Dave Bolland Takes One More Shift With Chicago Blackhawks

I’m going to be honest with you. I was really excited for this game and to see one of my favorite Chicago Blackhawks take the ice one more time, Dave Bolland.

The Chicago Blackhawks honored Dave Bolland with “One More Shift” before Friday’s game against the Blue Jackets. This was just one part of their season-long celebration of the 2010 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks team. The fans loved it and so did I.

Dave Bolland Takes One More Shift

Dave Bolland is one of the most underappreciated Chicago Blackhawks of the modern era.  What he did for the Blackhawks in 2010 and 2013 is not something you record in statistical data. Bolland did the small things to help this great organization win two Stanley Cups.

If you missed the ceremony, here is some footage from the United Center on Friday night. What an awesome moment!

Dave Bolland’s Mental Edge

Dave Bolland did not score pretty goals like Patrick Sharp, Patrick Kane, or Jonathan Toews.  He was a grinder and had a true lunch pail mentality. A total Chicago guy.  He would go into the dirty areas around the net, find pucks, and put the pucks in the back of the net. Bolland also had a mental edge over his opponents.

Dave Bolland was never a 40 goals and 40 assists player. That was not his style. Instead, he had this ability to, as Adam Burish put it, “get under the skin of his opponents.” I mean, he was called “The Rat” for a reason. He loved getting under the skin of his adversaries and he did it well.

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His favorite people to pester was the Sedin twins, Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin. Bolland and the Chicago Blackhawks had an entertaining rivalry with the Vancouver Canucks from 2010-2015. In addition to being a rat on the ice, Dave Bolland is also most remembered for his game-winning goal against the Boston Bruins in the 2013 Stanley Cup Final.

17 Seconds

Everyone remembers Dave Bolland scoring the game-winning goal in Game 6 in Boston in 2013.  The Blackhawks were down one goal with a minute and twenty-four seconds left. Then, the Blackhawks tie up the game at one minute and fifteen seconds.

In this clip, Dave Bolland passed towards the net and then gets involved with the cycling of the puck. He cycles the puck to Michael Frolik. Bolland then makes his way to the net and guess what happens? He gets that juicy rebound and puts it past Tuukka Rask.

Dave Bolland’s “One More Shift” was way overdue.  What he brought to the Chicago Blackhawks was vital to their success. He did not score pretty goals. Bolland was a greasy third-line center with a hard hat and lunch pail mentality. He would go into dirty areas and get pucks and cycle them to the point.

Bolland did all of the true blue-collar tasks that every hockey team needs to be successful. That’s why he is loved in this city. The fans can relate. He was one of them. A total Chicago guy. He also got under opponents’ skin and mastered the art of annoyance, much like a rat would.