Is Mike Sullivan Coming Back to Boston? | Pucks With Haggs

Is Mike Sullivan Coming Back to Boston? | Pucks With Haggs

Pucks with Hags is brought to you by the Game Time app. Welcome to the Pucks with Hags podcast, a proud member of the CLNS Media Network. The show is brought to you by Game Time, the best ticket app to get all of your seats for sports, concerts, comedy, theater, etc., etc. Download the Game Time app today and use the code CLNS to get $20 off your first purchase. Game time, last minute tickets, lowest price. guarantee. All right. Uh, I am your host, Joe Hagerty. You can find my work at joehagerty.substack.com. Subscribe and get yourself premium membership. Get all my Bruins and NHL writing sent straight directly to your inbox. I also write for the Boston Sports Journal. So, go to bostonportsjournal.com. Read all my Bruins columns there as well as the the weekly Q&A I do with the fans. Uh, we answer some of those questions also on this podcast. I believe this is the 185th episode of the Pucks with Ask podcast. So, thank you for listening in. Uh, with me, uh, per usual, my longtime friend and colleague, Mick Collagio. Mick, please tell everybody where they can find your work. I got a blog I call Rinkreap, and I write in the seasonal issues of the hockey news. And, uh, I was actually supposed to go on the radio with Pete Shepard this morning, but his show uh, did not air today. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but I anticipate hearing back from him shortly. There you go. All right. Uh, as always, give uh Pete the Meat Shepard my best. And we will we’re gonna have him on with you, Mick, uh, at some point. I know fans in Boston love to hear Pete’s thoughts on the Bruins, and he’s a very passionate Bruins guy. Uh, so we will definitely have him on at some point. All right. Um, let’s, uh, let’s just get into it, Mick. I mean, uh, well, actually, you know what? Yeah, we just gave some love to Game Time, so we can get right into it. Game time. There you go. What uh I think the big news this week is uh the firing resigning uh whatever you want to call it parting of ways uh between uh Mike Sullivan and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Um you know, and I’ll read this tweet from uh DJ Greger uh on Twitter. Uh welcome back. Welcome home, Sully. The fact that this guy is available is a gift from the hockey gods. Almost like when uh Bill Bich came to the Pats in 2000. Nobrainer of the century right there. And I will preface this by saying I’ve been hearing for weeks chatter about Mike Sullivan even when he was still with the Penguins under their employee under contract because I think he had a long ways to go still on his contract with the Penguins. One out of three. Yeah. So, but I had been hearing that is the name I’d been hearing the most when I talk to people about the Bruins head coaching vacancy who might be a good fit. Uh, who makes a lot of sense. I I think he’s a guy that’s in kind of the Bruins circle of things and circle of trust. I think that’s somebody that Cam and Donnie would both feel comfortable working with. It’s somebody that the Bruins obviously have a past history with him having coached uh way back when uh when Jumbo Joe was still here. He coached Patrice Berseron in his first season. Um, you know, so he knows the terrain here. He’s from here. That I think those are all important things and I think he’s part of that sort of like Bruins family of people that they would feel comfortable uh bringing in. And I think that’s kind of an important facet. And in addition to all that, Mike Sullivan’s one of the best US-born hockey coaches ever. You know, like he’s a great hockey coach. he’s up there with a lot of the other peers uh that are in the NHL right now. And I do agree with the tweet that I think him being available is is a great sign uh for the Bruins and a big- time opportunity for them. Uh obviously I think the Rangers are going to be interested as well and that’s a uh he’s going to have discussions with them as well and it would feel like those would be the two favorites uh to potentially land a guy like Mike Sullivan would be uh the Bruins and the Rangers. just your thoughts on Sully, him being available, and uh you know, you and I both having covered him the first time around, how you feel like, uh it might go if there was a redux of Mike Sullivan being the head coach of the Boston Bruins. Well, uh Sully’s had a very interesting career. Um he his appointment to the Bruins job was a bit of a surprise. Uh when Robbie FTO was fired with nine games remaining in the 0203 season. Uh Michael Connell took over the bench but promoted Mike Sullivan from the Providence Bruins to run that bench. Y and he was so impressed with Mike Sullivan’s work in those nine remaining regular season plus five playoff games against the Devils, the eventual Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils who are being coached by Pat Burns by the way. Um, yep. That um that that experience superseded the experience question that caused Okonnell to choose Robbie FTO ahead of Pet uh existing assistant coach Peter Lavlet and the fall of 01 the summer of 01 uh he went with Ftoric on a basis of experience. So when asked by yours truly, what about the experience question this time around? Cuz now Lobby’s had two gears with the Islanders and was available. So this is the second time