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Edmonton Oilers GM Search: The History Of Keith Gretzky

By Adam Girard

DALLAS, TX - JUNE 22: (l-r) Keith Gretzky and Andrew Shaw of the Edmonton Oilers attend the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
DALLAS, TX - JUNE 22: (l-r) Keith Gretzky and Andrew Shaw of the Edmonton Oilers attend the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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CHICAGO, IL – JUNE 12: Tyler Seguin #19 of the Boston Bruins steps out onto the ice against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game One of the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Final at the United Center on June 12, 2013 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Boston Bruins – Director of Amateur Scouting

Before I really go in here, I encourage you to watch this group of hockey men decide to trade Tyler Seguin. Warning, it is extremely hard to watch. You may notice more than one familiar face in the video, but the one that should currently alarm you is Keith Gretzky, who was part of this decision.

Keith might have actually had the most positive analysis on Seguin of anyone in the video, which is encouraging. But none-the-less his statement made it quite clear he felt that Seguin needed to be traded.

Now that we got that disaster of a trade out of the way, let’s get into his role with the Bruins very hit or miss drafting record during his tenure. Here’s a summary of each of his three drafts with the Bruins:

2014: 

The team had an unbelievable draft. Snagging David Pastrnak, Ryan Donato, Danton Heinen, and Anders Bjork. They hit the jackpot on 4/5 picks in the draft,  which is a franchise changing success.

2015: 

The complete opposite fortune than the year before.

The Bruins held three picks in the deepest 1st round since 2003, and they struck-out hard on 2/3 first round picks. Jake Debrusk is a solid pick, but Jakub Zboril and Zach Senyshyn were complete busts.

Not to mention that Senyshyn was ranked as a mid 2nd round draft pick and the Bruins selected him 15th overall; ahead of Mathew Barzal, Kyle Connor, Brock Boeser, Colin White, Travis Konecny, and Thomas Chabot (who were all ranked significantly higher than him).

They did pick Brandon Carlo in the second round who was a good find.

But to strikeout that badly with three picks in a draft class that deep is a franchise-altering mistake. The Bruins are a good team right now, but they missed an opportunity to build a sustainable dynasty at the 2015 draft.

2016: 

The team got a solid pick with Charlie McAvoy in the first round, who will be a top-pairing defenceman for a long time.

But the team also threw away their second 1st round pick of the draft when they reached and selected Trent Fredric. Then publically said they project him to be a bottom-six forward. If a team is going to reach you would hope it would be for a player that they believe has the potential to be an elite force in the league, not a career third-liner.

So with 5 first round picks in two years the team has two impactful roster players to show for it. Normally two roster players in two years would be a success, but with the number of picks they owned and the depth of talent available in those drafts, it was a massive failure that has Keith Gretzky’s fingerprints all over it.

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