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| 1982 NHL DRAFT PICK |
 | Gord
Kluzak
Selected in first round
No. 1 overall
by Boston Bruins
Born March 4, 1964
 | Position:
Defense
Height: 6-4 Weight: 220
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| BEFORE THE DRAFT |
Last Team:
Billings (WHL)
Birthplace:
Climax, Saskatchewan (Canada)
Hometown: Climax, Saskatchewan |
 |
 |
|
| PRE-DRAFT
STATISTICS | | Year |
Team | League |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1979-80 |
Notre Dame | Sask. AAA |
-- | -- |
-- | -- |
-- | | 1980-81 |
Billings | WHL |
68 | 4 |
34 | 38 |
160 | | 1981-82 |
Billings | WHL |
38 | 9 |
24 | 33 |
110 |
|
PRE-DRAFT AWARDS AND HONORS
World Junior Championships: 1982 (gold medal)
World Junior
Championships Best Defenseman: 1982
World Junior
Championships All-Star First Team: 1982
WHL All-Star Second Team: 1981-82 (Billings)
Miscellaneous: Rated in The Hockey News draft preview issue as the
No. 3 overall prospect and the No. 2 WHL prospect for the 1982 NHL draft. ...
Grew up on wheat farm in Saskatchewan. ... Attended Athol Murray College of Notre Dame (high school) in Wilcox,
Saskatchewan, prior to entering major junior hockey with Billings. ...
Paired on defense with Bob Rouse for Billings in 1981-82. ... Also
played forward on power play for Billings. ... Played on first Canadian team to win gold at World Junior
Championships in 1982. ... Missed remainder of 1981-82 season and entire
1982 playoffs with torn ligaments in his left knee, suffered in Billings' Feb. 9, 1982, game
vs. Medicine Hat. The injury required surgery, the first of his 10 career
knee operations. |
| NHL CAREER |
Debut: October 7, 1982 (Montreal at Boston)
Numbers: 6 (Boston)
Stanley Cup: Never won.
Status:
Retired November 12, 1990 |
| CAREER NHL STATISTICS | | Years |
Teams | GP |
G | A |
TP | PIM | |
1982-1990 |
Boston | 299 |
25 | 98 |
123 | 543 |
|
| CAREER NHL PLAYOFF STATISTICS |
| Years | Teams |
GP | G |
A | TP |
PIM | | 1983-1988 |
Boston | 46 |
6 | 13 |
19 | 129 |
|
NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
Masterton Trophy: 1989-90 (Boston)
Stanley Cup Finals (Lost):
1988 (Boston)
Boston Playoffs Penalty-Minutes Leader: 1983 (54)
1989-90: Played eight regular-season games for Boston team that went
to Stanley Cup Finals, but missed entire playoffs due to injury.
Broadcasting Career: Named Boston TV color commentator prior to 1995-96
season and remained in that position into 2003-04 season.
Miscellaneous: Missed parts of 1982-83 season pulled groin, an injury
suffered during Boston's Oct. 30., 1982, game at Montreal, and with eye
injury, suffered during Boston's March 12, 1983, game vs. Philadelphia. ...
Played forward for Boston for parts of 1982-83 and 1983-84 seasons. ...
Missed part of 1985-86 season with shoulder injury, suffered during Boston's
Jan. 29, 1986, game at Hartford. He did not return to action until Boston's
Feb. 22, 1986, game at Edmonton. ... Played left wing for Boston during
parts of 1985-86 season. ... Was Boston's nominee for 1987-88 Masterton
Trophy.
Unpopular Pick: Few No. 1 overall picks have been as
unpopular with the hometown fans as Kluzak was when Boston selected him in
1982. Kluzak was certainly a surprise pick to most Bruins fans, who had
expected Boston to draft top junior prospect Brian Bellows with the No. 1
choice. Boston general manager Harry Sinden had other ideas. Not sold on
Bellows as someone who would fit Boston's style of play, the Bruins general
manager was willing to make a deal with Minnesota in which he agreed to let
the North Stars have Bellows with the No. 2 pick in exchange for Brad Palmer
and Dave Donnelly. This upset many Boston fans, who at least wanted to see
Sinden take defenseman Gary Nylund if he wasn't going to get Bellows. When
Sinden took Kluzak, the Boston media immediately began to question his
judgment. Sinden said Kluzak had been the top-rated player by the Bruins
scouts until he tore ligaments in his left knee on Feb. 9, 1982. Although
Sinden said the Bruins were nearly scared off by Kluzak's knee injury, they
later learned that it wasn't as severe as they first thought and were
confident that with proper rehabilitation, Kluzak would have no long-term
knee trouble. Sinden also said that even though his heart was set on Kluzak,
he wanted other teams to think he would take Bellows so that he could get a
better trade offer. "We were prepared to take Kluzak whether or not we made
a deal with Minnesota," Sinden told The Hockey News. "It really
turned out to be a bonus for us that Minnesota wanted some insurance that
they would definitely get Bellows, and we were prepared to give it to them."
