Cam Neely

At 59 years old, Cam Neely has this physical status:

Cameron Michael Neely (born June 6, 1965) is a former and professional ice hockey executive and former player.

Neely was a right wing for the Vancouver Canucks but he is best known for his time with the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League from 1983 to 1996.

In 2005, Neely was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

He is currently the president of the Boston Bruins.

Personal life

Neely was born in Comox, British Columbia, and grew up in Maple Ridge, British Columbia. Both of his parents died of cancer. Neely is also active in the Cam Neely Foundation, where patients and their families can enjoy accommodation at the "Neely House" while undergoing cancer treatment. He founded the charity in 1995 after his mother died of cancer in 1987 and his father in 1993, and Denis Leary asked if he wanted to produce a Boston-based comedy benefit show, which later became the annual Comics Come Home event.

Larry Walker, a former Major League Baseball (MLB) Hall of Fame right fielder who himself wished to work as a goaltender, is one of Neely's childhood acquaintances. To develop their skills, Neely and Walker played regularly.

Neely has been married to his wife Paulina Neely since 1996, have two children, a son Jack who was born in 1998, and a daughter Ava who was born in 2000. He serves on the board of directors of Whistler Blackcomb Holdings Inc., which was established by an IPO by Intrawest Corp. on November 1, 2010. He is a member of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committees within the board.

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Playing career

Neely was a member of the Ridge Meadows Hockey Association for the majority of his youth and was named to the Maple Ridge honourable people list. He led the team to the Memorial Cup Championship with the Portland Winter Hawks of the Western Hockey League, becoming the first US-based team to win the championship. Neely was drafted by the Vancouver Canucks ninth overall in the 1983 entry draft and spent three seasons with them.

Neely was traded along with Vancouver's first pick, third overall in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft (used to take Glen Wesley) to the Boston Bruins for Barry Pederson on his 21st birthday in June 1986. Neely's defense was not admirable, and that was what made him tradeable. "I was playing behind Stan Smyl and Tony Tanti," Neely said, "I didn't get a lot of ice time, and certainly not on the power plays."

It became abundantly that the Bruins had the better of the situation straight away. "I was surprised at the trade," Neely said. I honestly didn't know what to expect when I arrived in Boston, but had no expectation that my career would turn out the way it did for those ten years. I wanted to play from Day One of training camp. 'Let's see what he can do,' the coaches said.' As time went by, I gained more and more confidence. I never thought I'd be a 50-goal scorer, but I was given the opportunity to contribute offensively, not just physically."

Neely's 36 goals led the club in his first full season after the trade, with his 72 points up more than doubled his previous year's results. He also spent 143 minutes in the penalty box in the same season.

Neely's success resulted mainly from his hard, accurate shot, fast release, and his willingness to engage in the more physical aspects of the game. Neely, who was 6 ft. 1 in and 215 lb, was just as he was with his body checks and fists as he was with his goal scoring exploits. He was the power forward's archetype and was given the nickname "Bam-Bam Cam" after arriving.

Neely was checked by Ulf Samuelsson, who was on the play, and rushed to the knee in game 6 on May 5, 1991, and was struck again in game 6. The fact that Neely produced myositis ossificans in the injured area was complicating the situation. Neely missed out on just 22 games over the next two seasons, and Neely will only play 162 NHL games for the remainder of his career after being forced to cancel due to knee pain.

Neely scored his 50th goal in his 44th game in 1993-94; only Wayne Gretzky has scored 50 goals in fewer games. This is unofficial as the team's first 50 games must be scored, beginning with the season's start. Alexander Mogilny, Jari Kurri Kurri, and Bobby Hull have all "unofficially" reached this milestone. He was regularly ranked as a healthy scratch in alternate games to improve his ailing knee, but Neely had to retire after the 1995–96 season at the age of 31.

The tip of Neely's right pinky finger was cut off through his glove in 1994, requiring 10–15 stitches to patch. After suffering the injury early in the second session, Neely was stitched up and returned to the game later that day. While Neely had an assist, the Bruins lost the game against the Devils 2–1.

With his winning of the Masterton Trophy in 1993–94, Neely's ardent attempts to recover time and again from his injury were recognized. The Bruins have since ranked #8 in his honor, making him the tenth player to have a number retired by the team. Despite his short career, he has had some incredible scoring debuts. Only Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Brett Hull all scored better goals per game over the course of an NHL season than Neely's 50-goals-in-49 games in 1993–94 (despite missing 35 games this season). In addition, only ten players in NHL history scored higher goals per game average throughout their career than Neely. He reached the fifty-goal mark three times, appeared in five All-Star games, and was named the league's Second Team All-Star at right wing in 1988, 1990, 1991, and 1994.

Neely, the Boston Bruins' all-time top goal scorer with 55, as of June 1, 2021. With 87 points, he ranks tenth in playoff points for Boston.

Neely tried to return to hockey in November 1998 after being out of hockey for two years. In a 2008 interview about it, Neely said it:

In 2005, Neely was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. "I never worried too much with the Hall of Fame, just as I never worried myself with numbers when I played," he said. "I just wanted to do my best and work hard." It's another story to decide whether I did well or not.

Neely was appointed vice president of the Boston Bruins on September 25, 2007, and the team's president was named on June 16, 2010. Neely returned to British Columbia on Wednesday, June 15, 2011, when the Bruins defeated the Canucks in their first Stanley Cup Finals Game 7 in Bruins history, winning the Bruins' first Stanley Cup Finals Game 7 since 1972, allowing Neely to lift the Cup after it had not been eluded him as a player.

Neely spent time on a Bruins Alumni team against the Montreal Canadiens Alumni, including Bourque, Mark Recchi, and Terry O'Reilly, as well as Don "Grapes" Cherry, among others.

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Awards, honors and achievements

• CHL Memorial Cup champion — 1983.
• Won the Seventh Player Award — 1987, 1994
• NHL All-Star Game — 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1996
• Bruins Three Stars Awards — 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1995
• Won the Elizabeth C. Dufresne Trophy — 1988, 1991, 1995
• Named to the NHL Second All-Star team — 1988, 1990, 1991, 1994
• Won the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy — 1994
• His #8 Jersey is retired by the Boston Bruins.
• Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005.
• Won the Lester Patrick Trophy — 2010
• Stanley Cup champion — 2011 (As Boston Bruins President)