Better Late Than Never Part 1

           Mike Krushelnyski was late to the game.

           He laced them up for the first time at 12 years old, almost unheard of in this day and age. 

Krushelnyski played a variety of sports growing up but nothing challenged him more than hockey. “I was hooked right away,” said Krushelnyski. “I played football, track and baseball but they were all to easy.”

           Krushelnyski would find his calling on the ice.  He would play throughout the ranks of minor hockey in his native Montreal, but everything changed the summer after playing Midget.  “I grew close to 8 inches over that summer and all of a sudden at 17 years old, I was a force on the ice.”

           Krushelnyski was playing Junior B locally in LaSalle, PQ when he was first noticed and later drafted by the famed Montreal Junior Canadiens of the Quebec Major Hockey League.

           “Playing in Montreal was a little scary. I was still a boy in a man’s body, so my first three months were quite the learning process.”

           The hometown kid found himself sharing the ice in his rookie season in the Q with a young 17-year-old phenom from Pointe Gatineau, PQ; Denis Savard.

           “Everyone thought this scrawny little kid was going to get killed, but he just skated circles around everyone and lead our team in scoring and well the rest is history,” remembered Krushelnyski.

Krushelnyski had 44 pts in 46 games his rookie season in the QMJHL. The Boston Bruins selected the talented rangy centermen in the 6th round 120th overall in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft. 

The 6”2 200 pound center started to find his way in the QMJHL in his sophomore season. “Fortunately that season, I felt more comfortable and adjusted to the level of hockey.” Krushelnyski would score 39 goals and was 1pt shy of a 100pt season in 1979-80.

           “I was very fortunate to be drafted by Boston,” said Krushelnyski. The self-proclaimed late bloomer would be surrounded by Bruin legends upon his arrival to Beantown for his first training camp. “Gerry Cheevers was still playing and here I was sitting next to him and Wayne Cashman.”

Krushelnyski fondly remembers his first practice with the B’s and going 1 on 1 with future Hall of Famer Brad Park.

“I just figured, I’d blow right by him at 100mph, but all of a sudden, Parky had the puck and he was headed the other way.” 

           The veteran Bruins took the young rookie under their wing and showed him the ropes. “I remember playing keep way with Terry O’Reilly, learning very quickly he would never give up, and never quit battling.” 

           “Peter McNab, taught me tricks to win more face-offs, not only were they great hockey players, but they were great men. They were teaching me what was needed to be successful at that level,” said Krushelnyski.

           Krushelnyski needed time to develop and adapt to the pro game but more importantly he needed to convince himself he belonged at the NHL level. 

He would put up impressive numbers in his first year pro with the Springfield Indians of the AHL in 1980-81 scoring 25 goals and amassing 53 pts. in 80 games.

“It was really my second year in the AHL with the Erie Blades, when I really felt that I could compete at the NHL level,” Krushelnyski said. 

He would see his first NHL action in 1981-82 when the Bruins called him up for 17 games where he only scored 3 goals and 3 assists. He would get his first taste of playoff hockey that same year suiting up for just one game in the post season.

Krushelnyski thoroughly enjoyed playing in the Gardens and believed it was a match made in heaven for the tough Bruins squad.

“Teams knew going into Boston was a chore, and we definitely lived up to that standard. The Gardens was a little smaller, more upright so our fans felt like they were right on top of the opposition, some nights they truly made a difference,” Krushelnyski said.

The 1982-83 season turned out to be Krushelnyski’s breakout year with the Bruins. “I don’t know how, but all of sudden, I was on a line with Rick “Nifty” Middleton and Barry Pederson. Nifty was magician with the puck, he would bob and weave his way through the defense,” said Krushelnyski. (Photo Credit Getty Images)

“Even when you thought they were going to stop him, he would somehow get through and score the most spectacular goals.”   

“What a set of hands, and what a mind, I remember one game he had three breakaways and scored three different goals,” Krushelnyski said.

           Still in awe of his former teammate Krushelnyski believes Middleton should be enshrined with hockey’s greatest.

“To this day, I still wonder why he isn’t in the HHOF, his stats speak for themselves, if you were on his team, or playing against him or a fan watching from the seats, you would know how talented and important he was to his team,” said Krushelnyski.

Krushelnyski blossomed into a bonafide power forward amassing 130 pts. in 182 games for the Black and Gold before receiving a call from Harry Sinden in the summer of 1984 that would change his career forever.

Krushelnyski would be traded to the Edmonton Oilers for Ken Linsemen.

“I will always be a Bruin because they drafted me, looking back and watching old games, I now realize that I was sitting next to my childhood heroes,” said Krushelnyski.

“To be able to say that I was given pointers by the likes of Ratelle, Middleton, Cashman, O’Reilly and Stan Jonathan is incredible.” 

Krushelnyski credits then Bruins coach, Gerry Cheevers for helping in his development both on and off ice. “He would push us, teach us and when not knowing the answer about something, he wouldn’t pretend,” said Krushelnyski. 

“Gerry and the rest of that crew taught me, never to pretend, follow through with what you say and to be yourself.”

Krushelnyski would take the lessons learned from his time with a veteran Bruins squad and apply them to an Edmonton Oilers team on the cusp of a dynasty.

Yours in hockey, Craig