Chiarelli moving in bulk

As reported in the Bruins blog, Peter Chiarelli continued to ship out parts of what he clearly believes is a currently dysfunctional organization and a team in the midst of a pretty significant overhaul. First Dave Lewis and now GM Jeff Gorton and Daniel Dore, who is widely considered to be a top-notch scout. Apparently Chiarelli isn't among that Dore fan club.

I'm not against the moves Chiarelli is making right now - something obviously needs to be done, correction, has needed to be done for quite some time. I'm not sure getting rid of all management personell, many of whom I'm sure were well respected, is the way to solve all the Bruins problems. The problem, in my opinion, is on the ice - and yes I know there's talent there but not enough of it. I certainly support the coaching change and in time, we'll all have a better idea of what kind of environment Chiarelli is trying to create.

Back to the players, University of Michigan product defenseman Matt Hunwick was signed by the Bs and hopes to make the team for the upcoming season. Hunwick put up pretty solid numbers for a defenseman over 126 games in four years - 24 goals and 73 assists for 97 points. Lots of defensemen on board in Boston...if only we had a goalie.

Cross your heart

I have some news to report, as one might imagine I would have after nearly two months away from this blog. I sincerely apologize for that, fully aware that nobody is going to follow this blog with such hiatuses. But I can offer some hope to those hockey fans nervous about the state of the game and some argument to those who maintain that hockey is irrelevant.

Not the case in Madrid. The primary reason I've been unable to blog much over the past few months is because I was first taking finals, next preparing for Spain and finally studying in Spain for the past five months. I knew I was f*ucked as far as following the last two rounds of the Stanley Cup finals. Dissapointing, yes. Even more once Selanne raised the Cup just days before my plane lowered onto American soil. For those who have never read this blog, I've followed Selanne's career since I first put on skates and Teemu joined the NHL, some 14 or 15 years ago. Was the trip worth it? Obviously, for more reasons than cuts Selanne suffered in the playoffs, and one night in Madrid made it all worth it for sure.

The night after, we went to a bar with a cave-like ceiling. And by cave-like, I really mean the place looked like a cave. From the cave ceiling fell milk (or a milk mixture), when summoned by the bartenders, into large bowls. The milk was then mixed with almonds (juice) and various liquors I could not view from my vantage point but a quick Google search of the drink, Horchata, would certainly turn up all the ingredients. Wikipedia, of course, explains it all. It is actually a non-alcoholic drink but of course, there are alcoholic variations. One, as described in Wikipedia, is "...in a Rice Rocket. The drink comprises of 2 parts horchata, 1 part coconut-flavored rum and a dash of Goldschläger over ice." It's delicious.

I'm trying to get to the point here but easier said than done. The next night we visited a hookah bar/lounge. You could rent a hooka for an hour while sipping on whatever drinks you please. You could dance. I did all those things but what made my night was the television showing Game 2 of the Finals. The NBA finals were also on - but there's not much surprise there. Basketball is quite big in Spain. But I couldn't believe Game 2 was on. I guess if it would happen in Spain, it would happen in Madrid. It makes me excited just thinking about it. Drinks. Hookah. Spanish music. Dance. All great, fabulous, foreign things but the surprise of a televised game being played all the way in California was priceless.

So about the draft - I hadn't done much research, not going to lie. I had not even heard of Kyle Turris until Thursday, the day before round one selections. But after researching a little on Zach Hammil and Tommy Cross, the Bruins look like they made some solid picks. Cross sounds like a great guy with good skills and the obvious, size. Chara and Cross, CC, could make for a devastating one-two punch on the first and second D-lines, a punch that would likely take its tole on opponents over the course of a game. Hamill looks even better, potentially. Then again, we are talking Bruins. Lately, we all know what that means. Cross your heart and hope for the best because that's all we can do these days. I don't think it's the coaching change that will fill our void.

It's time to wrap up my first day at the Globe - but I'm sure if nothing else, this job will allow me some time to keep up blogging as often as possible.