Boston Globe Globe’s All Time Draft

[Gee Wally]

The Globe's all-time Bruins fantasy draft

It’s not controversial to call Bobby Orr the greatest Bruin of them all.
But who goes next when picking an all-time Bruins roster? And who gets taken after that? The answers are not so clear.
There were debates and barbs aplenty when the Globe brought together its hockey savants for a four-team, all-time Bruins draft. Joining me were NHL writer Kevin Paul Dupont, assistant sports editor Jim Hoban, and columnist Tara Sullivan.
Eligible players had to have spent at least two seasons in Boston and were selected based on what they did in a Bruins sweater (so Brian Leetch and Paul Coffey went undrafted). Players also were judged according to the era in which they played, so fear not in taking a goalie who had never seen a mask.


Each person drafted three forward lines, three pairs of defensemen, one goalie, and a coach, with an eye on potential chemistry and playing style. We held a “snake” draft, meaning the person with the last pick of the first round had the first pick of the second round, and so on.

Round
Matt Porter
Kevin Paul Dupont
Jim Hoban
Tara Sullivan

Round 1
Bobby Orr (D)
Ray Bourque (D)
Phil Esposito (C)
Cam Neely (RW)

Round 2
Johnny Bucyk (LW)
Milt Schmidt (C)
Eddie Shore (D)
Zdeno Chara (D)

Round 3
Brad Park (D)
Gerry Cheevers (G)
Patrice Bergeron (C)
Tuukka Rask (G)

Round 4
Tim Thomas (G)
Adam Oates (C)
Rick Middleton (RW)
Terry O'Reilly (RW)

Round 5
Bill Cowley (C)
Al Secord (LW)
Brad Marchand (LW)
Lionel Hitchman (D)
Round 6
David Pastrnak (RW)
Harry Sinden (coach)
Barry Pederson (C)
Derek Sanderson (C)

Round 7
Wayne Cashman (LW)
Ted Green (D)
Dit Clapper (D)
Claude Julien (coach)

Round 8
Ken Hodge (RW)
Mark Recchi (RW)
Bobby Bauer (RW)
Woody Dumart (LW)

Round 9
Bill Quackenbush (D)
Milan Lucic (LW)
Steve Kasper (C)
David Krejci (C)

Round 10
Jean Ratelle (C)
Joe Thornton (C)
Gord Kluzak (D)
Dennis Seidenberg (D)

Round 11
Glen Wesley (D)
Marc Savard (C)
Charlie McAvoy (D)
Fred Stanfield (C)

Round 12
Ken Linseman (C)
Eddie Westfall (RW)
Don Marcotte (LW)
Torey Krug (D)

Round 13
Shawn Thornton (RW)
Johnny Boychuk (D)
John McKenzie (RW)
Tyler Seguin (C)

Round 14
Peter McNab (C)
Garry Galley (D)
Don Awrey (D)
Gary Doak (D)

Round 15
Dallas Smith (D)
Tommy Williams (RW)
Michael Thelven (D)
Keith Crowder (RW)

Round 16
Leo Boivin (D)
Allan Stanley (D)
Frank Brimsek (G)
Tom Johnson (D)

Round 17
Bruce Cassidy (coach)
Don Sweeney (D)
Art Ross (coach)
Glen Murray (RW)

Click to read more...

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

Savard may be the steal of that draft in R11, his 3 healthy seasons are pretty insane here:

22-74-96 in 82
15-63-78 in 74
25-63-88 in 82

3rd, 3rd, 6th in assists and 2 Top 10 point finishes

 

[finchster]

Savard may be the steal of that draft in R11, his 3 healthy seasons are pretty insane here:

22-74-96 in 82
15-63-78 in 74
25-63-88 in 82

3rd, 3rd, 6th in assists and 2 Top 10 point finishes

It's Brimsek- the best goalie in Bruins history and he goes in the 16th round? LOL

 

[BradPark22]

Shawn Thornton gets drafted but Craig Janney doesn't? Or Joe Juneau?

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Eddie Shore should have been the 2nd pick.

I like Hoban's team a lot.

Gary Doak? But no Fern Flaman?

Tommy Williams? But no Roy Conacher?

