Milan Lucic aka “The Beast”
When then, 19 year old Milan Lucic came on to the scene and started playing as a LW for the Boston Bruins in 2007, he brought something to the TD Garden with him. He brought back the ‘Old Time Bruin’ or “Big Bad Bruins” style of play, which had been lacking in the Boston Bruins for quite a few years. There was a lot of talk about Lucic being “the next Cam Neely”. Personally, I see more of a ‘Terry O’Reilly style of play’, when it comes to Lucic. Either way, it’s a good thing. How often does a player get compared to a Legend? Milan Lucic has a relentless, unpredictable, powerful type of play style. He isn’t the best skater or goal scorer, but he can run down any opponent that is standing in the way. He’s not afraid to throw off the gloves when need be, and he is absolutely protective over his teammates. He can be a downright brutal force to be reckoned with. I would hate to be on an opposing team, facing Milan Lucic.
The very first time I saw Lucic on the ice, the first thing that popped into my mind was, “that kid is totally the ‘real life version’ of Happy Gilmore”. He has this energy about him, a powerful energy. You can almost feel it through the television screen while watching a game. He’s unpredictable and relentless. He’s raw emotion on the ice. He’s passionate and very tough. With his unpredictability, he keeps his opponents on their toes, never knowing what to expect from him. Lucic brought some life back to the Bruins and he quickly became my favorite player and a favorite to many others, as well. While there are quite a few good players on the team, Lucic is one, that if he were to miss a game, it would definitely not go un-noticed.
Milan Lucic grew up in Vancouver, BC, Canada, being a fan of the Vancouver Canucks and idiolizing Todd Bertuzzi, who was a power forward for the Canucks. Lucic played minor league and junior league hockey during his youth.
Milan Lucic signed an entry-level contract to play with the Boston Bruins on August 2, 2007. Lucic started his professional hockey career with such intensity, that it didn’t take long for the Boston Bruins or the Bruins’ fans, to see that Lucic was not only beneficial, but essential in bringing back the “Big Bad Bruins” ambiance to the team and TD Garden.
Being a huge Lucic fan myself, it’s upsetting to see how quickly some so-called ‘Lucic fans’, lose their faith and jump onto the ‘get rid of Looch’ bandwagon. Yeah, he’s had a few bad games. What player hasn’t? He’s played through illnesses, some painful injuries….. in fact, he pushes himself hard to play through the injuries. Milan Lucic has been quoted as saying, in regards to his injuries and playing during the 2011 Stanley Cup Championship, “I think if you broke my leg I still would have tried to do it and get out there.” He’s not one that will give up easily and works hard to make his team proud. One of the things that I really admire about Lucic, is that he is always looking to improve himself and his skills. If us fans, and the NHL were to give up on a player, every single time they had a bad game, players like Cam Neely and Terry O’Reilly, never would have reached ‘Legendary Status’. Think about it. Terry O’Reilly wasn’t the best skater or goal scorer and look how far he advanced. Could you imagine if the fans or the NHL, were to give up on him before he was able to progress? If the Canucks wouldn’t have traded Neely to the Bruins, we may have never got to see his full potential, we would have never seen “Bam-Bam Cam” in action. At least not on our side of the ice. Don’t be so quick to judge, people. That’s all I’m saying.
Burly, intimidating Milan Lucic also has a very ‘soft’ side to him, as well. Lucic has hosted the “Rock and Jock Softball” charity event for 3 years because he likes giving back to the community, and in his free-time, Lucic also visits local schools to spread encouragement to our youth. He’s a very caring person. Lucic married his longtime girlfriend, Brittany Carnegie, this past summer and the couple are expecting their first bundle of joy, within the next few months.
Milan Lucic signed a 3 year contract extension with the Boston Bruins, on 9/15/2012 and he absolutely deserves it. The Bruins aren’t stupid. There is no way the Boston Bruins are going to let Lucic go, anytime soon and personally, I am very happy about that. The games wouldn’t be half as exciting without Lucic. Milan Lucic is now and will forever be a Boston Bruin, in my eyes.
Shannon Navarro
I’m a Bruinsfanatic from California
Information in the above article was obtained from the below sites
Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan_Lucic
Bettor.com
Rock and Jock Softball