Lobby was available. And and O’ Connell’s answer was the experience he had up close and personal with Mike Sullivan on the bench for those 14 games was the experience that that that he was focused on and believing that he was the the guy. So Sully coaches that year, they go to lockout and then he’s back in the first year of where the Bruins chaotic re-entry from the lockout with all the changed players and the botched lockout contract strategy and all that stuff. Sully endured his way through that. Um and uh I got on his wrong side one day kind of late in the season. Um they had a game against the Rangers and uh and Hell Gill was famous for shutting down Yamir Jarger and Jarger won the Pearson. Remember that year the players vote for MVP and and Sully instead put uh the Mark Stewart Andrew Ference pairing pairing against him and they went like I think minus four and minus five. So, I asked Sully at the end of the after the game, was this uh a postgame? Was this was this just you want to get these guys experience in this situation? Uh was this just something you wanted to do? No, we’re we’re trying to win hockey games was the answer. So I decided that I had been BSD to and wrote an angry column basically identifying Sully as you are now part of the problem here, you know, and you here to four. You’ve been a calm amidst the storm. Now you’re making decisions that taking your team right out of games, yada yada. I remember telling uh uh Ryan Nato years later uh I think Sully, you know, I think he wanted to I think he was think, you know, he he he acted like he was going to kill me. And says to me, I think Sully, I think Sully was gonna kill you. Anyway, we I made a I got a meeting with him uh like a couple of days later after practice and and uh we hashed it out and it’s fine. And you know, I I never not thought he was a excellent hockey coach. Yep. He had spent all those years as John Tordella’s sidekick. And Tordella is such an intense personality that it was it really kind of it wound up hurting Sully after a while to have his wagon hitched to tors. You know, it got to a point where where he needed to separate himself and rediscover his own identity and go back to the miners where he coached Wilsberry Scranton and then was very similar track to Bruce Cassidy. had the early experience with the Caps, wound up having to go to the miners, winds up joining the Bruins. That was that was what I was gonna say, Mick, when you’re talking about going through sort of some of the history of Sully is that he was very young when he was the head coach of the Bruins that first time around. He was a very young man. Uh not too far removed from his playing career. I don’t think he was super comfortable talking to the media at that point. And I think he’s gotten more. He’s still like a little gruff and a little, you know, um he’s never going to be magnanimous, you know. He’s never going to be one of those like charismatic guys, uh coaches talking to the media. He’s never going to be Bruce Budro. No. But but I think he’s much more comfortable now discussing and dissecting games afterwards with the media. Like I don’t think he was at that point. and he almost viewed the media kind of as the enemy it seemed like to me or there was an adversarial thing going on at the beginning of his career and maybe almost treated it like he did when he was a player and I think that’s changed and I think he understands now the media’s job and he also understands like the media is a tool let’s face it for the for coaches and to get their message across to get certain things across to get you know Pat Burns certainly embraced it moving in a different direction and I think he understands that now. And I just think it’s the natural sort of progression of a guy that’s experienced everything, a guy that’s older and has perspective now and has much more confidence in what he’s doing and his role as a head coach and him just being a hockey coach in general. Like, you know, they he’s the guy that when you do the USA hockey coaching uh clinic stuff and you get all the certifications, he’s the guy that’s on the videos showing the drills, going through everything. like he is he is one of the the you know the the the poster boys in US hockey USA hockey for coaches and the way it’s done right the way he goes about things uh just the success that he’s had the reputation he had has now that’s reflected in him coaching team USA at the four nations faceoff you know I think he’s one of the premier coaches and he’s viewed that way and rightfully so he won cups in Pittsburgh and he’s like had a great only coach to repeat in a salary cap era Yes. So, you know, the resume you can’t argue with and I think he’s a much different better coach. Allah, as you mentioned, Bruce Cassidy if he were to be here the second time around after all of that life and professional experience that he’s had from the first time that he was here. Yeah. And I think this is honestly the right place at the right time for both Mike Sullivan and the Boston Bruins. This one makes a ton of sense. I think this is the guy that Cam and Donnie want. I I think they believe he’s the right coach for this team that can get everything back on track track next year and can get them going in the right direction. And he’s not one of those guys and I know you like Peter Lavlet and a lot of people like John John Tortoella, but