Don Sweeney
| Don Sweeney | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Born | August 17, 1966 St. Stephen, NB, CAN |
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) |
| Weight | 184 lb (83 kg; 13 st 2 lb) |
| Position | Defence |
| Shot | Left |
| Played for | AHL Maine Mariners NHL Boston Bruins Dallas Stars |
| National team |  Canada |
| NHL Draft | 166th overall, 1984 Boston Bruins |
| Playing career | 1988–2004 |
Donald Clarke Sweeney (born August 17, 1966) is a former ice hockey player who played over 1,100 games in the NHL, most of it with the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is now with the Bruins as the assistant general manager.
Playing career
Donald Sweeney grew up in St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada. Sweeney was drafted out of St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire, where he played with his school team as a defenceman, round 8: 166th overall, by the Boston Bruins. Before joining the Bruins, he played for 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, having spent half of the year with the American Hockey League's Maine Mariners. In the following season he helped the team to win the Prince of Wales 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 in all 84 games and put up 36 points and ended up winning the Adams Trophy that year. In both the 1994/95, 1995/96, 1996/97 seasons, he was second amongst the defenceman 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 suffered on March 1. In the next season, Sweeney achieved 205 hits and 85 blocked shots in 81 games. In the 1999/2000 season he had 301 hits and 84 blocked shots. The following year he had 172 hits in 72 games and in 2000/01 season he contributed 18 points in 81 games. In the 2002/03 season Sweeney scored only eight points in 67 games as his team nestled into third place in the division. On November 14 that year, he played in his 1,000th NHL game.
He played 15 seasons and 1,051 games for the Bruins uniform, and is one of just four players (two defencemen) in team history to play in over 1,000 games.
Since July 2006, he has ranked third on the Bruins' all-time games played list and among all-time club defencemen, 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, Massachusetts, 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 CBS College Sports Network.
On June 21, 2006, Sweeney rejoined the Boston Bruins as the team's director of player development, responsible for the scouting of professional league players, as well as tracking the progress of the team's drafted prospects at the AHL, junior hockey and college levels. On July 14, 2007, he was promoted to director of hockey operations and player development. In July 2010, he was promoted to the assistant general manager. In 2011, his name was engraved on the Stanley Cup after the Boston Bruins won their first Stanley Cup in 39 years.
He and his wife, the former figure skater Christine Hough, have twin sons, Jarrod and Tyler.
See also
Awards and honors
| Award | Year |
|---|---|
| All-ECAC Hockey First Team | 1987–88 |
| AHCA East Second-Team All-American | 1987–88 |