Ivan Boldirev
| Ivan Boldirev | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Boldirev in 1974
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| Born |
August 15, 1949 Zrenjanin, Yugoslavia |
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| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Boston Bruins California Golden Seals Chicago Black Hawks Atlanta Flames Vancouver Canucks Detroit Red Wings |
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| NHL Draft | 11th overall, 1969 Boston Bruins |
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| Playing career | 1969–1985 | ||
Ivan Boldirev (Serbian Cyrillic: Иван Болдирев; born August 15, 1949) is a Serbian Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Boldirev played fifteen seasons and over 1000 games in the NHL from 1970 through 1985. Boldirev was noted during his career as one of the sport's best stickhandlers.
Born in Zrenjanin, Yugoslavia (now Serbia), Boldirev's family emigrated to Canada when he was two. Growing up in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, he was known as a shy child. Boldirev felt that his shyness "probably goes back to when I first came over to Canada and didn't speak any English. My-first grade teacher sent a note home telling my parents that we should speak English at home, but they didn't speak it so they couldn't even read the note!".
Boldirev started playing junior hockey as kid, initially joining his hometown Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League before moving to the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey Association in 1967-68.
He was the first choice (11th overall) of the Boston Bruins in the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft after two stellar seasons with the Generals.
Boldirev turned pro in 1969 and spent his entire first season with Boston's CHL affiliate in Oklahoma City. Boldirev was called up to Boston as a spare body for the 1970 NHL playoffs, but didn't play a game as Boston romped to their first championship since 1941. However, in a quirk of history he managed to get his name engraved on the Stanley Cup before ever playing in an NHL game, the only forward or defencemen ever to do so.
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