Gorton on P-Bruins

PROVIDENCE -- Assistant GM Jeff Gorton, present at the Dunkin' Donuts Center yesterday for breakup day meetings, gave a positive report on the 2006-07 P-Bruins and coaches Scott Gordon and Rob Murray.

Gorton noted in-season losses such as Yan Stastny (traded to St. Louis), Kris Versteeg (traded to Chicago), Jonathan Sigalet (shoulder surgery), Jeff Hoggan (promotion), Bobby Allen (promotion), and Jeremy Reich (promotion). Providence also lost Mark Stuart (ankle) and Matt Lashoff (nerve damage) for the playoffs.

"I thought they played hard down the stretch," said Gorton. "I give a lot of credit to the coaching staff for getting every little thing they could out of them. They had a lot of injuries, especially to their better players, so I have a lot of respect for what went on here."

* Gorton on the upcoming draft and the importance of selecting the right players: "It's no secret. That's the way it has to be done. You build through the draft. You want to have good young players coming through. Each time you miss in the first round, it's going to set you back another few years. It's the lifeblood, especially now with the cap. There's a certain amount of money you can spend. You have to have guys who are on their entry-level contracts and yet are still good players. That way, you're getting a lot of production for shorter money."

* Gorton said the team is negotiating with Sean Bentivoglio, who joined the team from Niagara for the stretch run and gave the team a top-line scoring threat.

* Gorton said negotiations are continuing with Mikko Lehtonen, Vladimir Sobotka, and Matt Hunwick.