The Boston Bruins have been in a slump lately. They’re currently hanging outside of a playoff slot, and they needed a day to forget about hockey. So the B’s took a day to get their heads out of the game and remind themselves what is really important in life. B’s alternate captain Patrice Bergeron hosted this year’s Cuts For a Cause event.
This is Bergeron’s first year hosting the event, taking over for Shawn Thornton after he got a gig playing for the Florida Panthers. Bergeron was able to get every player on the squad to participate (even Loui Eriksson) and get their heads shaved for charity. The Bruins broke the record for fundraising this year as they raised $130,027 for the Boston Bruins Foundation.
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If you’re a Boston Bruins fan, and you live even remotely close to Beantown, you have to do this event at least once in your life. This was my third year getting to cover the event, (and my fourth just showing up) and I swear it gets better and better every year.
It is an amazing opportunity. If you’re lucky, you get the entire team to sign your jersey (Bucket List # 14 – Complete!). You actually get a few moments to talk to the players. It’s really neat to talk to them. I was able to discuss the game with a few, welcome some of the newer players, and congratulate a few of the players who have moved up to the big team. (Then there was that awesome moment when Torey Krug and Dougie Hamilton chatted me up about my line jerseys.) It’s not often you get to have a moment with your favorite player, and getting to shake the hands of Patrice Bergeron, Adam McQuaid, and the rest of them was worth the cost of admission.
The fact that Chris Kelly, Carl Soderberg, and Loui Eriksson really got a kick out of my ‘How Swede It Is’ jersey put it over the top for me.
Puck Prose
For that last few years, the host player usually spends the majority of the time with the microphone. This year, Patrice Bergeron let his linemate Brad Marchand steal the show. (Well done, Bergy!) Marchand is every bit the character you think he would be. He’s rather hilarious and all the Bruins took his good-natured ribbing with a grain of salt (especially Loui Eriksson, who really didn’t want his hair cut off.)
Max Talbot even put up some of his own money to shave the head of the child who won the right to shave his head. (Talbot is a player that’s equal parts Bergeron and Thornton (yes, that’s possible) and is a welcome addition to the team.
You get to meet the players, and that’s awesome. You also get to meet people who may have nothing other that a mutual love of the Bruins in common with you. That’s what really makes it special. You get to share experiences with fellow fans. There are stories of cancer survivors, fans who have come an incredible distance to be there, and swapping tales of interacting with the Bruins. It’s a fantastic event that raises a lot of money to help fight pediatric cancer.