Bruins notebook: B’s honor Willie O’Ree

COVID and the accompanying dangers of travel may have robbed Willie O’Ree and Bruins’ fans a chance to savor his number retirement ceremony in-person on Tuesday night at the Garden, but the Bruins did their best to make it a special event.

On Monday, the team gathered in its video room for a Zoom chat with O’Ree, who broke the NHL’s color barrier on this date in 1958 in a game against the Montreal Canadiens.

During the call, O’Ree was presented with a certificate commemorating Tuesday to be “Willie O’Ree Day.” O’Ree, who wears a trademark fedora, was also presented with a custom-made black fedora with a gold feather by David Pastrnak, himself a chapeau aficionado.

“I nice, snazzy febora, that was a nice ouch by Pasta and the Bruins,” said coach Bruce Cassidy with a smile. “I can’t say enough good things about Willie,. I always enjoy talking to him. It’s unfortunate that, in COVID times, he’s not allowed to be here in person because it’s always a great opportunity to just chat and catch up. Good for Willie. A trailblazer to say the least and I’m very happy for him and his family.”

Cassidy admires O’Ree both for the barriers he broke but also fighting through an eye injury – he was legally blind in one eye – on his extraordinary journey to the NHL.

“For us, we don’t know what he had to endure,” said Cassidy. “And to keep being resilient and play through it and find his way to the National Hockey League – including his health, he had an eye injury that no one knew about other than himself. A lot of adversity for him to go through, like a Jackie Robinson and different people who were first in line to fight through certain situations. I think our guys have a ton of respect for him. Those would be my words to him, ‘Thank you, Willie. Thank you for paving the way for a lot of young men to emulate you and look up to you. You probably gave them a goal to make it to the National Hockey League, or just be a professional hockey player or hockey player in general.’ I think everyone appreciates that.”

Matt Grzelcyk met O’Ree for the first time in 2018 for an impromptu ceremony in the B’s locker room. Grzelcyk’s father John has been a member of the Garden’s bull gang for decades and, through a former equipment manager, he got a hold of O’Ree’s old No. 22 sweater. Both Matt and John presented that jersey to him.

“Just getting to meet him, he’s such a nice man,” said Matt Grzelcyk. “And what he’s done for the game has meant so much, especially here in Boston. Growing up here and getting to know Willie’s story and getting to present him with that jersey was probably one of the highlights of my career.”

Reports: NHL to ease up on testing

According to multiple reports, the NHL will stop COVID testing asymptomatic players after the All-Star break in early February.

That got a thumbs-up from Cassidy.

“All the players and all the staff are vaccinated, a lot of players are not getting the symptoms that are getting COVID. They’re recovering very quickly. So far, we’ve had no guy come back and have effects like a week later where its a risk to their health. It appears that they’re getting through it well, so I think it makes sense to do that,” said Cassidy.

Cassidy said most of his players are also boosted, though he did not have exact numbers.

Third line contributing

The latest third line for the B’s – Jake DeBrusk, Charlie Coyle and Oskar Steen – had not yet broken through offensively in its short time together, but Cassidy liked what he’s seen from the grouping.

“I think they’ve had some looks, specifically Jake. He’s had two or three (chances) the other night, they’re just not going in for him,” said Cassidy.

“There’s been opportunity to score for them offensively and they’ve done a good job defensively. If you look back, I don’t think there’s been any issues where they’ve broken down. That’s always a good part, too. If the puck’s not going in the net for you, how are you helping the team win? Well, you’re playing good team defense. They’re both parts of special teams. Steen we haven’t quite gotten out there as much as we’d like — a little bit of PK, a little bit of power-play — we’re still getting to know what we does best but we’re trying to integrate him as well. I like the line, I like the speed on the line. I think they’re accountable. Probably not as physical as some of the other lines but good speed in that regard and they’ve played well.”

Reilly enters protocol

The Bruins got took two steps forward, one step back in their battle with COVID. Grzelcyk and Connor Clifton were released from protocol on Tuesday, but Mike Reilly went into the COVID timeout. Reilly is the B’s fifth defenseman to test positive for the virus. Reilly, skating on a pair with Brandon Carlo, has 4-5-9 totals in 32 games and, like most of his teammates, has seen an uptick in his play since the New Year.

 

 

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/34Qnz9x