Gretzky Leaving Leads To Questions
By Mike Cratty
Boston Bruins: Keith Gretzky Leaving Leads To Questions
The Bruins lost an important member of their staff on Tuesday when Keith Gretzky departed to join old friend Peter Chiarelli as assistant General Manager of the Edmonton Oilers. Gretzky spent the past five years with the Boston Bruins organization; three as an Amateur Scout and two as Director of Amateur Scouting. What does this loss mean for the Bruins?
Before joining the B’s, Gretzky served as an Amateur Scout with the Phoenix Coyotes beginning in 2001, until he was promoted to Director of Amateur Scouting in 2006. His tenure with the Coyotes ended in 2011, when he joined the Boston Bruins. He had a part in bringing in current NHLers Kyle Turris, Michael Stone, Connor Murphy, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Mikkel Boedker. Some achieving more success at the NHL level than others, but all impressive names and ones he can take pride in. Kyle Turris and Mikkel Boedker are the only ones of that group that are no longer with the Coyotes.
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In the positions he served with the Bruins, Gretzky had a big say in who the Bruins drafted. He has been commended for bringing in guys like Danton Heinen, David Pastrnak, Jesse Gabrielle, Zachary Senyshyn and Charlie McAvoy. These guys are not bums, not all are first and second round picks either, and there are plenty more promising youngsters courtesy of Keith Gretzky.
Assistant General Manager Scott Bradley is set to take over Gretzky’s responsibilities. Don Sweeney does not sound like he is in a rush to fill the position, although it is unfortunate timing for Gretzky to leave.
What Gretzky’s departure means moving forward could be a completely different draft strategy. Some of the picks Gretzky has made have been questionable at first sight (Zachary Senyshyn, Jake DeBrusk and Trent Frederic). Think of the 2015 draft when the Bruins had picks 13-15, the consensus best three players available weren’t taken. You had guys like Mathew Barzal, Colin White and Kyle Connor up for grabs. But Jakub Zboril, Jake DeBrusk and Zachary Senyshyn went instead. DeBrusk and Senyshyn look pretty solid at this point in time although they were off the board picks. Jakub Zboril was the only one of the three that wasn’t really considered a reach.
More recently with the Trent Frederic pick at #29, guys like Pascal Laberge and Alex DeBrincat were still available. Gretzky went with Frederic instead, who was projected as more of a second or third rounder and not likely a future top 6 forward, but the pick was backed up with a good explanation. Not one that we might all agree with, but an explanation nonetheless. Will we see the best available players taken more often in the future, or will we see a similar strategy?
Don Sweeney undoubtedly had some nerves in his first couple of drafts as a General Manager. He gave praise to Keith Gretzky where it was due.
“In particular, the last three drafts, Keith has done a nice job,” Sweeney said. “You realize there’s pressure involved, especially the last two years with the number of picks we had. I fully respect the impact he made on our hockey club going forward.”
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We will have to wait and see how the Bruins draft classes 2017 and beyond look without Keith Gretzky at the helm. He will be welcomed with open arms in Edmonton due to his impressive resume and acumen, not to mention his connection with Peter Chiarelli.