Dan Laible of the Utica Observer-Dispatch recently caught up with long time NHL defenseman Bruce Driver. In a three part interview Driver talks about coaching kids hockey, his days with the New Jersey Devils and his fond memories of the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics:
"With more than enough defensemen in the grouping at that time, Driver remembers Coach King, in late September or October of '83 coming to him and saying that either he or Kevin Dineen would be cut from the team following their next game. However, after the game, King decided to keep both Driver and Dineen, currently the Florida Panthers coach, on the Olympic squad. " We played a lot of hockey and traveled a lot," says Driver, a member of the New Jersey Devils Stanley Cup winning team in 1995.
"Experiencing the opening ceremonies in Sarajevo was so special and spectacular that Driver appears to still be in awe of it today. He tells of his team getting off to a great start in international competition during the Olympics, and what an impressive roster they had. Many of the young Canadians the following season went on to the NHL. Russ Courtnall, JJ Daigneault, Dave Gagner, Darren Eliot, and Pat Flatley, Driver's teammate from his time spent at University of Wisconsin, were included of those to turn pro, after Sarajevo. " We lost in the bronze medal round to Sweden ", Driver said. " The Olympics were just unbelievable and getting to meet athletes, not just hockey players, from other countries was exciting."
Here's my biography of 1984 Olympian and 1995 Stanley Cup champion Bruce Driver
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