'Behind The B' Season 3 Premiere Introduces New Players, Avoids Smear Campaigns [VIDEO]
BOSTON (CBS) -- If you were sitting there wringing your hands and salivating at the thought of the Bruins firing off another smear campaign against former players or execs, you left the season 3 premiere of Behind the B disappointed. But you did get plenty of glimpses at the new talent replacing the departed.
As Adam Jones and Rich Keefe touched upon, the premiere acknowledges the Bruins' disappointing 2014-15 season - which ended without a playoff spot and led to the firing of GM Peter Chiarelli - with just a passing mention at the beginning. It's a clear "On to Cincinnati" situation for the team, as the premiere quickly shifted focus to new GM Don Sweeney and the offseason as they get ready for 2015-16.
While there's nothing close to resembling the ruthless hatchet job on Tyler Seguin from two seasons ago, there are a few scenes detailing Sweeney's big trades and activity at the 2015 NHL draft. Considering Hamilton was a coveted up-and-coming talent, Sweeney seemed to low-ball himself on the return he could get in a Hamilton trade.
"That's at least two seconds...And we might be flipping picks and then a second," says Sweeney, indicating that the team never even considered getting any established talent in return for Hamilton. Assistant GM Scott Bradley says "But both teams want Dougie, right?", which to me sounds like "Uh, Don? You can get more. Let's get a bidding war going."
They ended up with three draft picks for Hamilton, including the Flames' first-round pick which they used to draft winger Zach Senyshyn at 15th overall. Based on the conversations we hear from the draft table, they tried to trade up from the 13th pick but were fine with standing pat. Director of Amateur Scouting Keith Gretzky admitted what people said at the time about selecting Senyshyn at 15th: "We know it's a little high, but that's OK."
But when the show introduces Senyshyn, it becomes clear why the Bruins coveted him. In his Draft Combine interview, he describes himself as a competitor and hard worker who constantly sets goals for himself, and wants nothing more than to win a Stanley Cup. In other words, he sounds like someone who is 100 percent dedicated to hockey.
Winger Jake DeBrusk is initially portrayed as more of a kid who enjoys his social life off the ice, which will immediately induce eye-rolls to those who feel Seguin was treated unfairly. But he also described himself as exactly the kind of player the Bruins need right now.
"Offensive player", check. "Smart game", check. "High hockey IQ", double-check. "Good scoring instincts in and around the net", all the checks.
Jake DeBrusk poses after being drafted by the Boston Bruins at the 2015 NHL Draft. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
There's no mention of fellow first-rounder Jakub Zboril. Hopefully they're just saving the best for last. There's also a segment on Ryan Spooner, who looks determined to not only bulk up but stick with the Bruins as a valuable contributor for a full season, and a quick look at the team's new trade acquisitions (and potential new linemates for David Krejci) Matt Beleskey and Jimmy Hayes.
There may not have been a straight-up smear campaign on the players the Bruins shipped out in the offseason, but throughout the episode there are subtle jabs bubbling underneath. Maybe I'm reading into it too much, but how could the Bruins not be sending a message when Claude Julien says to players at the team's development camp: "Focus and work hard and listen to the people around you trying to help you."
(By the way, Claude's epic goatee makes a cameo appearance. I wish I could fashion my beard as majestically as he does.)
There's also a sequence with defenseman Torey Krug, who implores all of the new players at development camp to focus on hockey now that they've been drafted: "Congratulations, get over it. Have your fun, whatever. Now it's time to go to work."
"If you're not going to put in the work, someone will."
Call me cynical, but these scenes feel too much like shots at the all of the young players who either couldn't hack it as a Bruin or simply didn't want to be here. Still doesn't mean they should have given up on Seguin or Hamilton so soon, but I digress.
I almost spit my coffee out on the screen when they introduced Zac Rinaldo as "renowned Flyers agitator". Hyperbole much? He did get a "Most Aggressive Player" trophy as an 8-year-old, though, so he has that going for him.
Overall, the premiere served as an introduction to the somewhat large infusion of new talent into the Bruins roster, and attempted to show fans that they didn't trade away Hamilton or Lucic for bags of pucks. We'll see how Senyshyn, DeBrusk and the other new faces perform on the ice, but their attitudes certainly point in the right direction.
Watch the entire season 3 premiere of Behind the B below.
Matt Dolloff is a digital producer for CBSBostonSports.com and wishes he had a goatee as epic as Claude Julien's. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read more from Matt here and follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff.