the one thing I will say about coaches like that is it seems like they there’s a shelf life for those coaches. you know, they they come in, they turn things around, they do a really good job, they get things moving in the right direction, but within, you know, two, three years, whatever it is, it feels like, you know, the the message is lost, and you sort of need to move on to somebody else. And it seems like that’s been kind of a consistent thing in the careers of of those coaches, great as they are, and they are excellent coaches. Sullivan seems a little different. He seems like a guy that, you know, when he goes someplace, he’s there for a while and he’s able to sort of maintain that message, maintain relationships, and he’s sort of cracked the Rubik’s cube of how to do that as a hockey coach. And and that’s I think another interesting aspect to Sullivan if he comes back to Boston. The one question I have, Mick, is given his resume, given where he is in his career, given what he’s accomplished, he’s going to command salary. Like, he’s going to command a big number for a coach. You know, he’s not going to come cheap and he has other teams that are interested. I think the Rangers are very interested in him. He’s probably going to have several teams that are after him. My question becomes, are the Bruins going to be willing to pay that coach what he feels he deserves to coach here when it seems like often times they the coach is somewhere where the Bruins want to have some savings and don’t want to spend like they they want to or have to spend for the players and are they going to be willing to go whatever length that Mike Sullivan wants to go uh to be paid for like frankly the the you know the level uh of accomplishment and where he is in his professional career and what he would expect to be paid. And I think that’s going to be the only stumbling block I think if you know both sides want to make it happen. And and the other element to it and and some you know people on Twitter got into this with me a little bit asking questions about it is the dynamic with him coaching his son-in-law Charlie Makavoy who’s married to Mike Sullivan’s daughter. Um and that sort of familial aspect of it both good and bad. I mean, obviously, I think they’re both professionals. I don’t think there’s going to be issues with him coaching his son-in-law that it wasn’t an issue in Team USA during the four nations, and you can argue that Charlie Makavoy played some of his best hockey playing uh with his father-in-law as the coach. And maybe this is something else the Bruins have an advantage over other teams is personally Mike Sullivan, he’s a little older now. Maybe he personally wants to live in Massachusetts and wants to live close to his family and his grandkids. And that’s part of the consideration too for him both professionally and personally and something that’s working big time in the favor of the Boston Bruins. So, you know, you put all of this into the pot and it makes some very interesting sort of discussion points, but I think a lot of it points to Sullivan, like I said, being the right guy in the right place at the right time. That makes so much sense for this particular group of Boston Bruins, especially with the Bruins feeling like they can get back into the playoff picture next year. They a lot of people don’t seem a lot of people seem tonedeaf to the Bruins repeated statements that they’re not planning on sitting out. This is not going to be we’ll see in the playoffs in three years, we think. No, this is that’s not how their they’ve got the core group to be back in the playoffs next year if they make the right moves this offseason. That’s right. And and so that needs to be understood. any other thing they do needs to be understood in the context of their intentions, not the court of public opinion. So, um this is this is why the Sullivan hire uh always was on my radar for the moment Monty was dismissed. I felt like I was felt like the clock was on Mike Sullivan in Pittsburgh. He was I think one thing in the interview process that either Don Sweeney or Chris Drury are are not doing them uh favor if they don’t get Mike to talk about why the Pittsburgh Penguins missed the playoffs his last three years there. Um, and and you know, I mean, how many times do we hear them talk about what a great leader Sydney Crosby is, and when you see a guy working that hard, uh, then you know that everybody else, you know, you better be pulling the rope, too. Yep. If that’s all true, and I’m not suggesting that it’s not, then you got the coach, you got the captain, an all-time great player who’s still doing it at an advanced age, and you still got uh two other core pieces of their championships and and you have um a pretty decent revolving cast around them. obviously not everything that it was when they got that great infusion from their American League team uh back when 16 when they won the thing. Uh and you know they weren’t able to keep it together. That happens all the time. But the fact that they were the retools, the retools, the retos, you get your new GM and finally he says, “Yeah, this isn’t going anywhere. I need to get myself a new coach.” Wow. You know, I mean that’s Now granted, nobody no coaching gig lasts forever. It was a hell of a decade and and he accomplished something unique in the salary cap era as far as I am concerned. That