Olivier Galipeau Spurns Canadiens, Signs With Rival Bruins
BOSTON (CBS) -- Bruins fans have several young stars to fall in love with on the Boston roster.
But very few of those 20-somethings were legends before donning the Spoked-B like newcomer Olivier Galipeau. The defenseman has barely been a Bruin for 24 hours, but how he got to Boston will forever be etched in Boston lore.
Why? Because the 21-year-old spurned his hometown Montreal Canadiens to sign with the B's. Yes, a Montreal native and lifelong Habs fan stuck it right to his favorite team and joined their biggest rival. Awesome.
Galipeau, who has spent the last four years as a productive blue liner in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, was all set to become a Canadien. He was expected to report to their development camp this week, giving the team a desperately needed feel-good story. But on Tuesday, he inked a deal with the Bruins, and was even in Brighton for Boston's developmental camp. It just goes to show how big of a dumpster fire the Canadiens are these days.
The best part is Galipeau is pretty good, too. He led all defensemen in scoring with 25 goals and 49 assists over his 67 games last season (split between two teams). He added another five goals and 15 assists in 20 playoff games, helping lead Acadie-Bathurst Titan to the Memorial Cup championship.
The 6-foot, 210-pound Galipeau will give the Bruins another left-shot blue liner in their system.
His deal has yet to be officially announced by Boston, but it's likely he'll be playing in Providence to start. We'll see if he gets a chance to jump up to the NHL next season -- hopefully right around the time the Bruins take on the Canadiens.
