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Bruce Driver

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Bruce Driver
Driver, #23 to the left, moments after the New Jersey Devils won the Stanley Cup in 1995.
Born (1962-04-29) April 29, 1962 (age 62)
Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for New Jersey Devils
New York Rangers
National team  Canada
NHL draft 108th overall, 1981
Colorado Rockies
Playing career 1983–1998

Bruce Douglas Driver (born April 29, 1962) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1983–84 until 1997–98.

Early life

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When he was 12, Driver played in the 1975 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the MTHL's Shopsy's, a youth team affiliated with the Toronto Marlies.[1][2]

When he was 13, Driver was cut from his bantam team because evaluators thought he was too small.[3] Undeterred, he continued to improve his game, and was later drafted by the Oshawa Generals, a major junior team in the Ontario Hockey League, but decided to play college hockey at the University of Wisconsin instead. In his 3 years with the Badgers, the team won 2 NCAA Championships. Driver was team captain by his second year and an NCAA All-Star.[4]

Before he began his NHL career, Driver also played for Team Canada at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo.[4] Team Canada advanced to the medal round, but lost the next two games to the Soviet Union and Sweden, and did not make the podium. Driver was Team Canada's top-scoring defenceman.[4]

Professional career

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Driver was drafted in the sixth round (108th overall) by the Colorado Rockies (who became the Devils in 1982) in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft. He spent the first 11 years of his NHL career with the Devils, winning a Stanley Cup with them in 1995. He was signed by the New York Rangers after the 1995 season.

Driver was the Devils team captain during the 1991-92 season; fellow defenseman Scott Stevens took over as captain the following year.[5] From 1987 onwards, he was a regular on his teams' top power play lines.[6] He left the Devils as the all-time leader in assists by a defenseman, with 317, a record later broken by Stevens.[7] Between 1987 and the end of his career, over half of his goals came on the power play.[8]

Personal life

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Driver is a resident of Montville, New Jersey.[9] He enjoys playing hockey as a goalie in an adult recreational leagues in New Jersey and coaches a girls' high-school hockey team at Morristown-Beard School that won a state championship in the 2019-20 season.[10] He was also the girls' high-school Hockey Coach of the Year in New Jersey in 2006–07.[10]

Driver is currently a manager at Twin Oaks Ice Rink in Morristown, NJ.[11]

Awards and honors

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Award Year
All-WCHA First Team 1981–82 [12]
AHCA West All-American 1981–82 [13]
All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 1982 [14]
All-WCHA Second Team 1982–83 [12]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1978–79 Royal York Royals OPJHL 49 10 32 42 — — — — — —
1979–80 Royal York Royals OPJHL 43 13 57 70 102 — — — — —
1980–81 University of Wisconsin WCHA 42 5 15 20 42 — — — — —
1981–82 University of Wisconsin WCHA 46 7 37 44 84 — — — — —
1982–83 University of Wisconsin WCHA 39 16 34 50 50 — — — — —
1983–84 Canadian National Team Intl 68 14 18 32 54 — — — — —
1983–84 New Jersey Devils NHL 4 0 2 2 0 — — — — —
1983–84 Maine Mariners AHL 12 2 6 8 15 16 0 10 10 8
1984–85 New Jersey Devils NHL 67 9 23 32 36 — — — — —
1985–86 New Jersey Devils NHL 40 3 15 18 32 — — — — —
1985–86 Maine Mariners AHL 15 4 7 11 16 — — — — —
1986–87 New Jersey Devils NHL 74 6 28 34 36 — — — — —
1987–88 New Jersey Devils NHL 74 15 40 55 68 20 3 7 10 14
1988–89 New Jersey Devils NHL 27 1 15 16 24 — — — — —
1989–90 New Jersey Devils NHL 75 7 46 53 63 6 1 5 6 6
1990–91 New Jersey Devils NHL 73 9 36 45 62 7 1 2 3 12
1991–92 New Jersey Devils NHL 78 7 35 42 66 7 0 4 4 2
1992–93 New Jersey Devils NHL 83 14 40 54 66 5 1 3 4 4
1993–94 New Jersey Devils NHL 66 8 24 32 63 20 3 5 8 12
1994–95 New Jersey Devils NHL 41 4 12 16 18 17 1 6 7 8
1995–96 New York Rangers NHL 66 3 34 37 42 11 0 7 7 4
1996–97 New York Rangers NHL 79 5 25 30 48 15 0 1 1 2
1997–98 New York Rangers NHL 75 5 15 20 46 — — — — —
NHL totals 922 96 390 486 670 108 10 40 50 64

International

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Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1984 Canada OLY 7 3 1 4 10
1987 Canada WC 8 0 0 0 4
Senior totals 15 3 1 4 14

References

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  1. ^ "List of Pee-Wee players who have reached the NHL or WHA" (PDF). tournoipee-wee.qc.ca. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  2. ^ McParland, Kelly (2012). The Lives of Conn Smythe: From the Battlefield to Maple Leaf Gardens: a Hockey Icon's Story. McClelland & Stewart. p. 283. ISBN 978-0-7710-5684-0. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  3. ^ "2016 Hall of Fame: Bruce Driver". Wisconsin Badgers. 26 August 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  4. ^ a b c "Bruce Driver". Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame. 16 July 2007. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  5. ^ "Center Nico Hischier Named 12th Captain in Devils History". NHL.com. 20 February 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  6. ^ Brodeur, Martin; Cox, Damien (28 February 2008). Brodeur: Beyond the Crease. John Wiley & Sons. p. 265. ISBN 978-0-470-15628-5. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  7. ^ Boysen, Greg (21 December 2020). "Today in Hockey History: Dec. 21". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  8. ^ "Bruce Driver Stats". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  9. ^ Capuzzo, Jill P. "Living in Montville Township, N.J.", The New York Times, July 2, 2010. Accessed February 23, 2011. "IF you moved to Montville Township, it wouldn't be out of the question to find yourself neighbor to a current or former New Jersey Devil (Bruce Driver is one example), or a member emeritus of the paparazzi (Ron Galella), or a Real Housewife of New Jersey (Teresa Giudice)."
  10. ^ a b "Ruff always at home on the ice". Retrieved 2007-05-23.
  11. ^ "Women pros up-close & inspiring boom in N.J. HS girls ice hockey". 27 February 2020.
  12. ^ a b "WCHA All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  13. ^ "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  14. ^ "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
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Sporting positions
Preceded by New Jersey Devils captain
1991–92 		Succeeded by
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