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Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli Sold on Tyler Seguin, Happy He Didn’t Deal No. 2 Pick

LOS ANGELES — Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli was true to his word of not dealing the second overall pick at the 2010 NHL entry draft on Friday night. He kept the pick in spite of Edmonton general manager Steve Tambellini reportedly trying hard to acquire the second overall pick in an effort to draft both Taylor Hall with the first overall pick and Tyler Seguin with the second.

But while the Oilers got Hall at No. 1, Chiarelli wasn't letting them get Seguin too.

"He pushed hard," Chiarelli said of Tambellini's efforts to get the second pick. "Talks were more centered around [the Oilers] trying to get the No. 2 pick from us. He told me early on he was going to try and get it and he didn't give up."

Chiarelli was happy he resisted those efforts by the Edmonton GM because he got a great all-around player in Seguin.

"He's a terrific player, he's got a terrific skill set," Chiarelli said. "He's still growing. His improvement was tremendous over one year to the next. Very smart, terrific hockey sense."

There's not much doubt that Seguin will make the roster this season, but Chiarelli expressed caution that it may take some time for Seguin to really start to shine, much like the 2008 top overall pick Steve Stamkos.
 
"I expect he will make the team," he said. "But you never know. You remember some of the parallels in the past sort of his age and body type, a guy like Stamkos took a while to get used to it, took him a while to get his confidence and strength. I would anticipate that line of improvement as he comes into the league."