Don Sweeney -- Same number, different team
For 15 years he wore the number 32 and was 'the other defenseman" on the Boston Bruins. Don Sweeney still wears No. 32, but now he plays defense deep in the heart of Texas with the Dallas Stars.
For 15 years, Don Sweeney was "the other defenseman" on the Boston Bruins besides Ray Bourque.
He was a fan favorite not only because of the way he played, but because he played his college hockey and got his degree from Harvard University, right in the Bruin's back yard.
He still plays defense and still wears his familiar No. 32, but this hockey season, something is completely different.
Like Bourque, Sweeney won't be ending his hockey career in "Beantown." He's now a member of the Dallas Stars.
If you watched the Boston Bruins as much as I did in the late 1980's and late 1990s, something looks really strange about seeing "Sweens" in another uniform.
Sort of like seeing Karl Malone in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform and waiting for John Stockton to show up.
Sweeney told me after the Dallas Stars practice on December 4th, the same night that they would play the Kings, that he, "wasn't surprised" that the Bruins let him go as a free agent. It was time for a change of scenery not only for him, but his family as well.
In the land of football, one would think that anything played on ice and with skates wouldn't be popular.
The Stars, who have won a Stanley Cup since moving from Minnesota, not only have fans in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but Sweeney told me that the Stars have a big fan base in the Texas cities of Austin and San Antonio as well.
Sweeney is one of the few NHL players who is born in the Canadian province of New Brunswick.
He and his wife, Christine, a professional ice skater, have two twin boys, who are now four years old.
Like most Canadian children, the Sweeney boys have already started to skate.
Going on his 16th year in the league, Sweeney has seen many changes, one of which is the size of the players.
It's not just hockey players that are growing either. Players in the other sports are growing just as big and tall.
I also asked him about his thoughts on the collective bargaining agreement, and being an economics major, Sweeney had a different "take" on it.
He told me he sees the same issues now that were there in 1994.
Like most of the players, he doesn't want to see a work stoppage, but fears it might happen if both sides won't give in a little.
He's also worried about the fan reaction and what might happen if the dreaded "L" word (lockout) occurs.
"Hockey will suffer and the fans won't be apologetic to either side this time," he concluded.
He was a fan favorite not only because of the way he played, but because he played his college hockey and got his degree from Harvard University, right in the Bruin's back yard.
He still plays defense and still wears his familiar No. 32, but this hockey season, something is completely different.
Like Bourque, Sweeney won't be ending his hockey career in "Beantown." He's now a member of the Dallas Stars.
If you watched the Boston Bruins as much as I did in the late 1980's and late 1990s, something looks really strange about seeing "Sweens" in another uniform.
Sort of like seeing Karl Malone in a Los Angeles Lakers uniform and waiting for John Stockton to show up.
Sweeney told me after the Dallas Stars practice on December 4th, the same night that they would play the Kings, that he, "wasn't surprised" that the Bruins let him go as a free agent. It was time for a change of scenery not only for him, but his family as well.
In the land of football, one would think that anything played on ice and with skates wouldn't be popular.
The Stars, who have won a Stanley Cup since moving from Minnesota, not only have fans in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but Sweeney told me that the Stars have a big fan base in the Texas cities of Austin and San Antonio as well.
Sweeney is one of the few NHL players who is born in the Canadian province of New Brunswick.
He and his wife, Christine, a professional ice skater, have two twin boys, who are now four years old.
Like most Canadian children, the Sweeney boys have already started to skate.
Going on his 16th year in the league, Sweeney has seen many changes, one of which is the size of the players.
It's not just hockey players that are growing either. Players in the other sports are growing just as big and tall.
I also asked him about his thoughts on the collective bargaining agreement, and being an economics major, Sweeney had a different "take" on it.
He told me he sees the same issues now that were there in 1994.
Like most of the players, he doesn't want to see a work stoppage, but fears it might happen if both sides won't give in a little.
He's also worried about the fan reaction and what might happen if the dreaded "L" word (lockout) occurs.
"Hockey will suffer and the fans won't be apologetic to either side this time," he concluded.
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