said, um that needs to be a discussion point. If I’m the Bruins or the Rangers, I want to know in Sully’s opinion, candidly, um between them and any fly on the wall, what exactly happened? Because that should not have happened three years out of the playoffs. for the last three years of Sydney Crosby’s career. I would want to really know that. I don’t think we’re going to get an answer. I just think that, you know, that’s going to stay private and by the book, you know, if anybody ever writes it. Yeah. And and I think you know the obvious answer, Mick, watching what the Penguins are doing is that they were rather than really seriously retooling, they were trying to add veteran pieces to what was already there for an aging core that is definitely like they’re similar to the Bruins. Little like the late 90s Rangers. Yeah. and and then rather than like make some tough decisions with some of those core guys and retool the right way, they were just trying to add on pieces like Eric Carlson that did not fit well and were aging as well. And I just think they huge mistake. Oh, they look like an old team. I couldn’t believe it when they decided to do it. I was like, “Oh, no. You got to be kidding me. I can’t believe they did this.” Yeah, cuz that’s such a gamble. It’s kind of like, okay, you need that to go perfectly well. And I know what happens if it does, but y the chances of it going that well are really low. Well, especially with older players. You know, in a in a young man’s league, you need a combo of young guys and old guys, and it they just went old. I love watching Eric Carlson play, but he’s been he’s been irrelevant for a long time. No. And you could see like the anger on Sydney Crosby’s face. Was it last year when they traded Jake Gunel and it was clear they weren’t going to resign him? Like, you know, you could tell that there’s there’s not agreement with the best player in the world with some of the decisions they were being made with that team and what Wonder Boy uh what’s his name is? Uh Dubis is doing with that team now. And and we’ll see. Maybe he’s going to start making the right decisions and you know, retooling the right way and making the hard decisions. But it’s also like the thing with Fenway Sports Group owning that team. Like there’s a lot of stuff going on beyond like Mike Sullivan’s coaching end of it with that Pittsburgh Penguins team. I feel like when I watch them and look at them having not made the playoffs, they it it feels like and maybe some of this is Celtic City and watching that documentary which has been very good on HBO Max, but it’s like the the the Celtics the the 80s Larry Bird Celtics when they kept those guys together and ran them into the ground instead of trading them. Um and and you know kept trying to recreate the magic from when they won a couple of championships. If they played those final they would have won three more if they got to play the final in December. Yeah. But by the time March came around, they were they were toast. Yeah. And uh and they didn’t have enough bench depth either uh to to, you know, back off some of the best players that they had. And I I think there’s a similar thing going on where after they won the cups, they kept trying to like, you know, keep thinking that the special sauce was going to keep going with that group if they could just add a couple pieces and it wasn’t. Like you when they get to a certain age, you need to supplement them with talented, youthful players in that league. And they they just don’t do it. And they went all offense and not enough defense. I feel like with that team, too. I think that’s part of the problem as well. I think that that’s what makes the Charlie Coyle acquisition by Don Sweeney so brilliant. Yeah. because he was able to get him uh on a very favorable trade and have him take a lot of the heavy lifting and Dzone starts from Berseron and Crerachche and lighten their load so that they could use their genius to uh propel the offense and uh and ma in better favorable matchups now that they were getting into their third the meat of their 30s. and uh and that really kept the Bruins in a good place for years. Um unfortunately the whole thing is kaput now but like but they I think they Malcolin was so in and out of the lineup and it just seemed to me like um and I and it also seemed like it got to a point where Crosby, you know, it’s kind of like he just didn’t seem to be as physical a player as he was. Yeah. In the years that they won the cup in 16 and 17, I just felt like he kind of brought his game back from being he was like a he was like a a tennis player that always holds serve but never comes close to breaking serve except maybe once a match. He got back to being a a crash bang carrying the puck through traffic and I challenge you to take it from me kind of player in those years that they won the cup. And um I think he was really energized by the youth that came into that team and that infusion. But that of course they couldn’t keep that team together. So yeah. So, I mean, it’s it’s just that one, two, three, you’re out. You’re out. You’re out and you’re thinking, “Wow, that’s just uh it’s wonderful that Sydney had Crosby had the Four Nations and you got another Olympics ahead of him, but where what now with that core is another question I have, you know, because Dubis got to be wondering what are you thinking.” So, yeah. Nope. So