Jason Bonsignore was the Edmonton Oilers 4th Overall Draft Pick from the 1994 draft. He is infamous for being the worst draft pick in Edmonton Oilers history. Luckily, the 1994 draft was salvaged by the 6th overall pick that the Oilers owned, which turned into Ryan Smyth. Twenty two years later, the Edmonton Oilers once again own the 4th overall pick.
Let’s hope the pick does not turn into the monumental letdown that Bonsignore was. In this post, I will be referencing Gare Joyce’s book “Future Greats and Heartbreaks” which details the tale of being a scout during the NHL draft and the season. It’s a great read for the behind the scenes look and Joyce references Bonsignore early on in the read. Another read worthwhile is Robin Brownlee’s transcript of the Bonsignore interview from 2011 with Gene Principe. I was not able to find the actual radio file, which is a shame. It made for some good radio listening.
Jason Bonsignore: The Prospect
See, in 1994, the Oilers acquired the 4th overall pick that year from the Winnipeg Jets in a block buster trade that sent Dave Manson and a 6th round draft pick for Fan favorite Boris Mironov, Mats Lindgren, the 1st round pick in 1994 (Bonsignore) and a 4th round pick in 1994 (Adam Copeland). Trader Slats at his finest!
Bonsignore was a monster prospect in 1994. Standing at 6’4 and 220 pounds, Bonsignore was considered No. 1 ranked North American Skater at the start of the season. However, he would struggle and drop a couple of spots. Still, the comparisons of Mario Lemieux persisted: heck, Bonsignore even wore 66 while playing Junior Hockey.
As Joyce Details:
“He did have a lot of talent says Boyd (the head scout of the Blue Jackets in 2006), who was Bonsignore’s coach with the Newmarket Royals…. He could step over the boards in a close game and score at will, just like Mario.”
That, right there is some very lofty praise and a lot of pressure on a young man’s shoulders. Being compared to Mario Lemieux? With the Edmonton Oilers already having prospects like Jason Arnott and Doug Weight, Bonsignore would have fit in like a glove. However, as Joyce pointed out, the key word in that quote was “at will.”
“Bonsignore was anything but driven. In fact, he seemed less interested in hockey and more in go-kart driving…..Grant Sonier an assistant coach in Newmarket back then had a brain teaser about player evaluation: if you had three categories, talent hockey sense and character and only six chips to place them, how would you distribute them?… His reply (in regards to Bonsignore) was quick and to the point: Six on Talent, none for hockey sense, none for character”.
Now that is a very damning assessment from his very own coaches. Bonsignore suffered an ailment that was similar to Alexandre Daigle: all the talent in the world for hockey, but not one ounce of actually being passionate about the game. When a player is more interested in opening a go kart track rather than playing hockey, it’s a very glaring red flag. Also hurting was the none for character which Joyce continued to detail:
“He was a nice kid, good looking, had everything going for him, but they (his teammates) just hated him. Sonier reckons “hated” doesn’t overstate the case. “He came back from the world juniors and hung his US Sweater and sweats in his stall”…”The players took them to the middle of the room and burned them”
However, the Oilers scouting staff would hype Bonsignore with Kevin Prendergast, former Oiler head scout, selling Bonsignore being the “Whole Package”.
Jason Bonsignore: The Player
After being drafted by the Oilers, Bonsignore could not stick with the team. He would play one game in 1994-95, where he scored his only goal with the Edmonton Oilers. In 1995-96, Bonsignore would bounce between the Sudbary Wolves, Cape Breton Oilers and Edmonton Oilers, where he would score three assists in 20 games.
In 1996-97, Jason Bonsignore had his best season as a professional player where he played 78 games in the AHL Hamilton Bulldogsscoring an impressive 21 goals as a rookie and 54 points. Was this enough for Bonsignore to crack the Oilers roster?
No.
From Brownlee’s Article
“They played me one exhibition game, and I had a really nice assist in that game, I thought that I played pretty decent. I got sent to the minors the next day. So I kind of knew the writing was on the wall no matter what happened at that point, that it just wasn’t going to work out. So then I got back to the minors there and it’s just kind of the same stuff again.”
“At this point in the press box I just said, ‘Well Glen why don’t you just trade me?’ And he says, ‘Nobody wants you, nobody wants you.’ And at this point my agent told me that three or four teams had made some really attractive offers for me at this point with some big name players involved which I was quite honoured to hear and Glen tried to tell me I was lying.
“I just knew it was going nowhere. He just sort of pushed me and said ‘Have a nice career.’ I was obviously pretty angry and I thought that if I tried to get back at him, or to try have a push and shove contest, or take a swing at him, that this is definitely the end of my career. And, I walked away. Then, two days later, my agent called me and said that Glen wants to have a meeting with me and apologize and I appreciated it, but they wanted me to come to camp the next fall? I mean how am I supposed to come back to camp after all of this and feel like I’m going to get a fair chance again or like its water under the bridge.”
Glen Sather did not see eye to eye with Jason Bonsignore. Slats was quite….rough in his handling of Bonsignore. In Sather’s defence, there were camps where Bonsignore showed up to camp overweight, but 1997-98 showed that there was a sliver of potential with Bonsignore, but by sending his giant centre down to the minors once again, the bridge was burned.
Bonsignore would be dealt that season to the Tampa Bay Lightning along with Bryan Marchment and fellow draft bust, Steve Kelly for Paul Comrie and former first overall pick, Roman Hamrlik. Obviously, the most valuable piece in that deal was Hamrlik and Sather did very well in this trade.
Bonsignore would play 58 games over two seasons in Tampa Bay, where he would only score a minuscule 3 goals and 14 points in total. His career NHL totals: 79 games, 3 goals, 13 assists and 16 points. The 1998-99 season would be the last time Bonsignore would play in the NHL and last played in the ECHL with the Trenton Devils in 2007-08.
The Result
Bonsignore apparently does run his Go Kart Race Track, as evident from this YouTube video. It’s a sad tale of a player who did not meet the lofty expectations that were placed on his shoulders. Bonsignore was not only a draft bust for the Oilers, but one of the worst busts of all time. There was all the talent in the world in this player, but there was no heart nor drive. Was he given a fair shake? In the radio interview, Bonsignore claimed he did not, but the stats that followed said otherwise.
With that said, let us hope the 4th overall pick, regardless of who the Oilers draft, becomes an actual player.
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
