The Western Conference is, "A Low-Talent Mess,"- Nick Bonino
Aug 18, 2016 13:01:36 GMT -5
bjernagris (PHI), brentdog, and 3 more like this
Post by Deleted on Aug 18, 2016 13:01:36 GMT -5
Late last week, C/RW Nick Bonino was claimed off waivers by the iLA Kings. He has been skating with Nick Blanchard and Radek Faksa, two players who desperately need a bigger bodied player to keep them from getting knocked around. Despite filling that role, Bonino believes he can add a strong offensive presence as well. With 19 pts in 61 games, though, he knows he hasn't quite done that.
"Well there's a reason [anyone] gets sent down, really," Bonino said after his third day of practice, where he finally decided to answer some questions, "Obviously, in Hartford, I didn't meet their expectations. I make over $3 million a year, they wanted more from me than 19 points and a handful of hits. I'm not happy, but I don't blame them,"
Nick Bonino never expected to be a journeyman player in the iNHL, but it's what has become of him. Traded from Anaheim in 2014, where he'd played for three full years, to Vancouver, Bonino had hoped it would be the last time. "I truly did love Vancouver. And I had a great time with them," In 2014 he scored a career high 39 points in 75 games. His trade stock skyrocketed, and in 2015 Vancouver traded him to Philadelphia.
He played 80 games and scored 30 points...but with three different teams: Philadelphia, Edmonton and Pittsburgh. He never found the same success as he did in Vancouver, and quickly fell out of favor with multiple General Managers, "After 2015 I just kept getting traded and sent around the league...It's not fun. I mean, I'd bought a house in Anaheim, then when I got traded I sold that one and bought one in Vancouver...when I went [to Philadelphia] I almost sold my house again but didn't. Thankfully,"
In 2016 he went back to Edmonton, played in 38 games, where he was promptly traded back to Philadelphia to play in another 40, notching a total of 28 pts.
"It really wasn't a good time for me, mentally, and it affected my game. I suffered, even in Hartford, for it,"
On now playing with Rocco Grimaldi, whom he had been traded one-for-one for, "It's kind of surreal. But if you get traded so many times, in such a short period of time, I guess it's bound to happen,"
On his reunion with the Sedin twins, "It is great to be with them again. They're great guys, and it's amazing to see them producing at such an incredible rate even as they get up there in years. If there are any two players I look up to in the iNHL, it's the Sedins,"
That was the end of the interview with most people. However, several reporters, including myself, iLA Times reporter Nick Tardive, and NHL.com reporter Tom Gulitti, were allowed to stay to ask more questions. Nick Bonino then talked some about the iKings as a team, as well as the over-all strength of the Western Conference compared to the East. Tardive relayed some of Bonino's quotes via tweet earlier:
The five teams he mentioned were Vancouver (102 pts), St. Louis (102), Colorado (90), Calgary (87 and Nashville (82). Despite that, he remarked, "Even two of those teams (CGY and NSH) would be fighting for the playoffs in the East, and Colorado would be tied for 6th!" When asked why that might be, looking for a little more clarification, Bonino doubled down and replied, "The Eastern Conference is clearly superior to the West. And the only reason for that is the disparity in talent, skill, and potential [between the conferences]," He left the rest unspoken, but the reporters who were kept after implied it to mean coaching and general managing as well.
iKings G.M Marcus Markiss declined to comment. Head coach Jon Cooper was asked at this morning's post practice presser, and said, "Check the math - it's statistically hard to deny. I think the West has it's strengths just as the East does...but all you need to do is look at the records and point totals and win totals to see [that Bonino was correct]," before moving on to the subject of P.K Subban's health.
"Well there's a reason [anyone] gets sent down, really," Bonino said after his third day of practice, where he finally decided to answer some questions, "Obviously, in Hartford, I didn't meet their expectations. I make over $3 million a year, they wanted more from me than 19 points and a handful of hits. I'm not happy, but I don't blame them,"
Nick Bonino never expected to be a journeyman player in the iNHL, but it's what has become of him. Traded from Anaheim in 2014, where he'd played for three full years, to Vancouver, Bonino had hoped it would be the last time. "I truly did love Vancouver. And I had a great time with them," In 2014 he scored a career high 39 points in 75 games. His trade stock skyrocketed, and in 2015 Vancouver traded him to Philadelphia.
He played 80 games and scored 30 points...but with three different teams: Philadelphia, Edmonton and Pittsburgh. He never found the same success as he did in Vancouver, and quickly fell out of favor with multiple General Managers, "After 2015 I just kept getting traded and sent around the league...It's not fun. I mean, I'd bought a house in Anaheim, then when I got traded I sold that one and bought one in Vancouver...when I went [to Philadelphia] I almost sold my house again but didn't. Thankfully,"
In 2016 he went back to Edmonton, played in 38 games, where he was promptly traded back to Philadelphia to play in another 40, notching a total of 28 pts.
"It really wasn't a good time for me, mentally, and it affected my game. I suffered, even in Hartford, for it,"
On now playing with Rocco Grimaldi, whom he had been traded one-for-one for, "It's kind of surreal. But if you get traded so many times, in such a short period of time, I guess it's bound to happen,"
On his reunion with the Sedin twins, "It is great to be with them again. They're great guys, and it's amazing to see them producing at such an incredible rate even as they get up there in years. If there are any two players I look up to in the iNHL, it's the Sedins,"
That was the end of the interview with most people. However, several reporters, including myself, iLA Times reporter Nick Tardive, and NHL.com reporter Tom Gulitti, were allowed to stay to ask more questions. Nick Bonino then talked some about the iKings as a team, as well as the over-all strength of the Western Conference compared to the East. Tardive relayed some of Bonino's quotes via tweet earlier:
The five teams he mentioned were Vancouver (102 pts), St. Louis (102), Colorado (90), Calgary (87 and Nashville (82). Despite that, he remarked, "Even two of those teams (CGY and NSH) would be fighting for the playoffs in the East, and Colorado would be tied for 6th!" When asked why that might be, looking for a little more clarification, Bonino doubled down and replied, "The Eastern Conference is clearly superior to the West. And the only reason for that is the disparity in talent, skill, and potential [between the conferences]," He left the rest unspoken, but the reporters who were kept after implied it to mean coaching and general managing as well.
iKings G.M Marcus Markiss declined to comment. Head coach Jon Cooper was asked at this morning's post practice presser, and said, "Check the math - it's statistically hard to deny. I think the West has it's strengths just as the East does...but all you need to do is look at the records and point totals and win totals to see [that Bonino was correct]," before moving on to the subject of P.K Subban's health.