Here's a snippet from the column I wrote for New England Hockey Journal today:
The 2011 Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins proved to the hockey world that the more talented team doesn’t always win the big prize.
Although the Vancouver Canucks ran away with the President’s Trophy as the NHL’s top regular season team, their advantage in skill failed them at the most crucial time. Yes, injuries wore Vancouver down, but when the Stanley Cup final series turned into a back alley slugfest, Boston’s heart, character and some painful postseason setbacks in recent years pushed them over the top to help them win their first championship in 39 years.
Read the full story here.
It's why B2011DW has always placed a premium on players with character and work ethic. A skilled team without the intangibles will only get you so far. In the end, the Bruins didn't have as much talent, but the organization's commitment to bringing in "Bruins type" players paid off for them.
Object lesson to be studied and learned by the rest of the NHL- character, commitment, leadership matters. The flashy, sexy players who become empty sweaters when the game is on the line will get a lot of the glory, but in the end, who is going to be lining up to extoll the virtues and abilities of Roberto Luongo or the Sedin twins after this debacle? All high, high draft picks, but none with a Stanley Cup ring. Yet.
Congratulations to the Boston Bruins organization and their fans on this, their sixth Stanley Cup championship and first in 39 years- when this blogger was still a month away from being born.
B2011DW now returns to bringing you the best open source draft information with the big event just eight days away. Here comes the second wind...
*(Not affiliated with the Boston Bruins or the New England Hockey Journal)
Fantastic article, as usual, Kirk! I was wondering why Marc Savard didn't make the trip for Game 7? Are his concussion symptoms still to bad to travel that much? Thanks for all your great work.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's what I understand. Too long a trip- didn't want to risk a further setback. Which only underscores Horton's remarkable recovery and why head hits are so confounding- the damage/effects vary from player to player.
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