Good interview with John Weisbrod

[chickenman92]

20 hours ago, Rush17 said:

I really admire Weisbrod's communication skills. He really is great at these radio pieces he occasionally does. I have to say - each time I hear him on the radio it is a real treat.

I think a lot had to do with the drafting of Ryan Jankowski and the interview he did after where he said he was pretty much an elite player in the draft because how dominant he was in his league. At the time I believe he was playing Canadian high school hockey. 

 

That, and he was the guy who signed Ryan O'Rielly to an offer sheet without having clue about the CBA rules that said any team other then the Avs that signed him would need the have him clear waivers before playing. If the Avs decided not to mach the Flames would have given up their next five first rounders for a player that would likely be grabbed on waivers and never suit up for them. 

 

Burke pretty much canned him on the spot after that second major mishap that would have hurt the Flames for years. 

[chickenman92]

9 hours ago, oldnews said:

Is that supposed to be a 'mark' against him?

 

If so, you might want to look back at that draft and reassess how 'badly' they did with Jankowski - look at the next 20 or 30 (or further) players taken, and only Tanner Pearson and Brady Skjei stand out as guys they maybe 'should have' taken, and that margin is probably closing as well.

 

Jankowski had 14 goals and 32 points last year, playing 12:42/game, and not a single point on the powerplay.

He had 5 shorthanded goals.

52% faceoff guy.

Calgary might just get the last laugh.

 

 

Technically they passed on Hertl, Wilson,  Teravainian and Vasilevskiy and took Jankowski. 

 

That year the Flames traded down from 14 then said they still got their guy and they thought he was the top player in the draft. 

[NewbieCanuckFan]

On 9/13/2019 at 10:49 PM, Crabcakes said:

Why does John Weisbrod get vilified in Vacouver media? 

“Vilified”?

 

That’s nothing compared to the time he was GM of the NBA team Orlando Magic.  Dude actually received death threats from “fans” and required some assistance from the FBI as a result.

[Fred65]

23 hours ago, Crabcakes said:

Weisbrod does have a hockey background though.  He played for Harvard for 4 years and they won the NCAA championship in 1989.  He was drafted by Minnesota in the 4th round in 1987 and was acquired by San Jose in 1991.  He retired soon after due to injury and his pro career consisted of only 16 IHL games.

 

He then went into management and became GM of the IHL Orlando Solar Bears.  When the IHL disbanded in 2001, the organization kept him and found him a job in the front office of the NBA's Orlando Magic.  He was promoted to GM of the Magic in 2004 which he held until 2005 when he went back to hockey.

 

He became a scout with Dallas in 2005 and joined Boston a year later as a pro scout and after 2 years, he became Director of Collegiate Scouting for the Bruins.

 

After winning a cup with the Brunis, he was hired by the Flames as AGM of Player Personnel and they fired him in Dec 2013.  So he was there for 2 and a half seasons.  Jay Feaster hired him in Calgary and he was fired the very day that Brian Burke took over the Flames on Dec 12, 2013.    He was completely off my radar while with Calgary but I think that Feaster has to wear the Jankowski draft in 2012.   

 

6 months later, he was hired by Benning as VP Player Personnel and a year later was promoted to AGM.

 

 

 

 

He's sure moved around quite a bit. I've listened on those couple of videos put out covering previous drafts and frankly seems a perfect fit for JB. Regretfully they fired the smart guy, Laurence Gilman, his intellect was his downfall. Gilman of course was called upon by the NHL to write the expansion rules and then hired as the Capologist for the Leafs. Never mind Weisbrod can spin a good line to the media and has JB sized up     Good for him he's made it through 5 years in Vcr

[stawns]

1 minute ago, Fred65 said:

He's sure moved around quite a bit. I've listened on those couple of videos put out covering previous drafts and frankly seems a perfect fit for JB. Regretfully they fired the smart guy, Laurence Gilman, his intellect was his downfall. Gilman of course was called upon by the NHL to write the expansion rules and then hired as the Capologist for the Leafs. Never mind Weisbrod can spin a good line to the media and has JB sized up     Good for him he's made it through 5 years in Vcr

You mean Gilman, the architect of the disaster of the last 5 years and who is now building a new Titanic in Toronto?

[Crabcakes]

1 minute ago, Fred65 said:

He's sure moved around quite a bit. I've listened on those couple of videos put out covering previous drafts and frankly seems a perfect fit for JB. Regretfully they fired the smart guy, Laurence Gilman, his intellect was his downfall. Gilman of course was called upon by the NHL to write the expansion rules and then hired as the Capologist for the Leafs. Never mind Weisbrod can spin a good line to the media and has JB sized up     Good for him he's made it through 5 years in Vcr

Weisbrod had 5 years with the Bruins on Bennings scouting staff.  I think that Benning knew what he was getting.

 

As for Gilman, I like him a lot but it's no surprise what happened there.  I think he was kept for the short term to help with the transition as Benning took over the team but he was Gillis' man and Benning wanted his own team.

 

Benning gets criticized by the media for having a smaller core management team.  A smaller team is actually better because communications are better.  Bennings style is all about communications and consensus building.  Better communications mean better decisions.  Everybody has a voice that they want to hear and it just doesn't work if there are 20 voices like the Leafs have.  The way Sekeres speaks of "silo's" just makes me want to tear my hair out.  In management, silo's are a bad thing because it means that different departments operate on their own which makes communication between departments more difficult.  There is no fighting around the boardroom table by people who don't understand the challenges faced by others around that table.  This places the emphasis on department goals rather than overall team goals.  Silo's are a buzz word and every time Sekeres uses it shows his ignorance  .  Benning's management approach is actually modern and progressive.  It's not a traditional, military type hierarchy, it is more of a team.  It is lean and agile, responsive and flexible. 

[Fred65]

22 minutes ago, stawns said:

You mean Gilman, the architect of the disaster of the last 5 years and who is now building a new Titanic in Toronto?

No the rules of expansion, which, I might add was the largest fee ever demanded for a new franchise, was made at the expansion board and the new owner meetings. Putting it in to leagalize as done by Gilman. TO needed to fix a disaster of a Cap problem and the brought in Gilman to find a solution.  

Quote

TORONTO — Until Mitch Marner’s signature is officially on a contract, it’s probably too soon to label this the Great Escape. But the way the Toronto Maple Leafs front office maneuvered while under salary cap duress these last few weeks would impress even Houdini.

It took a mix of creativity, guile and cold calculation from Kyle Dubas, Brandon Pridham and Laurence Gilman.

Sadly I'm not sure if the Vcr front office has the same Houdini

[stawns]

15 minutes ago, Fred65 said:

No the rules of expansion, which, I might add was the largest fee ever demanded for a new franchise, was made at the expansion board and the new owner meetings. Putting it in to leagalize as done by Gilman. TO needed to fix a disaster of a Cap problem and the brought in Gilman to find a solution.  

Sadly I'm not sure if the Vcr front office has the same Houdini

Well, the now have a 1-2 year window.  Mission not accomplished Gilman

[Fred65]

3 hours ago, stawns said:

Well, the now have a 1-2 year window.  Mission not accomplished Gilman

Dubas is the gambler, Gilman helped clean up the mess. But next summer they have Ceci. Muzzin and Barrie UFA.  The good news is Clarkson and Horton are UFA … adios and a plus $11 million. They have a cap surplus of $15 m    next summer