Terry O'Reilly

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Position Right Wing
Nickname Terry
Height
Weight		 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
Pro Clubs Boston Bruins
Nationality Flag of Canada Canada
Born June 7, 1951,
Niagara Falls, Ontario
NHL Draft Rnd 1, 14th overall, 1971
Boston Bruins
Pro Career 1971 – 1985

Joseph James Terrence (Terry) O'Reilly (born June 7, 1951 in Niagara Falls, Ontario) is a retired ice hockey right-winger.

Contents

[edit] Career

O'Reilly was picked by the Boston Bruins in the 1st round as the 14th pick overall in the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft. O'Reilly spent his entire career in Boston, serving as the captain of the Bruins team during the 1983-84 and 1984-85 seasons before his retirement. The Bruins retired his playing number (#24) on October 24, 2002[1].

O'Reilly was known for being a tough player, racking up over 200 penalty minutes in five consecutive seasons, and earning for himself the nickname "Bloody O'Reilly" in the press.

On top of his physical presence, he also had a decent scoring touch for an enforcer, highlighted by his 29-goal, 90-point season in 1977-78. He added to that with a 77 point effort the following campaign. He had 211 and 205 minutes in penalties in those seasons respectively, displaying an excellent balance of grit and scoring that any hockey GM would cherish. He finished his 13 year career with 204 goals, 402 assists for 606 points, a +212 plus/minus (a tribute to his good defensive skills) and 2,095 minutes in penalties.

In an infamous December 26, 1979 incident at Madison Square Garden, during a post-game scrum, a New York Rangers fan stole Stan Jonathan's stick and and hit him with it. O'Reilly charged into the stands, and his teammates followed when other fans tried to intervene. He was suspended eight games for his part in the brawl.[2]

He became the replacement head coach of the Bruins during the 1986-87 NHL season and kept his job until 1989. In that time, he took the Bruins to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1988, where they were defeated by the Wayne Gretzky-led Edmonton Oilers. Terry also was an assistant coach for the Rangers for the two seasons prior to the lockout.

[edit] Trivia

In the Adam Sandler movie Happy Gilmore, O'Reilly is mentioned as Happy Gilmore's favourite hockey player growing up because of his tough style.

Preceded by
Wayne Cashman		 Boston Bruins captains
1983-85		 Succeeded by
Ray Bourque
Rick Middleton
Boston Bruins Head Coaches
Ross • Denneny • F. Patrick • Weiland • Clapper • Boucher • L. Patrick • Schmidt • Watson • Sinden • Johnson • Guidolin • Cherry • Creighton • Cheevers • Goring • O'Reilly • Milbury • Bowness • Sutter • Kasper • Burns • Keenan • Ftorek • O'Connell • Sullivan • Lewis

[edit] References

  1. ^ Bruce Allen (October 24, 2002). Terry O'Reilly gets his number. Boston Sports Media Watch. Retrieved on July 18, 2006.
  2. ^ 1971 NHL Amateur Draft — Terry O'Reilly. Retrieved on July 18, 2006.

Terry O'Reilly is also going to be on a NESN reality show which was conceived by Brad Park.

[edit] External links


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