Terry O'Reilly

Terence Joseph James O'Reilly (born June 7, 1951) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger. He played for the NHL's Boston Bruins and featured in three Stanley Cup Finals. He was one of the most effective enforcers in NHL history. O'Reilly was born in Niagara Falls, Ontario.

O’Reilly was born to his parents Audrey and Jim O’Reilly. His family comes from Irish ancestry. He grew up in Oshawa, Ontario and started playing hockey at very young age. Terry originally started out as a goaltender until he was 13. As a junior Terry had problems initially sticking with the Oshawa Generals. He even turned down a scholarship offer from St. Louis University in order to continue playing for the Generals which would end up work out in his favor.

Throughout his career O’Reilly would continue his education part time at the University of Toronto, the University of Ottawa and Boston University.

Known throughout his career for an erratic skating style and buzzing all over the ice. O’Reilly played 3 years of junior hockey with the Oshawa Generals from 1968 to 1971. He had his best year with the team during the 1970–71 season, scoring 23 goals and 42 assists in 54 games.

O'Reilly was picked by the Boston Bruins in the first round as the 14th pick overall in the 1971 NHL Amateur Draft. On the day Bruins general manager Milt Schmidt signed 20-year-old O'Reilly to his first pro contract, Schmidt referred to him proudly as "a typical Boston Bruins player:"

After being drafted he would play with the Bruins affiliate the Boston Braves during the 1971–72 season. He appeared in 60 games for the Braves scoring 9 goals and 8 assists helping lead them the F. G. "Teddy" Oke Trophy as the eastern division regular season champions. However the team lost in the second round of the playoffs to Nova Scotia. O'Reilly then made his NHL debut in the Bruins' final game of the 1971–72 regular season on April 2, 1972. He scored his first NHL goal in Boston's 6–4 victory over Toronto at Boston Garden.

After only playing one year in the minors O'Reilly officially made the Bruins in his second year during the 1972-73 season. In his first full year he played in 72 games recording 5 goals and 22 assists, as the Bruins finished with a 51-22-5 record finishing second in the East Division. However the Bruins were eliminated by New York Rangers in the first round.

During the 1973-74 season O’Reilly would play in 76 games while also showing improvement in his scoring with 35 points along with his first 10+ goal season. That year the Bruins finished with the leagues best record going 52-17-9. During the postseason O’Reilly would claim both his first playoff goal and assist as the Bruins defeated both Toronto and Chicago to reach the 1974 Stanley Cup final. However the Bruins would be defeated in the finals by the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2.