The Boston Bruins are a storied franchise with so many great players that have come and gone over their 90 year existence.
Throughout those years the Bruins have created a brand of hockey that will forever be remembered in Black and Gold. Bruins hockey. Tough, big, bad and sometimes ugly.
In this Two Pad Stack mini series, we will be looking at Bruins players who were at the forefront of establishing the ‘Big Bad Bruins’ style of hockey and those who were deemed the Boston Bruins toughest players. Believe me, categorizing those guys into a Top 10 is hard. Really hard. There will be a whole group of players who will miss out that could have easily made it in – we could easily have done a Top 30.
So without further ado, at No.9 of our toughest Bruins is…
GREGORY CAMPBELL
Perhaps a surprise selection at number 9, the current Bruins 4th liner has a lot more to offer than some people might think.
Possibly the most underrated player on this list, Campbell consistently performs at all ends of the ice. Sometimes it isn’t pretty, but he gets it done and you know he is going to give you 100% every single night. Nobody has more heart than Soupy.
After coming over from the Florida Panthers, the 6ft 197 pound Center was already familiar with tough, physical hockey. But it wasn’t until he put on a Bruins jersey that he really took off as a ‘tough guy’. In just 5 seasons in Boston, Campbell has dropped the gloves 31 times so far, with his most active glove dropping season being his first, the 2010-11 season with 12 fights.
What a lot of people in Boston love about their 4th line Center, is his attitude towards the game. Campbell doesn’t necessarily win a ton of his bouts, but you’ll very rarely see him ever shy away from anyone. Whatever it takes to help his team win, is the attitude Gregory Campbell plays with.
Most Memorable Season
Campbell’s most memorable season, or postseason, has to be the Bruins Cup winning year, the 2010-11 season, ending 40 years or hurt.
Campbell played in every playoff game that year, and contributed greatly, as the famous Merlot Line were instrumental in leading Boston to their 6th Stanley Cup.
Campbell only had 1 goal and 3 assists across 25 games, but it was his contributions on the defensive side of things, his great penalty killing and his all round energetic style of play that helped guide the Bruins all the way to that 4-0, game 7 win in Vancouver.
Toughest Season
If you look up ‘toughness’ in the dictionary, the 2013 Eastern Conference Final, game 3 should be somewhere underneath. When Gregory Campbell blocked a slapshot on the PK, broke his leg and still effectively finished the rest of his shift (about 45 seconds or so). Now that right there, is toughness.
Obviously he isn’t skating around, being incredibly active, so some might say “don’t get too carried away’, but the guy has broken his leg, and still didn’t surrender to the bench. No fight can compare to the toughness displayed on that night.
Biggest Rival
When you have been on a team with the likes of Milan Lucic, Zdeno Chara and Shawn Thornton, sometimes you have to wait in line. But when Lucic and Chara have to play things smart, Gregory Campbell is a guy who is more than happy to step in and handle things, thus resulting in fighting various players, rather than one constant guy.
Amongst Campbell’s long list of opponents, Colorado Avalanche Left Winger Cody McLeod has been the only real regular. The two have met 3 times in their careers, both putting on entertaining bouts.
The Bruins will no doubt expect more of the same from Campbell in the future, as he is a cheap and useful skater, who fits perfectly in Boston’s system. Now with ex line mate Shawn Thornton no longer with the team, perhaps we will see Campbell take on more of an enforcers roll this season.
Be sure to keep it here for no.8 of the Boston Bruins Top 10 Toughest Players.
