• Boston, St Louis, Montreal & Pittsburgh
• 16 year NHL career

A defence partner variously to Ted Green and Bobby Orr, Awrey once went 153 games without scoring a goal. But by then he was lucky to be playing at all. An increasingly degenerative back became intolerably painful during his high school days. He eventually regained full health and he tried out for the Niagara Falls Flyers the year after his brother, Bob, had played for the team.

Slowly but surely Awrey made his mark on Hap Emms and Milt Schmidt, the Boston decision-makers, and soon he was blocking shots and delvering bone-crushing checks for the Bruins. He made his NHL debut in 1963-64 after graduating from the Flyers in the OHL, though it was still three years before he made the Bruins full-time.

Awrey's timing could not have been better, as he was with the team when Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito arrived to make the team a Cup contender. Awrey was part of the two Boston Cup wins in 1970 and 1972, and was named to Team Canada's roster for the historic Summit Series, though he played just two of the eight games.

He won a final Stanley Cup with Montreal, sort of, in 1976. Sort of because although he played the full regular season with the team, he didn't dress for the playoffs. Rules at the time stipulated a player had to be in the lineup in the playoffs to have his name engraved on the Cup, so Awrey missed the boat on a third carving.

He finished his career playing with Pittsburgh, the Rangers, and Colorado.

Interview with a Legend

Q: Touring with the Oldtimers' Hockey Challenge, it's almost like going back in time.

Awrey: That's right, but it' so much fun. It's still the same stories that you've heard so many times and it brings back great memories. Oh, the stories get blown out of proportion a bit and they evolve as time goes on, but that's all part of it.

 

Q: On this tour, you have a lot of fun on the ice, but you also take your hockey seriously.

Oh yes, you're there to show the fans why you were in the NHL. The fan remembers you as you were. Sometimes we feel we must play to a level of reasonable expectation the fan has of us.

 

Q: What is it like to play with some of your old teammates again and at the same time play with some of your old rivals?

On this tour it makes no difference whether you played against them or with them. We're just like one big family. You get to know all the players in a different light. That's what's so great about this tour.

 

Q: As a defenceman, you were on three Stanley Cup teams...had many successes and a few disappointments. How do you reflect back on it?

Well, I feel you're only as good as your teammates around you. I was on a last place team and a first place team, so I feel sometimes it's being in the right place at the right time. I considered myself as a defensive defenceman where I knew my role wasn't to get credit for the goals or assists. We didn't really even get credit when there was a shutout. The goalie got the credit and I believe we played a big part in that. But I never cared about that. I kid the guys now by telling them I was the highest paid player when you take into consideration my pay for goals and assists scored!

 

Q: In your occupation today, running a Hockey Tour business taking fans from New England to Montreal to see games, you must see the fan in a different way?

I think what's been lost today with the fan is the identity of the player. The fan has lost touch with the player for a couple of reasons; helmets and the frequency of player moves around the league. The loyalty has been lost somewhat.

 

Q: What direction do you think the sport is going?

I wouldn't blame the fan if they rebelled because of the amount of money it costs to go to a game now. That goes for all sports. Whether it's baseball, basketball, football or hockey, eventually the buck will stop and the fan will refuse to pay the big dollars.

 

Q: On a lighter note...they call you "BUGSY"...why?

Well, I guess it goes back to when I was in Boston and it just so happens that I kind of maybe got (and still get) under the opponents' skins...but in a nice way. I wouldn't do it if I was hurting them but it's still kind of fun.