I’m with you on this one, Alanah.  The Youtube clips certainly help, but if you look further than the Brunnstrom clip, you’ll find that every player on Farjestads BK has a similar fan-created highlight clip, and they can be manipulated to make Johan Nobodygiveacrapwhossonheisson look like the next Sidney Crosby. 

Barry did a tremendous job of using the media to manipulate the Brunnstrom sweepstakes.  Nobody will ever know whether there really were 20+ teams interested in the kid, and Barry tossed around so many deadlines that never came to pass regarding his player’s decision-making process that it was silly.  He has to sign by mid-April!  No, wait, May 1st!  No, mid-May!  Okay, before July 1st.  Maybe…

Barry was able to parlay three all-expenses paid, red carpet-treatment road trips for a kid who may or may not turn out to be anything more than a useful third-liner, and he’s still got the Flyers, Bruins, Leafs, and Canucks convinced that the Brunnstrom North American Tour 08 has four more stops on the agenda (which it doesn’t). 

At least I can say, as a Wings fan, that Detroit told the kid that he has no guarantees of anything more than a month’s worth of practices to prove that he deserves a roster spot, and after that, he’d have to accept an assignment to the AHL.  They still tried to get the kid on their team plane as part of the recruiting process, however…

This kid will never live up to the hype unless he is Sidney Crosby, and kudos to Barry engineering the scenario to unfold as it has.

Posted by George James Malik from South Lyon, MI on 05/05/08 at 06:41 PM ET

This kid will never live up to the hype unless he is Sidney Crosby

Odds alone say he’s not… but trying to live up to the hype and expectation can destroy a career and even ruin the individual.  I hope Brunnstrom can avoid that trap.  But even at 23, he’s just a kid, and avoiding that trap won’t be easy.

Posted by BobTheZee on 05/05/08 at 11:29 PM ET