Bob Sweeney

Robert Sweeney, was born on January 25th, 1964 in Boxborough, Massachusetts, a small town of about 5300 people about an hour away from Boston.

As he told interviewer Frederic Lavallee, Bob got into hockey at an early age.

"The main reason was definitely the Boston Bruins, they won the Cup when I was six in 1970 and again in 1972. They were on top of the world at that time, so to speak. Hockey was big at the time in the Boston area."

And the Sweeney family were often on the ice.

"My older brother played hockey and three of my sisters were figure skaters. My father is a builder by trade, the last two things he built two arenas in 1972. So you could say I’m from an athletic family," said a proud Sweeney.

Sweeney played high school hockey with star goaltender Tom Barrasso. Barrasso was celebrated as a top pick in the 1983 draft while Sweeney quietly was selected by the Bruins in the sixth round of 1982.

But the Bruins were still a far off dream for Sweeney. His next stop was Boston College to study marketing management and play for the Eagles hockey team.

He was quick to find success in a dominating win at the 1983 Beanpot tournament.

"Winning the Beanpot and being named MVP of the Tournament as a Freshmen was something I’ll always remember. We had great players at BC but we didn’t win anything significant for my last three years there. I had fun there and having an education to fall back on...it’s priceless. I’m using it as we speak ," said Sweeney.

After Sweeney completed his scholarship, he joined the Boston Bruins organization. He would apprentice in the minor leagues for a season before joining the Bruins in 1987-88.

Bob (who scored his first NHL goal against his former classmate Barrasso) would play alongside Raymond Bourque and Cam Neely for six seasons. He helped the Bruins advance to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1988 and 1990, only to lose to an Edmonton team both times.

Sweeney would join the Buffalo Sabres, via the waiver wire, in October 1992. He would play for the Sabres for the next three seasons.

The highlight for Sweeney was beating his former team in the playoffs.

"One of my best memories there has to be beating the Bruins in the first round the first year after I left Boston. We were heavy underdogs against Boston...they finished 30 points ahead of us in the regular season and they had beaten us eight times in a row during the season against them. We were well prepared by coach John Muckler. I scored the game winner in overtime in game 1...in Boston. It was very special," he continued to tell Lavallee.

Sweeney’s NHL career ended with short stints with the Flames and the Islanders. He exited the NHL in 1996 but played for another five years in Germany.

Sweeney returned to the Boston area and became the President of the Boston Bruins Alumni Association in 2003. He later added Director of Development for the Boston Bruins Foundation to his duties in 2007.