Bruins to Retire Neely's Number
Jul 29, 2003 18:35:47 GMT -5
Post by ED on Jul 29, 2003 18:35:47 GMT -5
www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?ID=48894
Bruins to retire Neely's number
Canadian Press
7/29/2003
BOSTON (AP) - Boston Bruins fans have long counted Cam Neely among the team's all-time greats, despite a career shortened by injury.
This season, the team will make that designation official when it honours the right-winger alongside the likes of Bobby Orr and Eddie Shore.
The Bruins will retire Neely's No. 8 in a pre-game ceremony Jan. 12, the team announced Tuesday.
No Bruins player has worn Neely's number since injuries forced his retirement in September 1996.
Neely, a strong skater and imposing physical presence on the ice, is the 10th Bruins player to have his number retired.
``To be going up there in the rafters with the players that are already there is such an honour,'' Neely said in a statement. ``Playing here in Boston was amazing. I always tried to play as hard as I could and I knew what style of hockey I had to play to be successful.''
The ceremony, before a game against Buffalo, will be among events commemorating the team's 80th anniversary season.
``The term `power forward' became part of the hockey lexicon because it was the only way to truly describe his style of play,'' team president Harry Sinden said of Neely. ``Cam gave Bruins fans countless highlights over his seasons in a Boston uniform as one of the most prolific scorers and complete players in team history.''
Drafted ninth overall by Vancouver in the 1983 NHL draft, Neely played more than two seasons with the Canucks before he was traded to Boston in 1986.
Neely, a native of Comox, B.C., ended his Bruins career with 344 goals and 246 assists for 590 points with 921 penalty minutes in 525 regular season games. He remains fourth on the club's all-time goal scoring list and ninth overall in the team's scoring history.
Neely is also the team's all-time leading playoff goal scorer with 55. The Bruins made the Stanley Cup final twice during his tenure, losing to the Edmonton Oilers both times.
He scored more than 50 goals three times, in 1989-90, 1990-91 and 1993-94.
Neely's injury problems began in the 1991 conference championship series with a hit to his left thigh.
He missed the first 38 games of the 1991-92 season, and played in just nine games before developing a knee problem that caused him to miss the remainder of that season and all but 13 games of the next.
Neely earned the NHL's Bill Masterton Trophy in 1993-94, when he returned from those injuries and scored 50 goals. A hip condition led to his retirement. A comeback bid in 1998 was short-lived.
His NHL career totals were 395 goals and 299 assists for 694 points in 726 career games.
Besides Orr and Shore, the Bruins have retired the numbers of Lionel Hitchman, Aubrey (Dit) Clapper, Phil Esposito, John Bucyk, Milt Schmidt, Terry O'Reilly and Ray Bourque.
Bruins to retire Neely's number
Canadian Press
7/29/2003
BOSTON (AP) - Boston Bruins fans have long counted Cam Neely among the team's all-time greats, despite a career shortened by injury.
This season, the team will make that designation official when it honours the right-winger alongside the likes of Bobby Orr and Eddie Shore.
The Bruins will retire Neely's No. 8 in a pre-game ceremony Jan. 12, the team announced Tuesday.
No Bruins player has worn Neely's number since injuries forced his retirement in September 1996.
Neely, a strong skater and imposing physical presence on the ice, is the 10th Bruins player to have his number retired.
``To be going up there in the rafters with the players that are already there is such an honour,'' Neely said in a statement. ``Playing here in Boston was amazing. I always tried to play as hard as I could and I knew what style of hockey I had to play to be successful.''
The ceremony, before a game against Buffalo, will be among events commemorating the team's 80th anniversary season.
``The term `power forward' became part of the hockey lexicon because it was the only way to truly describe his style of play,'' team president Harry Sinden said of Neely. ``Cam gave Bruins fans countless highlights over his seasons in a Boston uniform as one of the most prolific scorers and complete players in team history.''
Drafted ninth overall by Vancouver in the 1983 NHL draft, Neely played more than two seasons with the Canucks before he was traded to Boston in 1986.
Neely, a native of Comox, B.C., ended his Bruins career with 344 goals and 246 assists for 590 points with 921 penalty minutes in 525 regular season games. He remains fourth on the club's all-time goal scoring list and ninth overall in the team's scoring history.
Neely is also the team's all-time leading playoff goal scorer with 55. The Bruins made the Stanley Cup final twice during his tenure, losing to the Edmonton Oilers both times.
He scored more than 50 goals three times, in 1989-90, 1990-91 and 1993-94.
Neely's injury problems began in the 1991 conference championship series with a hit to his left thigh.
He missed the first 38 games of the 1991-92 season, and played in just nine games before developing a knee problem that caused him to miss the remainder of that season and all but 13 games of the next.
Neely earned the NHL's Bill Masterton Trophy in 1993-94, when he returned from those injuries and scored 50 goals. A hip condition led to his retirement. A comeback bid in 1998 was short-lived.
His NHL career totals were 395 goals and 299 assists for 694 points in 726 career games.
Besides Orr and Shore, the Bruins have retired the numbers of Lionel Hitchman, Aubrey (Dit) Clapper, Phil Esposito, John Bucyk, Milt Schmidt, Terry O'Reilly and Ray Bourque.