Wheeler is going to the Bruins.

The Bruins have won the Blake Wheeler sweepstakes and will sign him to a professional contract on the 1st of July. Yeah OK, good for Blake Wheeler. Personally I am happy for Blake but I don't ever see him playing in a Claude Julien system. If Brandon Bochenski isn't good enough to play for the Bruins how in the heck is Wheeler going to make the line up on a regular basis? Coach Julien is a task member that has no patience for players that don't work hard and give 100 percent on each shift. Just for the record Blake Wheeler wasn't half the player Brandon Bochenski was in college.

Blake Wheeler, the highly-sought winger from the University of Minnesota, has advised his agent to finalize terms of a contract with the Bruins, a two-year deal that won’t be made official until July 1, in keeping with NHL bylaws that govern the movement and signing of unrestricted free agents.

"More than 20 NHL teams were interested in Blake, and this was a very tough decision,’’ said Wellesley-based agent Matt Keator, who also represents Boston captain Zdeno Chara. "And ultimately it came down to a few things for Blake, but mostly that he was comfortable with where the Bruins were headed as an organization — how this year they brought along kids like David Krejci, Milan Lucic, and Mark Stuart. They’ve done a good job of developing kids, and he wants to continue along that line.’’

Boston general manager Peter Chiarelli, reached via email, wrote that he was pleased that Wheelers chose the Bruins. "Of course, ‘’ added Chiarelli, "we can’t sign him until July 1, but we look forward to getting him in the mix. Any time you can get a young player of Blake’s caliber with that blend of size and skill, you are very fortunate.’’

Wheeler, 21 years old and 6 feet 4 inches, 220 pounds, was drafted No. 5 overall by the Coyotes in 2004 and long has been considered a potential power forward in the NHL. Just over a month ago, in the wake of his junior season with the Golden Gophers, he announced that he would turn pro and intended to exercise the right to be a free agent if he could not come to contract terms with the Coyotes.

Only in rare instances do college players become free agents. But Wheeler, because he played a year of junior hockey before joining UMinn, was eligible to exercise his right to become UFA prior to July 1, because four years had lapsed since his draft day. Once officially a free agent as of June 8, he began to field bids from around the league, and just last week cut down to four teams — believed to be the Bruins, Canadiens, Rangers, and either the Devils or Wild.
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