3 First Overall Picks In Boston Bruins History

In the half century that the NHL Amateur Draft (NHL Entry Draft) has existed, the Boston Bruins have selected the first overall pick on just three occasions. The first played just 24 games with the Bruins. The second was meant to be a star defenseman but injuries got the best of him. The third is still starring in the National Hockey League but not with the Bruins.

Barry Gibbs - 1966

Barry Gibbs was the first overall pick at the 1966 NHL Amateur Draft. Gibbs was drafted from the Estevan Bruins of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League in the days before the WHL covered all of Western Canada. Gibbs played 24 games with Boston over two seasons, 1967-68 and 1968-69. The following year, he was traded away from the Bruins and became a regular in the NHL with a string of mediocre teams.

Gibbs played an impressive total of 796 games in the National Hockey League from 1967-68 to 1979-80. Along with the Bruins, Barry played with a lacklustre group of NHL teams that included the Minnesota North Stars, Atlanta Flames, St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings.

His only personal accolade in pro hockey came in 1968-69 when he was awarded as the CHL’s Most Valuable Defenseman with the Oklahoma City Blazers. That Blazers team finished first overall in the nine team league. In the playoffs, Oklahoma City reached the finals but fell in five to the Bobby Kromm coached Dallas Black Hawks.

Gord Kluzak - 1982

In 1982, once again Western Canada was the source of Boston’s first overall pick. Gord Kluzak played junior hockey with the Billings Bighorns of the WHL. The Bighorns franchise became the current Tri-City Americans. In his final year with Billings, 1981-82, Kluzak helped Team Canada to a Gold Medal at the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships.

Kluzak caught on as a regular with Boston right from the start and played two full seasons before having to miss the entire 1984-85 season due to a knee injury. He never fully recovered and after eleven knee operations, Gord called it a career after playing just 299 games in the National Hockey League, all with the Bruins.

Joe Thornton - 1997

The Bruins took Joe Thornton first overall at the 1997 NHL Entry Draft after playing just two years of junior hockey with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League. In his first year in the OHL, Thornton was honoured with the Emms Family Award. In his second, he totaled 122 points in just 59 games. Like Gord Kluzak before him, Thornton helped Team Canada to Gold at the 1997 IIHF World Juniors.

Joe played with the Bruins from 1997-98 until a trade sent him to the San Jose Sharks during the 2005-06 season. In his time with Boston, Thornton was team captain for several seasons and exceeded the 100 point plateau in 2002-03 with 101.

In a year mixed between the Bruins and Sharks in 2005-06, Joe won the Art Ross Trophy with a combined 125 points. Thornton finished just two points ahead of Jaromir Jagr of the New York Rangers. He was also the recipient of the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player. The following year, Thornton topped 100 points with 114 in his first full season with San Jose. In 2006-07, Joe placed second in the race for the Art Ross Trophy, six points behind Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins. As of the end of 2013-14, Thornton remains with the San Jose Sharks.

 

Hockey Trivia: 1979 NHL Entry Draft

The 1979 NHL Entry Draft had one of the best first rounds ever. All 21 players selected in the first round went on to careers in the NHL in some degree. The least regular season NHL games any of the first round picks went on to play was 238 (Ray Allison – 18^th overall by the Hartford Whalers).

Test and expand your hockey trivia knowledge of the 1979 NHL Entry Draft with the following four trivia questions.

Q. Who was the first overall pick in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft?

A. The Colorado Rockies chose Rob Ramage as the first overall pick. Ramage was drafted from the Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey Association, though he played his junior hockey with the London Knights of the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League. Ramage played in the NHL from 1979-80 to 1993-94 with the Rockies, St. Louis Blues, Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, Minnesota North Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers.

Q. What player was the only one to be drafted in the first round of the 1979 NHL Entry Draft from the U.S. University system?

A. Mike Ramsey was selected eleventh overall by the Buffalo Sabres. Ramsey previously played for the University of Minnesota. Mike played over 1,000 career NHL games from 1979-80 to 1996-97 with the Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings.

Q. What Hockey Hall of Fame member who played 1756 regular season games in the NHL was not selected until the third round of the 1979 NHL Entry Draft?

A. Mark Messier was selected 48^th overall by the Edmonton Oilers after a season with the Cincinnati Stingers of the WHA. Messier scored 694 regular season goals during his NHL career and contributed 1,887 points with the Oilers, New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks. Mark was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2007.

Mark’s point total places him second all-time in National Hockey League history. He sits just ahead of Gordie Howe but nearly 1,000 points behind Wayne Gretzky. Messier was just recently pushed down to eighth overall for goals scored by Jaromir Jagr. His 1,756 regular season games puts Mark just eleven games behind Howe for the most all-time.

Q. Who was the first European selected in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft?

A. The first round of the 1979 Draft featured players from North America only. In the second round, the New York Islanders selected Tomas Jonsson 25^th overall. Jonsson, from Sweden, played 552 NHL regular season games from 1981-82 to 1988-89 before returning to Sweden to play nine years for Leksands in the Swedish Elite League. Two other Swedes were selected in that second round, Pelle Lindbergh by the Philadelphia Flyers and Mats Naslund by the Montreal Canadiens.