yeah, I’m on board that I think the Bruins were always gonna hold on here and wait and see what happened in Pittsburgh before they made any decisions. That was always going to be the deal once Monty was fired. I feel pretty comfortable in saying that I think that Sullivan is the Bruins number one option, number one preference of who they would like to be the their next head coach. And I feel like it’s given all the family factors and and all the that he’s from here and that, you know, frankly, it would be a great challenge for him to come back and try to win a cup with the Bruins after, you know, not being able to do it the first time around. I’m sure that’s something that professionally like is attractive to him as well. But just the personal side of it, too. I I think it makes so much sense for him that the Bruins would be the one of the top options, if not the top option, to come full circle and and come back to this, you know, franchise. Um, and I just think it makes a ton of sense. It makes way more sense than, you know, Jay Pandalfo, like some of these other names of of people that you’ve like heard tossed around that are kind of hope things like I just he’s not going to be interested in that job right now. I I I don’t it doesn’t make any sense. Even if it’s more money, even if it’s like an original six, like all that stuff. And a lot of the college coaches, I feel like the inexperienced college coaches, I don’t know if this is the right time to come in with that this particular group of Bruins and what they feel like, what management feels like they’re capable of. you know, dropping an inexperienced college hockey coach with no real NHL pedigree into that is not, I think, going to be putting them in a position to succeed right out of the gate where it would be better with like a younger group. I think if you know, if it was a younger upand cominging group, a lot of prospects, a lot of guys you could sort of groom and develop, that’s a little bit of a different story. I think with the the team that they have coming back, the cast of characters that they have coming back, I think you’re going to need somebody that’s been around the NHL rodeo for a while and understand how it works and how to deal with veteran players and how to, you know, have a strong presence in a in a dressing room. And I think Sullivan has all that obviously with the players that he’s coached in Pittsburgh and the experience that he brings to the table. Uh and just any scenario, that’s the thing. There isn’t any scenario that a team wouldn’t feel good about him being the coach. Totally 100%. But I think it’s it especially true with, you know, a team that feels like they’re going to be able to bounce back next year, feels like they’re going to be in the playoffs, feels like it’s going to be a veteran group leading them. Um, you know, Makavoy, Posternneck, Hampus, Lynholm, Morgan, Geeky, Swayman, etc. Um, all right. Let’s take a break, Mick, from the action and talk about game time. With the final stretch for the Bruins and the NBA, uh, the Bruins are over. With the fi with the NBA playoffs right around the corner, now is the time to dig into the game time ticket app. The app is super easy to use and has tons of great features for sports, comedy, concerts, theater, and all kinds of tickets. And we’re talking NBA playoffs tickets. We’re talking Boston Celtics tickets. We’re talking uh a long playoff run for the Celtics expected and these are great games. This first round series against the Orlando Magic has been very entertaining. Uh good basketball. 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Terms do apply, but again, create an account and redeem the code CLNS for $20 off. Download Game Time today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. For those of you listening to this episode of the Pucks with Hags podcast, we ask that you subscribe to the podcast, like and leave a review. And for those watching the show on CLNS enjoying all of this hockey talk, go ahead and hit that like button and subscribe to the Bruins Rinkside YouTube channel where you can find our show and a lot of other great Bruins content with fellow Bruins talkers like Connor Ryan and Evan Marinowski. Also, please make sure to turn on your notifications so you know the instant a new Pucks with Hags podcast video drops on the interwebs. All right, Mick, back to the action. Let me ask you a question. Did you go to Springfield for that game two of the Providence tours? I did not. I watch I No, I didn’t. I haven’t done jack squat. I I’ve been watching on the flow hockey channel. Yeah. Well, flow has been pretty good. Uh I went to game one um which was a really good game. Uh I’ve uh tracked the the last couple of games as well. Um just a great sounds like a really good playoff series was had like where they the Bruins got continually better as the series was going on. Uh you know and then finally they broke through and they had three or four goals in the third period of game three and and things finally broke open for them. They didn’t score even strength goal till Riley Tuy’s insurance goal in game three. Although in game one they outshot him I think 40 to 15. Well and they outshot them in game three too. like they controlled I feel like the series territory they weren’t going away. Yeah. Yeah. And uh but but Springfield played them tough. They had