Former Bruin Hal Gill warns against playing a physical game
Some teams in the NHL are synonymous with physical play, and while Boston has historically been one of those teams, a former Bruin spoke out recently against trying to live up to the 'Big, bad Bruins' nickname.
Hal Gill, a 6-foot-7 Massachusetts native, played eight seasons for the Bruins between 1997-2004, and he recently talked to WEEI.com about how Boston's new acquisitions this offseason could fit into the 'Big, bad Bruins' formula.
Most of the focus was on Jimmy Hayes, the 6-foot-6 right winger from Dorchester, Mass. who was acquired earlier this month via a trade with Florida. At 25 years old, Hayes, like Gill, has a chance to play for his hometown team, but Gill warned that the task is not as fun as it may seem.
"When you play for the Bruins, that’s your team and that’s all you’ve cared about," Gill told WEEI.com. "You end up caring about what everyone thinks. That can be difficult at times."
For Gill, being a tall defenseman for the Bruins meant getting into fights that Gill said he often was not interested in fighting.
"Being my size, you’re supposed to be that tough guy, and it wasn’t in me to go and punch people in the face all the time," Gill said to WEEI.com. "You have to eventually be comfortable with who you are and what you do and what you can give to the team."
So Gill's advice to Hayes, according to WEEI.com, was to stay true to himself. For Hayes, that does not necessarily mean becoming an uber-physical figure. Hayes has yet to record more than 20 penalty minutes in a regular season. That's a sharp contrast to the pesky-but-undersized Bruin Brad Marchand, who racked up 95 penalty minutes last season alone.
"Being big, you’re expected to be physical," Hayes told WEEI.com. "I’ve got to continue to be a physical presence no matter what to stay in this league."
But as Gill pointed out to WEEI.com, there can be a line between being physical and being effective, and as long as Hayes is being physical in a way that is true to his game, Gill said Hayes should do fine, no matter what the hometown crowd might think.
"I think if [Hayes] is doing the right things and keeping true to his game, he’ll be all right," Gill told WEEI.com. "The problem is when you get caught up trying to please everyone."
(h/t WEEI)
Photo credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
