Gord Kluzak

Gord Kluzak
Date of birth	March 4th 1964
place of birth	Climax , Saskatchewan , Canada
size	193 cm
Weight	95 kg
position	defender
number	# 6
Shot hand	Left
Draft
NHL Entry Draft	1982 , 1st lap, 1st position Boston Bruins
Career stations
1980-1982	Billings Bighorns
1982-1990	Boston Bruins

Gordon Glen Kluzak (born March 4, 1964 in Climax , Saskatchewan ) is a retired Canadian ice hockey player (defender) who played for the Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League from 1982 to 1990 .

Career

As a junior he played for the Billings Bighorns in the Western Hockey League . In 1982 he also played for the junior national team of Canada, which brought gold to the motherland of ice hockey for the first time at the Junior World Championship. Kluzak was the dominant defender in the tournament, where he stood out as the tower in battle and was recognized as the best defender. Gord Kluzak was selected as the first overall draft pick by the Boston Bruins in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft . But already at this time he had his first serious knee injury, which should overshadow his career.

In his rookie season 1982/83 he played well, but he could not really use his potential. That should change in the second season. He played a lot stronger than the year before and was able to convince on both the defensive and the offensive. In the last preparation game for the 1984/85 season he injured his knee again and an operation was inevitable. So he missed the entire season. For the 1985/86 season he returned to the ice and was able to convince again with strong performances. But his knee injury broke out again. Therefore, he missed a whole season due to an injury. In 1987/88 Gord was back and played the whole season. It should be his last full season. Together with rookie Glen Wesley he supported Ray Bourque , the head of the Bruins defense, so that he was still fresh enough in the playoffs to lead the team into the finals of the Stanley Cup . There they failed, however, at the Edmonton Oilers with Wayne Gretzky .

He tried his comeback for the next three years, but did not play more than 13 games in those three years before he had to hang up his skates in 1990 after eleven knee operations.

If you look at the NHL Entry Drafts since 1969, no player drawn first has played fewer games than Kluzak with 299. In Boston the question was repeatedly asked whether the problems with Kluzak's knee could not have been foreseen. The draft would have offered a lot of alternatives, in addition to well-known strikers as well as defenders like Scott Stevens or Phil Housley .

After his career ended, Kluzak graduated from Harvard University in 1994 . He later worked for Goldman Sachs . But he also remained connected to ice hockey. He worked as a TV reporter for the Bruins from 1995 to 2004. Today he is an analyst for the New England Sports Network (NESN).

NHL statistics

	Seasons	Games	Gates	Assists	Points	Penalty minutes
Reg. Season	7th	299	25th	98	123	543
Playoffs	4th	46	6th	13	19th	129

Achievements and Awards

• 1982 WHL Second All-Star Team
• 1982 gold medal at the Junior World Championship
• 1982 All-Star Team of the Junior World Championship
• 1982 Best Defender of the Junior World Championship
• 1990 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy

Web links

• Gord Kluzak at hockeydb.com (English)
• Gord Kluzak at legendsofhockey.net (English)
• Gord Kluzak at hockeydraftcentral.com