 

[finchster]

Eddie Shore should have been the 2nd pick.

I can see the argument for Bourque over Shore if some of Shore's personal attributes are taken into account. But Neely and Bucyk over Shore?

Schmidt too, but at least he is in the conversation of Top-five players for the Bruins.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

I can see the argument for Bourque over Shore if some of Shore's personal attributes are taken into account. But Neely and Bucyk over Shore?

Schmidt too, but at least he is in the conversation of Top-five players for the Bruins.

In his prime, Shore was not only the best player in the game, but also the most exciting.

But you are correct, he does come with baggage.

 

[finchster]

In his prime, Shore was not only the best player in the game, but also the most exciting.

But you are correct, he does come with baggage.

I would take Shore second as well, but I think an argument exists for Bourque over Shore. Unlike Neely, Bucyk, (which is non-sense) and Schmidt.

 

[22Brad Park]

Marchand is better then Middleton in my humble opinion.And I loved Ricky .Although Ricky did have 998 pts and like 440 goals so Brad still has a way to go to support my claim.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Marchand is better then Middleton in my humble opinion.And I loved Ricky .

That's pretty close.

But Marchand is certainly better than Secord.

 

[22Brad Park]

That's pretty close.

But Marchand is certainly better than Secord.

Yea it's close for sure. Second guessed myself after I hit enter. I only pick Brad cause he already holds record for shorties and Cup run he had 11 goals and 2 game 7.

 

[finchster]

If you count only their Bruins career, Al Secord is an absolutely atrocious pick and should disqualify whoever picked him. Unless we had like 50 rounds

 

[mjhfb]

I stopped reading when I saw Steve Kasper's name ahead of Jean Ratelle.

 

[Dicky113]

Shawn Thornton gets drafted but Craig Janney doesn't? Or Joe Juneau?

I stopped reading when Milan Lucic went before Joe Thornton

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

I stopped reading when Milan Lucic went before Joe Thornton

If I were picking, I wouldn't take Joe Thornton on my team.

Would definitely take Lucic before him.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

I stopped reading when Milan Lucic went before Joe Thornton

Based on their Bruins tenure I take Lucic rather easily.

30 goal guy who can beat up anyone in the league, made every defender s**t their pants in the corners and was a big time playoff performer and leader

 

[BradMarchandismydad]

Based on their Bruins tenure I take Lucic rather easily.

30 goal guy who can beat up anyone in the league, made every defender s**t their pants in the corners and was a big time playoff performer and leader

We like to do some mental gymnastics as a fan base when it comes to Joe Thornton. Didn't he win MVP the year we traded him for spare parts? Guy was an absolutely fantastic hockey player.

Lucic was a great piece to our puzzle, but he wasn't the best player in the league ever.

 

[Dicky113]

We like to do some mental gymnastics as a fan base when it comes to Joe Thornton. Didn't he win MVP the year we traded him for spare parts? Guy was an absolutely fantastic hockey player.

Lucic was a great piece to our puzzle, but he wasn't the best player in the league ever.

Totally agree.
too many on here got sucked into the KPD bullshit spin. Thornton was a budding superstar and a warrior in Boston. Not sure many even are aware that the infamous 0-0-0 stat line in his last playoff series in Boston was because he played with broken ribs suffered on the last day of the season and he was basically playing in a straight jacket to protect them!

Thornton didn’t have playoff success in Boston. That is true. But he also had Byron Defoe as his goalie. I think he would have won here had he stayed; for a while he was the best player in the world and will be first ballot HOF. I take Bergeron ahead of him for sentimental sake but Joe Thornton was one of the best hockey players to ever wear the spoked B and arguing Milan Lucic should be drafted ahead of him is cringe worthy; and I really liked Lucic when he was here.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

We like to do some mental gymnastics as a fan base when it comes to Joe Thornton. Didn't he win MVP the year we traded him for spare parts? Guy was an absolutely fantastic hockey player.

Lucic was a great piece to our puzzle, but he wasn't the best player in the league ever.

And neither was Thornton here, which is the premise of the draft...based on their Bruins tenure.

