By: Amy Tolman | Follow me on Twitter @amy7594
Today we celebrate two of the best amongst many other former Boston Bruins player’s birthdays, Norman “Norm” Defelice and Johnny Boychuk. Defelice was a goalie for Boston in the 1956-57 season. Johnny Boychuk was a defenseman for the Bruins from the 2009-10 season to the 2013-14 season.
Norman “Norm” Defelice
Norman Defelice was born on January 19, 1933, in Schumacher, Ontario, Canada. Although Defelice’s goaltending career reins from the 1951-52 to 1969-70 season, he only played for Bruins in the National Hockey League. He only played one year with the Bruins in the 1956-57 season. The rest of his career was in the Eastern Hockey League (EHL), Ontario Hockey Association (OHA), Maritime Major Hockey League (MMHL), International Hockey League (IHL), Quebec Hockey League (QHL), Senior A Hockey League (OHA Sr), and the American Hockey League (AHL) for various teams.
During his time in Boston, he played ten games. He won three, lost five, tied two, and accumulated 600 minutes of ice time. Throughout his career, he acquired several awards and accomplishments. However, none of them were during his NHL career with the Bruins. Defelice passed away on September 27, 2015.
Johnny Boychuk
Johnny Boychuk was born on January 19, 1984, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Serving the Boston Bruins from the 2008-09 season to 2013-14, he quickly became a fan fav defenseman. He made his NHL debut as apart of the Colorado Avalanche on January 5, 2008. There he played as a forward on the wing instead of defense.
As a Bruin, he made his debut on December 4, 2008, in a 3-1 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning. On Dec. 5, 2009, Boychuk scored his first NHL goal with the Bruins against the Toronto Maple Leafs. In 2010-11, he helped Boston win the Stanley Cup. During the 2012–13 NHL lock-out, Boychuk went to Europe and signed a temporary contract in Austria with EC Red Bull Salzburg of the Erste Bank Eishockey Liga (EBEL). He scored two goals and posted eight points in 15 games before returning to the Bruins for the shortened 2012–13 season. On October 4, 2014, Boston traded Boychuk to the New York Islanders due to salary cap constraints. The video below is a tribute to him and his time in Boston.
On November 25, 2020, the Islanders announced that Boychuk would be retiring due to an eye injury that he suffered in a game against the Montreal Canadiens on March 3, 2020. BNG’s YouTube creator, Jon Ducan, did a podcast about Boychuck’s retirement. Here is his post on Twitter.
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