Boston Bruins Will Always Be Special For Milan Lucic

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

There’s an old saying that goes “you can take the boy out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the boy”. In the case of the Boston Bruins and now-Los Angeles Kings’ forward Milan Lucic, the saying would probably be “you can take the boy away from the team, but you can’t take the team away from the boy.”

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The Boston Bruins drafted Milan Lucic with the 50th overall draft pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, and the union between the two seemed like a match made in heaven. Milan Lucic has always been the proto-typical power forward that the Boston Bruins have prided themselves on using for decades, and he instantly found success, both on the ice, and among the fans of the Bruins. Lucic spent 8 seasons with the Boston Bruins before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings prior to the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, but there doesn’t seem to be any hard feelings between him and his former team or teammates.

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In an interview with NESN’s Andre Katchaturian, Milan Lucic went into detail about how his life has been ever since the trade. “I’ve really enjoyed my time that I’ve been here so far…You know the weather and everything that comes with living in California. And obviously it’s been great being a part of a good team as well.” The Los Angeles Kings have found great success so far this season, as they currently hold a 20-11-2 record, good for first place in the Pacific division. Lucic has also been met with success, scoring 10 goals and adding 11 assists for 21 points in his first 33 NHL games away from the Boston Bruins,

It’s clear that Milan Lucic has grown a lot since being drafted in the NHL as an 18 year old, and he mentioned as much when he said “I came there a young teenager and left there a champion, a father of two, and you know, and things like that, meeting a lot of great people and having a lot of great friends from there”. Any time a player gets drafted into the NHL, it’s clear that they are expected to mature faster than the average 18 year old. Moving from Vancouver on the west coast of Canada, all the way to Boston, on the east coast of the United States, is a big step for anyone, especially for a young 18 year old.

It’s clear that the city of Boston, the Boston Bruins organization, and the fans of the Bruins will always hold a special place in the heart of Milan Lucic. “With the time change, Center Ice and all that type of stuff, and social media and everything you can do with your phone now it’s easy to keep tabs on guys you used to play with and stuff like that.” He continued by saying “for us here, the Bruins are usually playing at 4:00 o’clock, so I find myself with nothing on TV, I tend to tune in once in a while.”

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When asked about how it would be playing against his former teammates, Lucic made it clear that personal and professional need to be kept separate, even in the game of hockey. “You’ve gotta try and use that mentality of no friends on the ice. I’ guess you have to, as much as they were your friends, as they are your friends, were your teammates, and you enjoyed playing with them, you’ve gotta put that aside and know that business is business at the end of the day.”

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It’s clear that Milan Lucic will have mixed emotions when he returns to Boston for the first time since being traded on February 9th, but the same rough-and-tough power forward should appear once the puck drops and up until the final siren sounds.

Follow Brandon Share-Cohen on Twitter @BShareCohen to discuss all things Bruins and sports