Shawn Thornton Mistaken For John Cena At Zac Brown Band Concert

BOSTON (CBS) -- It's hard not to recognize Shawn Thornton in Boston, but the former Bruins forward was the victim of a little mistaken identity a few weeks ago.

Thornton, who still frequents Boston even though he's now a member of the Florida Panthers, attended the Zac Brown Band concert at Fenway Park last week with Boston netminder Tuukka Rask. Fans approached the two for photos throughout, and near the end of the concert they were asked if they wanted to go back stage to hang out with the band.

The only problem was the group that asked if they wanted to go, which included the girlfriend of one of the band members, thought Thornton was wrestler John Cena.

"One of the women asked if we wanted to meet the band, I just assumed they thought we were baseball or hockey players," Thornton told 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich on Monday. "We went back, and I was under the assumption that they thought we were Shawn Thornton and Tuukka Rask.

"We got back, and the band was awesome," continued Thornton. "We had a bunch of drinks and stayed out too late. They were all from Atlanta and very cool. They said they weren't hockey fans, and I said I wasn't a fan of Zac Brown Band, so we were even."

Thornton stands at 6-foot-2 and 217-pounds, while Cena is 6-foot-1 and 251-pounds.

"That's funny they thought I was Cena because I had no neck."

While the band and those who invited him and Tuukka backstage didn't really know who Thornton was, he didn't really have a clue who Zac Brown band was either.

"I didn't really think about it at the time, but we went back stage and I introduced myself as Shawn Thornton, and there was probably a look on his face," he said. "If I was sober enough I would have realized he was like 'who the hell did I bring back here.'"