BATTLEFORD — Saskatchewan and Battleford’s residents along with diehard Bruins fans rejoiced when Saskatchewan born, and Battleford resident, Gregg Sheppard, was named in the top 100 legendary players for the Boston Bruins franchise. Sheppard joins high profile names like Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, Ace Bailey, Cam Neely and Patrice Bergeron, amongst the many others.
I caught up with Sheppard just finishing a round of golf where he expressed his humble pride in the announcement.
“I am excited to attend an event in a couple weeks and reconnect with some of the guys that were part of my Bruins career.”
Sheppard played in the waning days of the period where teenagers were signed to junior league contracts by NHL teams. His career escalated starting with junior hockey for the Estevan Bruins of the Western Hockey League, being the star of his team’s Memorial Cup drive in 1968.
In 1972, according to Wikipedia, Sheppard was named the league’s most valuable player for the Oklahoma City Blazers of the Central Hockey League and remains the all-time leading career scorer of the franchise.
The Bruins signed Sheppard in 1972 and his rookie season was exemplary, finishing sixth in balloting for rookie of the year honors. The following year, he made his true mark in the playoffs, scoring eleven goals in 16 playoff games as the Bruins went to the Stanley Cup finals.
Sheppard was a mainstay in Boston for six seasons, racking up remarkable statistics, all that can be found online through various sources. Overall, he players 657 NHL games and was recognized as a notably clean player.
“I was completely surprised when I learned of the announcement and while I am excited, it is pretty humbling. It was awesome playing with the guys there and it is an experience I will never forget,” says Sheppard.
“The emotion of playing a career out and thinking its all over with, another milestone hits, like this. The 100-year celebration is hosting six nights every few weeks that include a different era of players, and I am sure looking forward to attending.”
Sheppard’s legacy continued with both his son who played for the Humboldt Broncos and his efforts in offering mentorship to other players and the hockey community. He reflected fondly on growing up in Battleford and having lots of access to ice time at the arena.
Gregg’s brother, Bob Sheppard, adds “We are pretty proud of him. Quite a difference from where and how we grew up to making the NHL, and being in the limelight.”
Bob acknowledges that Saskatchewan and hometown roots were strong with Gregg and there was no doubt he was coming back home after his career.
“As a younger sibling, he was/is my hero. When he was playing and we travelled to see him, it was hard for him to go out as he was pretty popular. He won a fan award for the favorite Bruins player one year. “
A 2015 story on www.sasktoday.ca outlines his full circle from the Battlefords to the NHL and back.
It wasn’t just friends and family celebrating the former NHLer’s big news, the Town of Battleford made a social media post congratulating Sheppard on the acknowledgement to which dozens of community members and others around the province congratulated him on the achievement. Bruins fans everywhere were celebrating a Saskatchewan player receiving such a high honor.
When talking with Battleford Mayor, Ames Leslie, he said he will make a statement at an upcoming council meeting on this topic of community pride.
Some sources say that there are rumblings of some kind of signage somewhere to acknowledge the success of this hometown man and Battleford’s claim to fame with his sports success story.
