Chicago Blackhawks Greatest 100- #62 Dave Bolland

When you think of modern day players that could have been truly great, but instead were fan favorites while stepping up their game at the right time, a few players come to mind and one of them is Dave Bolland.

When the Chicago Blackhawks were making their run to their first Stanley Cup in 49 years,

Dave Bolland

had a few very big plays like this shorthanded goal in Game #1 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Philadelphia Flyers.

The thing is Bolland could do it all from score, to agitate players, and draw penalties.  He was Ryan Kesler before Ryan Kesler was the guy he is today.  In the Western Conference Finals he drew a penalty at the faceoff dot when Joe Thornton slashed him.  He loved getting under the skin of any and all Vancouver Canucks, and he always had some great timing to score a goal.

More from Blackhawks News

• Blackhawks vs Flames: Date, Time, Lineup, Betting Odds, More
• Three Takeaways from the Blackhawks’ Win vs Vancouver
• Blackhawks: Why Derek King is the Right Coach moving forward
• Marc-Andre Fleury Carries the Blackhawks to a 4-2 Win vs Seattle
• Instant Reaction: Blackhawks top Kraken for first time in history

If you really want to know what the value of Dave Bolland was to the franchise, you only have to look back to the 2011 1st Round series against the Vancouver Canucks.  Bolland had to sit out of the first three games because of a bad back which all ended up being Vancouver victories.  When he did comeback they nearly won the series down 3-0 with Game #7 going to overtime in Vancouver.

Of course, it was the little things that Bolland did that made me like the guy so much, even on this

Brent Seabrook

series winning goal in overtime of Game #7 against the Detroit Red Wings. It was the Bolland check that set it all up.

Of course the real highlight reel of any Dave Bolland post has to include that magical night in Boston when the Hawks scored two goals in 17 seconds to win the Stanley Cup.  The funny thing is

Joel Quenneville

put Bolland’s line out there basically to make sure the game got to overtime, but every once in a while Bolland would flash that scorers mentality.

Bolland would sign a big contract after the 2013 Stanley Cup Final with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and he’s been burdened by injuries ever since scoring only 15 goals in 4 injury plagued seasons.

Luckily, he was healthy enough to hoist the Cup twice for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Next: Bowman's Best and Worst Summer Trades

Only 62 days until the 2017-2018 season begins!