Looking back on the NHL draft weekend, I ended up liking the format of the first round on Friday night with the remaining rounds on Saturday afternoon. I am all in favor of more Bruins draft parties because the first Bruins draft party was a definite success. And I had a dentist appointment early Saturday afternoon which would have prevented me from seeing the first round had the old format remained.
On Friday afternoon, I trekked into Boston to scope out the Pro Shop for new jerseys. Apparently I waited a little too late in the afternoon because the Pro Shop closes at 5 during the off-season. Checking the clock in North Station, I arrived at 4:59. The doors were locked. But I did see some t-shirts with the new spoked-B on the front of it. And an enticing jersey offer listed on the door. There are jerseys now available on Shop NHL.com also. So with an hour to kill, I stopped by my usual spot and met up with some friends I haven’t seen since April. The Bruins were actually a hot topic because of all the moves they had done that week (new coach, jerseys).
Eventually, I made it to Tequila Rain, meeting up with Tracy in the sweltering Park Street station en route and Aly at the venue. Although the NHL draft gave me an excuse to wear a Bruins jersey in June, I knew any of my game-worn jerseys would have not made it through a draft party unscathed. Instead, I have stuck with the ongoing tradition of wearing my Bruins shorts as pajamas in late June as free agency is set to begin.
There were three big screens to watch the draft on, which beat my HD television set out by a wide margin. I saw some other fans I haven’t seen since the last Bruins game, and met a bunch of new ones. The beers flowed as the draft got underway, and the delicious appetizers were devoured in no time.
Everybody who RSVP’d for the event got a free Bruins t-shirt with the new spoked-B on the front. On hand were Bruins players Tim Thomas and Mark Mowers. NESN’s Hazel Mae was also there. Dale Arnold, who was scheduled to appear, was not there. WAAF was also there giving out bottle openers (which I forgot about the one in my purse until now!) and t-shirts.
The best parts of the night were two things. The first was GM Peter Chiarelli giving the Bruins faithful a shout out as he stood at the podium for the 8th pick. The second was watching Cam Neely select forward Zach Hamill as the Bruins pick.
As Tequila Rain started to morph from Bruins hangout to dance club, some fans had no trouble adjusting showing off their dance moves. I will not confirm or deny if I was one of them.
For more about the Bruins draft party, you can read the recap on the Bruins website where yours truly was mentioned.
“I think they did a great job of blending the old and the new,” said Aly, from Hyde Park, who was discussing the current team sitting with friends Tracy, from Somerset, and Jaci, from Cambridge.
That recaps the party. Now it’s on to recapping who the new faces are in the Bruins organization, so stay tuned for that.
2 Comments
I'd say one of the highlights of the night, besides watching some dancing that was, well, entertaining ;) was the rather loud booing of Bettman at the start of the draft. Glad to know so many Bruins fans feel the same way I do about the guy! LOL!!
1. Posted by Tracy | June 27, 2007 8:30 PM
That was definitely a highlight. Can't believe I forgot about that. (Too many memories from dancing I think.)
Bettman doesn't only get booed by the fans that are in the venue with him, he gets booed by fans hundreds of miles away.
2. Posted by Jaci | June 28, 2007 12:06 AM