Thornton here was all tease, no payoff. A very talented but flawed captain. Injuries or not he also earned the No Show Joe monicker.

Especially in 04, when they loaded up at the deadline getting Gonchar and Nylander and blew a 3-1 lead to the 7th seed Habs with Thornton posting the 0-0-0, -6 line.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Totally agree.
too many on here got sucked into the KPD bullshit spin. Thornton was a budding superstar and a warrior in Boston. Not sure many even are aware that the infamous 0-0-0 stat line in his last playoff series in Boston was because he played with broken ribs suffered on the last day of the season and he was basically playing in a straight jacket to protect them!

Thornton didn’t have playoff success in Boston. That is true. But he also had Byron Defoe as his goalie. I think he would have won here had he stayed; for a while he was the best player in the world and will be first ballot HOF. I take Bergeron ahead of him for sentimental sake but Joe Thornton was one of the best hockey players to ever wear the spoked B and arguing Milan Lucic should be drafted ahead of him is cringe worthy; and I really liked Lucic when he was here.

A warrior in Boston?

Now that is bullshit spin.

If I'm drafting here like the 4 writers did, I'm making sure I get 3 centers better than Thornton for my team. And I'm trying like hell to get Lucic to be one of my left wingers.

 

[Dicky113]

A warrior in Boston?

Now that is bullshit spin.

If I'm drafting here like the 4 writers did, I'm making sure I get 3 centers better than Thornton for my team. And I'm trying like hell to get Lucic to be one of my left wingers.

I had season tickets 2000-2002 and I remember him skating up and down the ice with 3 players on his back during clutch and grab era, I also remember that playoff round where he played even though he couldn’t breathe. As I said, KPD spun him out with some BS but he was a budding superstar that played his heart out for those years night in and night out. I know the tin man bullshit etc but it wasn’t what I saw; he played hard and was a tremendous talent. He was scapegoated for things out of his control and was traded for garbage. He then went on to give the first ballot HOF career he would have had here if put GM didn’t panic and move him to try and save his job. Ironic that MOC never worked in the league again

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

I had season tickets 2000-2002 and I remember him skating up and down the ice with 3 players on his back during clutch and grab era, I also remember that playoff round where he played even though he couldn’t breathe. As I said, KPD spun him out with some BS but he was a budding superstar that played his heart out for those years night in and night out. I know the tin man bullshit etc but it wasn’t what I saw; he played hard and was a tremendous talent. He was scapegoated for things out of his control and was traded for garbage. He then went on to give the first ballot HOF career he would have had here if put GM didn’t panic and move him to try and save his job. Ironic that MOC never worked in the league again

Not what I recall at all.

Then again, you were there and I could be on the verge of Dementia.

 

[Dicky113]

Not what I recall at all.

Then again, you were there and I could be on the verge of Dementia.

I was there, and also on the verge of dimentia.

 

[Bearcrap]

Should have gotten Sweeney in on this draft....first pick DeBrusk....second pick Zboril....third pick Senyshyn...

 

[Dicky113]

And neither was Thornton here, which is the premise of the draft...based on their Bruins tenure.

Thornton here was all tease, no payoff. A very talented but flawed captain. Injuries or not he also earned the No Show Joe monicker.

Especially in 04, when they loaded up at the deadline getting Gonchar and Nylander and blew a 3-1 lead to the 7th seed Habs with Thornton posting the 0-0-0, -6 line.

Just for a moment, imagine slamming into the post on the last game of the season and shattering your rib cage, to the point where you had to wear a corset to keep things together and prevent a punctured lung.

then imagine as a 23 year old you felt the weight of the city on your back to the point where you ignored doctors orders and said, f*** it, I’ll be ready for game one.

then imagine the disappointment when no matter how bad you wanted it to, your body just wouldnt respond and you were ineffective, you just couldn’t breathe.

then imagine the shock when instead of being commended for playing through the pain, some f***ing media hack DuPont called you out and said you were the problem for posting 0-0-0 and -6.

We have no basis to call JT a tease or a flawed captain, he wasn’t here long enough. What we do know is that he won the Hart the year he was traded, was the best player in the world for several years and will be a first ballot Hall of Famer. Anything else is revisionist history and bullshit spin