a really good goalie. Uh this was the first playoff series that the Providence Bruins have won since I think like 2017. Yeah. Yeah. Uh so this was a big deal for the the P Bruins played really well. They were doing it in front of you know Don Sweeny’s been there. Evan Gold has been there. Jamie Langen Bruner has been there. Adam McQuade has been there. um you know, a large Bruins front office and management contingent has been at all these games watching uh what’s going on with the Providence Bruins in this series. So, them getting to the second round against the Charlotte Checkers. Um series starts Friday in Providence, first two games in Providence, the final three in Charlotte. um a big deal and and really a really good sign I feel like uh for the draft development sort of argument that the Bruins are, you know, starting to get their footing back, get better at it, doing making the right decisions. And the one at the center of this for me, like look, uh Riley Tuy and Vinnie Lati have been two of the big scorers for the Providence Brewers. Overtime saved their season. Yep. Vanilla Literary had the huge overtime goal in game two was a scoreless game and he scores scores in overtime on a on a a rebound. But that’s to be expected, right? Like you you kind of expect if a team’s going to have a long playoff run in the AHL, they’re going to have veterans, those veteran type players that have NHL experience that are going to step up and be like good players on that team. Riley Tuy, I’ve watched him in the playoffs. It’s the best I saw him play all season. I know he’s been a little bit better down in Providence. certainly is a lot better down there than he was in Boston. And I think that’s the level for him is is where he’s playing right now. Uh Vinnie Lati, I liked him in Boston at times. I I thought he was effective uh maybe not consistently, but showed flashes and you could see why he’s had good stretches and good pockets in the NHL. A very good player uh in the AHL. And it’s fun watching him, Patrick Brown, and Jeffrey Vil play together as a line. just like veteran NHL guys. They play with an edge. They play like with a lot of confidence in the AHL. Like they draw a lot of water. You can tell like they feel like they can set the tone and really dictate things. I would put Pitlick in that class too. Yeah, Pitlick is one of those guys too for sure. Uh but all that being said, um Matt Potra, two goals in game three. Huge goal in the early going of that game. I think they’re both power play goals. Um, very big performance in a big moment. I thought he was very good in game one as well. Like he’s been really good in these playoff games. Um, playing with uh Dons Lux Melis and um I and Lati he plays with them as well. Um I think he’s been excellent. It it completely backs up and and confirms the decision that the Bruins made to leave him in Providence over the second half of the year to really get that development time to build up that confidence to get his game where it needs to be. And you feel like watching him play right now at 21 years old in these AHL playoffs and the level of effectiveness that he has right now that he’s going to be an impact guy for the Bruins next year. He is going to make the NHL team. He’s in a great spot to do that, to be a top nine forward, top nine center potentially and to really claim his spot next year and going beyond with what he’s doing right now. Like some people are are will say for a player like yeah, he’s doing it at the HL level because he couldn’t do it at the NHL level. He’s got like the seventh most points of anybody in his draft class. The seventh most points NHL points of anybody in his draft year to this point. like he has been a very good player based on his age and experience level and where he’s at with his peers and I think what they did with him this year was smart and the right thing to do and I think it set them up to have him come in and be a player that’s going to contribute and help them a lot at the NHL level next year. There’s two ways to look at development. And I I remember back in the um 80s there was a very good high school basketball coach in Rhode Island who did not believe in a kid practicing his jump shot without a hand in the face. Yeah. And my and my attitude about that was really shouldn’t you be able to groove your form independent of that kind of I mean if you’re trying to build the foundation of your shot predicated on trying to avoid a hand that’s in your face then I don’t feel like you’re going to get that thing going that makes that when you’re under pressure and you got an open look that you can just rely on that form that you’ve cultivated and grooved and practiced thousands and thousands of times like we all do with our favorite sports and um and so to me I didn’t you know so I think that for Patra being in a slower paced game uh where he can have more ability to to close on guys to take pucks so he can take pucks sometimes he does that in the NHL. He’s very sneaky and how he gets up beside somebody and cuts him off and takes the puck away. And then and then he gets in the NHL and he’s in over his head when he’s kind of like, “Okay, do I go right? Do I go left? There’s a monster here. There’s a monster there. What do I do?” And a lot of times he winds up on his knees and the puck’s going the other way. At least in the American League, he’s got that