Don Sweeney

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Position Defenseman
Height
Weight
ft 10 in (1.78 m)
184 lb (84 kg)
Pro Clubs Boston Bruins
Dallas Stars
Nationality Flag of Canada Canada
Born August 17, 1966,
St. Stephen, New Brunswick
NHL Draft Rnd 8, 166th overall, 1984
Boston Bruins
Pro Career 19882004

Don Clarke Sweeney (b. August 17, 1966 - ) was a hockey player for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League. He was born in St. Stephen, New Brunswick on the United States-Canadian border between Maine and New Brunswick.

[edit] Career

Sweeney was drafted out of highschool, round 8: 166th overall, by the Boston Bruins. Before joining the Bruins, he played four years at Harvard University where he was a NCAA East All-American and an ECAC First Team All-Star in 1988.

He made his NHL debut during the 1988-89 season spent half of the year with the AHL's Maine Mariners. The following season he helped the team win the Prince of Whales trophy by scoring six points in 21 games until they finally lost to the Edmonton Oilers in the Stanley Cup Finals.

In 1992-1993 Sweeney played all 84 games and put up 34 points and ended up winning the Adams Trophy that year. In both the 94/95, 95/96, 96/97 seasons he was second amongst the defenseman on the team with 22 and 28 points respectively. In 1998 Sweeney missed the last 23 games of the season with a fractured shoulder that he sufferend on March 1. The next season Sweeney came out hitting with 205 hits and 85 blocked shots in 81 games. In the 99/00 season he had 301 hits and and 84 blocked shots. The following year he had 172 hits in 72 games and in 00/01 season he contributed 18 points in 81 games. In the 02/03 seasone Sweeney scored only eight points in 67 games as his team nestled into third place in the division. On November 14th of that year he played in his 1,000th NHL game.

He played 15 seasons and 1,052 games in a Bruins uniform, as he was one of just four players (two defensemen) in team history to play in over 1,000 games.

As of July 2006, he ranked third on the Bruins' all-time games played list and among all-time club defensemen, he ranks tenth in career goals, eighth in assists and ninth in points with 52-210=262 career Boston totals.

Sweeney concluded his NHL playing career in 2003-04 with the Dallas Stars. He retired with 52 goals and 221 assists for 273 points and 681 penalty minutes in 1,115 career regular season games. He added nine goals and ten assists for 19 points with 81 penalty minutes in 108 career playoff contests.

He took a job in 2005 as Assistant Dean of Admissions at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass. and was also a studio analyst for Bruins games on New England Sports Network (NESN). He was a color commentator for college hockey games on NESN and College Sports Television (CSTV).

On June 21, 2006, Don rejoined the Boston Bruins by being named the team's Director of Player Development, responsible for the scouting of pro league players, as well as tracking the progress of the team's drafted prospects at the AHL, junior hockey and college levels.

He and his wife Christine have twin sons, Jarrod and Tyler.


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