Kluzak's Knee Woes:
Perhaps no other high-profile draft pick in the history of the NHL suffered
from the kind of chronic knee problems that Kluzak endured during his
nine-season pro career. The knee trouble dated back to Kluzak's junior
hockey days with Billings. Although he avoided knee injuries for his first
two NHL seasons, he ran out of luck during Boston's final preseason game in
October 1984. In that Oct. 7, 1984, game vs. New Jersey at Portland, Maine,
Kluzak tore ligaments in his left knee when he collided in mid-ice with
Devils defenseman Dave Lewis. The injury, which required major
reconstructive surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital on Oct. 8, 1984,
forced Kluzak to miss the entire 1984-85 regular season and 1985 playoffs.
Prior to the injury, Kluzak had scored one goal and added seven assists in
nine preseason games. Kluzak resumed skating in late spring of 1985 and
finally to action for the 1985-86 season-opener vs. Toronto on Oct. 10,
1985. Although he steered clear of knee trouble and had his best season in
1985-86, Kluzak ran out of luck again in September 1986, when he required
further surgery on his left knee. As a result of the surgery, he missed the
entire 1986-87 regular season and 1987 playoffs. During this time, Kluzak
went to Buffalo, N.Y., where he worked with doctors from the NFL's Buffalo
Bills, who had more experience than Boston Dr. Richard Weiss at bringing
players back from knee injuries. On May 29, 1987, Kluzak's left knee endured
arthroscopic surgery for the fourth time during the 1986-87 season and a
surgical procedure for the sixth time in his career, as doctors tried to
ready him for the 1987-88 season. Kluzak managed to come back in 1987-88,
returning to action for the first time in Boston's Oct. 8, 1987,
season-opener vs. Washington. Although he sprained his left knee later in
October 1987 and his right knee in February 1988, Kluzak managed to play 66
of Boston's 80 games during the 1987-88 season and all 23 playoff games. He
appeared to be over his troubles, but these troubles were in fact only just
beginning, as Kluzak would manage to play just 13 NHL games over the next
three seasons. During Boston's training camp on Sept. 17, 1988, Kluzak
endured his eighth career operation on his left knee. He did not return to
action until Boston's March 16, 1989, game vs. Quebec. Three days later, in
Boston's March 19, 1989, game vs. Hartford, Kluzak re-aggravated his left
knee. He missed the remainder of the 1988-89 season and entire 1989 playoffs
with the injury, which required his ninth career operation on April 17,
1989. When the knee failed to respond properly that summer, doctors
performed another operation in August 1989. Unable to start the 1989-90
season due to continued pain in the knee, Kluzak had his 10th career surgery
on Oct. 27, 1989. He finally returned to action for Boston's Jan. 2, 1990,
game at Pittsburgh, but re-aggravated the injury during Boston's Jan. 17,
1990, game at Hartford and was forced to miss the remainder of the 1989-90
regular season and entire 1990 playoffs. In a last-ditch effort to save the
knee for the 1990-91 season, doctors performed an 11th surgery on Kluzak in
May 1990. Kluzak returned to action for the final time during Boston's Nov.
3, 1990, game vs. Buffalo. After re-aggravating the left knee during
Boston's Nov. 5, 1990, game at N.Y. Rangers, Kluzak decided the chronic
injury was too severe for him to overcome. He announced his retirement on
Nov. 12, 1990, at an emotional Boston news conference. |
| NON-NHL CAREER |
Post-Draft Teams:
None
NON-NHL
AWARDS AND HONORS
Canadian Amateur Junior Male Athlete
of Year: 1982
Broadcasting Career: Worked as radio color commentator during 1985 Beanpot college hockey tournament while out with knee
injury.
Education: Studied political
science at Salem State
College during off-seasons of playing days. ... Completed bachelor's degree
in economics at Harvard University in 1994, just over three years after
retirement. ... Earned MBA from Harvard Business School in 1998.
Miscellaneous:
Worked at Northeastern University's Center for the Study of Sport after his
retirement, helping develop educational programs for NHL players. ... Was
chief of staff for Massachusetts State Lottery Commission from October 1994
to August 1996. ... Worked as an investment manager for Goldman Sachs & Co.
in addition to broadcasting duties after completing his MBA in 1998.
... Became vice president of board of directors for the Cystic Fibrosis
Foundation of Massachusetts in the mid-1990s after his retirement.
Personal: Full name is Gordon Glen
Kluzak. |
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|
SNAPSHOT '82 | | Total Selected: |
252 | | Forwards: |
152 | | Defense: |
82 | | Goaltenders: |
18 | | Major Junior: |
129 | | Tier II/Jr. B: |
27/4 | | College Players: |
20 | | High School: |
37 |
| Canadian: |
152 |
| Euro-Canadian: |
3 | | USA Citizens: |
62 | | U.S.-Born: |
62 |
| European: |
35 |
| Reached NHL: |
109 |
| Stanley Cup: |
18 | | Hall of Fame: |
0 |
| All-Star Game: |
14 |
| Year-end All-Star: |
4 |
| Olympians: |
37 |
| Picks Traded: |
50 |
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