Blackhawks: Why Dave Bolland Was Underrated During His Career

During the 2010s, the Chicago Blackhawks had many key depth players that went unnoticed and were underrated, the biggest one very well may have been Dave Bolland.

The Chicago Blackhawks drafted Dave Bolland in the second round of the 2004 NHL draft. When drafted, Bolland continued playing in the OHL for the London Knights for a couple more seasons. In 2006-07, Bolland would play 65 games in the AHL with the Norfolk Admirals, scoring 17 goals with 32 assists for 49 points. After that season, he would spend the majority of his professional career in the NHL.

From ages 21-to-26, Bolland played in 331 games with the Blackhawks during the regular season. He scored 70 goals with 98 assists for a total of 168 points with the team. He played in 67 playoff games, scoring 17 goals with 26 assists for 43 career-playoff points.

For some reason or another, Bolland has never been given his credit as an NHL player. Outside of Blackhawks fans, other hockey fans have disrespected the amount of success he had in the NHL, as he was a key part of the 2010 and 2013 Stanley Cup Championship seasons.

During those two runs, he helped throw key opponents, like the Sedin twins off of their game by getting in their heads. He would do the same to many other opponents, enough so, where fans still tweet negative things at him each day. Good work, Dave.

The most famous moment in his career came when he scored the second of two goals in 17 seconds, which helped the Blackhawks secure their second Stanley Cup in four seasons.

After that season, Bolland would end up with the Maple Leafs, before signing a five-year deal worth $5,500,000 per season with the Panthers. Bolland battled through multiple injuries, ultimately not playing another NHL game after 2016, his second year in the new contract.

In 10 years, Bolland played in 433 games, scoring 85 goals with 123 assists for a total of 208 points in his NHL career.

I’d say he’s a pretty good player. Sure, he doesn’t have the stats you’ll see with the “top players” in the league, but there’s more to hockey than just that. The hardcore Blackhawks fans appreciate everything he did for this team.