Defenseman Gord Hynes was born in Verdun and grew up in Pierrefonds, playing his minor hockey in the North Shore program. He moved to Calgary at age 11 when his father, a bank manager, was transferred
Hynes played junior in Medicine Hat and was Boston's fifth choice (115th over-all) in 1985, at age 18. But it took the 6-foot-1, 170 pounder another seven years to make it to the NHL. In between there were two seasons in the minors - he shared a home in Moncton with Brett Hull - one in Italy and three full years with the Canadian national team under coach Dave King, where Hynes said he learned to play the game.
"When I was drafted I had big eyes. My sights were set on the NHL," he said. "But I wasn't big enough, good enough or strong enough. I wasn't that good. I didn't know how to play and I wasn't that smart. I had to learn how to play. And I matured."
He scored 12 goals and 30 assists in 57 games last season with the national team, adding another 12 goals and 22 assists in 49 pre- Olympic games this year. In seven games at Albertville, Hynes had three goals and three assists.
Following the Olympics, and a free agent by this time, Hynes went home to contemplate his future. He was considering returning to Europe, and even enrolling in school and retiring from hockey, when Bruins assistant general manager Mike Milbury called.
"I thought I had the talent and knew I'd get better," he said. "And now here I am in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Go figure."
He scored his first NHL goal at the Montreal Forum.
"It was very exciting t score here," he said. "I was born here. I was a Montreal Canadiens fan. When I went to bed I dreamed of scoring a goal as part of the Montreal Canadiens. To score in the Forum is the next best thing."
He ended up signing with the Philadelphia Flyers in the off-season, toiling in 37 games with them the next season. But he soon disappeared and had a long career playing in Germany.
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