extra split second to make a play before he gets knocked on his butt. So, I just feel like him having this opportunity to play the game, to groove successful trends in his game, to grow his offense in a in a more forgiving circumstance is going to serve him very well as his skating incre incrementally improves and as he gets himself a little stronger with each season that goes by and he, you know, and he gets himself a little a little grittier. I think that that this is all good for him. So, um I I totally agree with you that the AHL was a great situation for him this year. Let’s not forget that when Patrice Berseron was 18 years old in that pre-lockout season that Mike Sullivan coached the Bruins that he played rightwing and then when he went to the miners for the 0405 lockout season, which was really the AHL was a foray league then. I mean, there was some awesome players there and uh he he moved to center to his legacy position. So, and then when he came back to Boston to start the 0506, he actually started the season on right wing again in a depth spot because Joe Thornton was still on the team. When they traded Joe Thornton, they re they created the the line with Berseron, Brad Boy, and Marco Sturm. and off they went and Bergie, you know, I don’t think ever played another shift at wing unless it was a, you know, goalie out, six men on the ice and what do we set play kind of thing. So anyway, I I like to I like what’s going on with Platra. Um, and I’m just going to toss in there that I am super impressed with Frasier Minton. Yeah, Frasier Minton uh had a good series. uh he is like and it’s very revealing I think uh the way Don Sweeney spoke about him at the end of season press conference it’s very clear to me that they view him as a Charlie Coyle type player and kind of a replacement for Charlie Coyle um and that some of the things that he did and the style of play that he has and being sort of a a bigbodied center that will play two-way hockey that will back check that will do a lot of the little things has great detail details in his game. You know, not going to score a ton, but will score enough and and will be like a really good complimentary player. I It was very clear to me listening to Sweeney speak about him that that’s kind of how they’re viewing Minton at this point. And it really helps honestly to have that perspective when you’re watching Minton as to what they view him as and what the expectations are for him and then watch him uh go out and play and see exactly what they see and what they want him to be and what they’re sort of like hoping and shaping him to be. Um and it makes total sense. But he’s a very good player as well. like I look great experience for all those players and there’s a ton like there there is Vinnie Literary there’s Riley Tuy there’s Tyler Pitlick like you mentioned there’s Patrick Brown um there’s a number of Ian Mitchell there’s a number of players that are sort of like you know veteran sort of players that are on that team but there’s also a lot of guys that are going to be with the Boston Bruins in the next couple years Fraser Minton uh Matt Patra um Riley Durant Man, I I think uh Michael Callahan uh has been their best defenseman. And maybe part of the reason, Mick, that they’re like not all in on Yokaharu and not really or sort of, you know, going back and forth on whether they even bring him back is maybe they want to keep a guy like Michael Callahan and they’re not going to be able to pay both players. you know, maybe that there’s some consideration there for that. And Michael Callahan has raised his profile enough that they view him as a guy that they want to lock up and keep around for a while and keep as, you know, maybe the seventh defenseman or potential bot pairing defenseman. Uh, but Frederick Brun, uh, another player down there. Yeah, he’s going to need more AHL time to build up that body, but but he’s very clearly a talented player. Yeah. But, uh, the the point being there’s good there’s a good five, six, seven players on this Providence Bruins team that are going to be in Boston over the next couple of years. Uh, Fabian Lel as well. Um, Merkel is hurt right now and it remains to be seen if he’s going to be able to come back and play. He hasn’t he didn’t play in that first round series. But there’s, you know, there’s a reason to go watch uh these players if you’re a Bruins fan and you’re looking for some playoff hockey. Great take. There is also so much benefit to all of these players playing in these games and going on a long run in this AHL uh Calder Cup playoffs and getting that experience and also because the the Providence Bruins brass are watching and they get a head start on winning a job next year and you know helping cement whatever role they might be envisioned for with this management if they go out and play the way that they did. And my point being Matt Potra, I think, is one of those guys that’s seizing hold of it and saying, “I’m one of your guys. Watch me play in these playoffs and watch what I can do.” And I think there’s other guys uh they’re going to be like that as well. Uh and there’s nothing but upside um for all these players going out and having a long playoff run in the AHL playoffs. Yeah, if they can. And that’s that first series was touchandgo and it very easily could have ended in two games and they would not have gotten the experience