Terry O'Reilly

Infobox Ice Hockey Player
position = Right Wing
shot =
height_ft = 6
height_in = 01
weight_lb = 200
played_for = Boston Bruins
league = NHL
nationality = CAN
birth_date = Birth date and age|1951|6|7|mf=y
birth_place = Niagara Falls, Ontario
career_start = 1971
career_end = 1985
draft = Rnd 1, 14th overall
draft_year = 1971
draft_team = Bruins


image_size =
nickname = Terry, Tazmanian Devil

Joseph James Terrence (Terry) O'Reilly (born June 7, 1951 in Niagara Falls, Ontario) is a retired ice hockey right-winger.

Playing career

O'Reilly was picked by the Boston Bruins in the 1st round as the 14th pick overall in the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft. O'Reilly spent his entire career in Boston, serving as the captain of the Bruins team during the 1983-84 and 1984-85 seasons before his retirement. The Bruins retired his playing number (#24) on October 24, 2002 [cite web|url=http://www.bostonsportsmedia.com/archives/000690.php|title=Terry O'Reilly gets his number|author=Bruce Allen|publisher=Boston Sports Media Watch|date=October 24, 2002|accessdate=2006-07-18] .

O'Reilly was known for being a tough player, racking up over 200 penalty minutes in five consecutive seasons, and earning for himself the nickname "Bloody O'Reilly" in the press. He was very protective of his teammates causing Ray Bourque to note, when the Bruins retired his number, that the banner "hangs next to mine, protecting me again. That's awesome." [http://espn.go.com/nhl/news/2002/1024/1450686.html]

On top of his physical presence, he also had a decent scoring touch for an enforcer, highlighted by his 29-goal, 90-point season in 1977-78. He added to that with a 77 point effort the following campaign. He had 211 and 205 minutes in penalties in those seasons respectively, displaying an excellent balance of grit and scoring that any hockey GM would cherish. He finished his 13 year career with 204 goals, 402 assists for 606 points, a +212 plus/minus (a tribute to his good defensive skills) and 2,095 minutes in penalties.

In an infamous December 26, 1979 incident at Madison Square Garden, during a post-game scrum, a New York Rangers fan stole Stan Jonathan's stick and hit him with it. O'Reilly scaled the glass boards and charged into the stands. His teammates followed when other fans tried to intervene. [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8K7roZu3WU] At one point a shoe (presumably from a Rangers fan) was thrown. While O'Reilly was grappling with the fan who had stolen the stick, some of his teammates moved further up into the stands looking for a fan with one shoe. When they found him, they hit him with his own shoe. O'Reilly was suspended eight games for his part in the brawl. [citeweb|url=http://www.hockeydraftcentral.com/1971/71014.html|title=1971 NHL Amateur Draft — Terry O'Reilly|accessdate=2006-07-18]

He became the replacement head coach of the Bruins during the 1986-87 NHL season and kept his job until 1989, when he left to care for, and spend more time with, his son who was seriously ill with liver disease. In that time, he took the Bruins to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1988, where they were defeated by the Wayne Gretzky-led Edmonton Oilers. Terry also was an assistant coach for the Rangers for the two seasons prior to the lockout.

Terry O'Reilly is also going to be on a NESN reality show which was conceived by Brad Park.

Trivia

*In the Adam Sandler movie "Happy Gilmore", O'Reilly is mentioned as Happy Gilmore's favorite hockey player growing up because of his tough style.

Career statistics

--- Regular Season --- ---- Playoffs ----Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1968-69 Oshawa Generals OHA 46 5 15 20 87 -- -- -- -- --1969-70 Oshawa Generals OHA 54 13 36 49 60 -- -- -- -- --1970-71 Oshawa Generals OHA 54 23 42 65 151 -- -- -- -- --1971-72 Boston Braves AHL 60 9 8 17 134 9 2 2 4 311971-72 Boston Bruins NHL 1 1 0 1 0 -- -- -- -- --1972-73 Boston Bruins NHL 72 5 22 27 109 5 0 0 0 21973-74 Boston Bruins NHL 76 11 24 35 94 16 2 5 7 381974-75 Boston Bruins NHL 68 15 20 35 146 3 0 0 0 171975-76 Boston Bruins NHL 80 23 27 50 150 12 3 1 4 251976-77 Boston Bruins NHL 79 14 41 55 147 14 5 6 11 281977-78 Boston Bruins NHL 77 29 61 90 211 15 5 10 15 401978-79 Boston Bruins NHL 80 26 51 77 205 11 0 6 6 251979-80 Boston Bruins NHL 71 19 42 61 265 10 3 6 9 691980-81 Boston Bruins NHL 77 8 35 43 223 3 1 2 3 121981-82 Boston Bruins NHL 70 22 30 52 213 11 5 4 9 561982-83 Boston Bruins NHL 19 6 14 20 40 -- -- -- -- --1983-84 Boston Bruins NHL 58 12 18 30 124 3 0 0 0 141984-85 Boston Bruins NHL 63 13 17 30 168 5 1 2 3 9-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NHL Totals 891 204 402 606 2095 108 25 42 67 335

Coaching statistics

Season Team Lge Type GP W L T OTL Pct Result 1986-87 Boston Bruins NHL Head Coach 67 32 29 6 0 0.522 Lost in round 1 1987-88 Boston Bruins NHL Head Coach 80 44 30 6 0 0.588 Lost in Finals 1988-89 Boston Bruins NHL Head Coach 80 37 29 14 0 0.550 Lost in round 2 2002-03 New York Rangers NHL Assistant Coach 2003-04 New York Rangers NHL Assistant Coach

References

ee also

*List of NHL players
*List of NHL seasons

External links

* [http://www.bostonbruins.com/history/terry_oreilly.asp Article about number retirement and achievements at bostonbruins.com]
*hockeydb|4047