I feel like I’ve been neglecting hockey. And this being hockey season. So let’s revisit another sick playmaker from Bruins teams not so long ago. Samsonov was an elite juniors prospect, a hot ticket out of Russia. The Bruins has two high draft picks in 1997. They spent the first overall pick on Joe Thornton, and the eighth on Samsonov. It was the eighth pick who would win the NHL Rookie of the Year (although Jumbo Joe is still out there, his Hall of Fame career still unfinished).
Samsonov became an exciting goal-scorer for Boston for eight seasons before bouncing around the league a bit. He had that acrobatic international style that was so fun to watch, yet he was a brooding, intense soul - a prototypical Russian - so focused on hockey that he often forgot when his own birthday was. He never really became a superstar (one all-star game to his credit), yet he was one of my favorite Bruins in that post-Bourque, pre-2011 era. Thanks for the 164 goals, Sergei.
Comments