they’re about to get in round two. So that was a huge huge victory for the development of the Bruins prospects of which they now have a pool that will no longer be mocked around the league. Uh I do think that there are legitimate NHL players playing for the Providence Bruins right now and you you just name some of them. So, uh, yeah, I’m looking forward to seeing, um, I’m planning on going to games one and two, Friday, Sunday at the AMP and, uh, give Mark Giver some company. I’m sure he’s going to get a lot of company. I know that you you you now cross your colleagues. I hope to see Connor. I hope to see Evan. It’d be great to see I can tell you that right now, Mick. It was only me and Mark Diver at game one. Yeah. Wow. Where’s Mark Allred anyway? Uh, yeah. So, I think I think that uh the the Providence Bruins have been master class at providing the American Hockey League with a template on how to guarantee a baseline of of regular season attendance. They do youth hockey games before, dur intermission, and after. And then they have three different school classes sing America the Beautiful, uh God Bless America, and the national anthem. and and probably on average every single one of those kids is is a family of four and that’s how they want but see all those promotions go away in the playoffs. You can’t plan ahead for how many playoff games you’re going to have and baseball teams do they have the same thing happens you wind up going to the playoffs and the kids go back to school and your stadium’s empty for the biggest games of the year. So really, the Bruins fans who are kind of hung over with this uh sudden end of not having a playoff season for the first time in 10 years, uh go to Providence that you’ll be shocked at how affordable the tickets are and you get to see guys who are going to play next season for the Boston Bruins from really great vantage points. I mean, come on. Even the parking’s cheaper. Yep. No, I agree. And uh I would say to your point about the youth hockey stuff, the Providence, Bruins, and Finn has played uh intermission and uh in the like segment prior um to the the pregame warm-ups. They offer a bunch of different like packages for like what you can do as far as skating in Providence around a Providence Bruins game. And it is a great take. It is totally worth the 45minute drive to go down there. The tickets are cheap. The the great part is like the pregame skate, I think it’s like 15 or 20 minutes you get on the ice, the kids can play. Uh the intermission skates are like eight minutes, something like that, which is way longer than the college uh intermission skates the kids do around at BCB, BEu, Nor Eastern, all that. It’s like twice as long at least. The other ones are over like in a flash when you do the college intermission stuff. Um and the great part, what I really like that the Providence Bruins do is they will find you somebody to play. It doesn’t have to be you like scrimmaging your teammates out on the ice. They will actually find somebody that’s your level and whatever you whoever you want to play against that will be good competition and it will be fun and they will set up the game and you can do a full game before the Providence Bruins games start. You can do like a 15minute game before pregame introductions like maybe like an hour or so before pregame introductions or you can do the intermission skate which was like eight minutes or whatever. They give you a hat, you get great seats for the game. They let the kids run a muck during like the pregame warm-ups. They’re going down begging for pucks from the players and all that. Like it is an awesome great experience. Uh if you are a coach or a team manager for your youth uh sports hockey team, you and to go down there and do the Providence Bruins intermission skates. Uh great people, great service. Uh Steph Pillo is the name of the the woman that runs the whole thing. and give her shoot her an email, shoot her a text and get it set up for next season. I’ve done it before. It’s great. I would highly recommend it. So, good on you, Mick, for mentioning that. Um, all right, that’s it for us this week. Uh, I want to thank our sponsors, Mick. Uh, once again, Game Time, uh, with the NBA playoffs right around the corner, now is the time to dig into the game, uh, Game Time Ticket app. The app is super easy to use and has tons of great features for sports, comedy, concerts, theater, and all kinds of other tickets. Uh, right now you download the Game Time app, create an account, and use the code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Terms do apply, but again, create an account and redeem the code CLNS for $20 off your first purchase. Download Game Time today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. Mick, thank you for joining us. You almost said it. You almost asked me, “What time is it?” What time is it? I could just tell you Game time. There you go. All right. Uh, Mick, thank you for joining us. Everybody else out there, thank you for listening. We’ll see you at the ring. [Music]

On this episode of Pucks with Haggs, host Joe Haggerty and guest Mick Colageo discuss the newly available Mike Sullivan as the strongest candidate for the B’s head coaching vacancy, and about the P-Bruins prospects performing in their opening playoff series win. All that, and much more!

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