Boston, MA - Boston Bruins President Cam Neely announced today, May 20, that the Boston Bruins have named Don Sweeney the General Manager of the Boston Bruins.
Chief Executive Officer of Delaware North's Boston Holdings Charlie Jacobs, Neely and Sweeney will hold a press conference at TD Garden on Wednesday, May 20 at 1:30 p.m.
"Don Sweeney stood out amongst an incredibly talented group of candidates that we considered for this hire," said Jacobs. "He carries a unique and impressive mix of playing experience, front office experience and business acumen. Don has complete understanding of what it means to be a Bruin and we have full confidence in him to steward the organization back to being Stanley Cup contenders year in and year out."
”Don has excelled in every role he has been in with the Bruins organization and has a comprehensive understanding of every aspect of our hockey operations department," said Neely. "His commitment and drive to bring a championship caliber team to the Boston fans was evident every step of the way through this search process, and I am confident that his leadership of our hockey operations department will lead to success."
“I am both excited and humbled for the opportunity to be named the General Manager of the Boston Bruins,” said Sweeney. “I would like to thank the entire Jacobs’ family and specifically Mr. Jacobs and Charlie, as well as, Cam for bestowing the confidence and trust in me to direct this historic franchise in which I have been a part of for 24 years. My family and friends have been extremely supportive throughout the General Manager search process and I certainly want to acknowledge them today to show my heartfelt appreciation. I am fully aware of everyone’s expectations to move the organization forward. The challenges ahead rests with the players, the coaches and the management group to work hard to make the necessary changes to bring the Bruins back to the forefront of contending for the Stanley Cup.”
In his role as General Manager, Sweeney will be in charge of every aspect of the team's hockey operations.
Appointed to his new post, Sweeney becomes the eighth GM in Bruins' franchise history. Sweeney, 48, will enter his 10th season in the Bruins' front office after serving the past six years as Assistant General Manager. He joined the Bruins in 2006 as the team's Director of Player Development and was named to the position of Director of Hockey Operations in July, 2007 before being promoted to Assistant General Manager in September of 2009.
As Assistant GM, he oversaw the development of the team's drafted prospects at the AHL, junior hockey, college and European levels in addition to having a supervisory role in the day-to-day operations of the hockey department.
His portfolio expanded further in 2014 when he was appointed as General Manager of Boston's AHL affiliate in Providence where he oversaw all hockey operations for that franchise.
Sweeney organized and ran the team's first off-season Development Camp in July, 2007, bringing the club's top prospects to Boston in advance of the main September training camp and will hold the ninth such camp in the summer of 2015.
Drafted by the Bruins in the eighth round, 166th overall, in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, he went on to play four seasons of college hockey at Harvard University. He earned both NCAA East All-American and ECAC First Team All-Star honors with the Crimson and played in the 1986 NCAA Finals before graduating with a degree in Economics.
The defenseman played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League, including 15 in a Bruins uniform. He is one of just two defensemen and four players in team history to play over 1,000 games in a Boston sweater and he still ranks third on the team's all-time games played list. He also ranks in the top ten of the club's all-time lists in career goals, assists and points by a defenseman. He played his final NHL season with the Dallas Stars in 2003-04.
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