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By Chris Mancuso

Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the most storied cities in the world of sports. Many great athletes have played in this city, and some have never left, which is precisely the case for former Boston Bruins goaltender and 2003-2004 Calder trophy winner and current Boston Bruins analyst at NESN Andrew Raycroft. We caught up with Andrew to discuss what brought him back to the city of Boston, as well as what made him jump from coaching to the wild world of sports journalism.

“Short answer, My wife is from here. But I really love the area and think it’s a great place to raise kids. It truly is my new home”, Said Raycroft, who was drafted by the Boston Bruins in the fifth round (135th overall) in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. Andrew played the next season in the Ontario Hockey League for the Kingston Frontenacs where he was named the CHL goalie of the year as well as being named a first-team All-Star.

Between 2000-2003 Andrew Raycroft saw 21 games for the big club while playing mostly down in Providence for the American Hockey Leagues Providence Bruins. It was in the 2003-2004 season that the Boston Bruins netminder made himself a household name starting 57 games for the Bruins where he went 29-18-9 boasting an impressive 2.05 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage earning him the NHL’s Calder Trophy “I met my wife here, so I was able to stay through the summer and get in great shape with John Whitesides while also having her around.” in 2006 he was later traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs for current Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask.

From 2014-2016 the former Calder Trophy winner was an assistant coach at the University Of Connecticut; after that, he took time to find his place in the Hockey world. “I hadn’t thought too much about getting into media post-career. I came back from Europe and was chasing the kids around doing a few things with the Bruins, and I spoke with NESN randomly. I Ended up doing an audition and got a couple of games. After 3-4 games, I really enjoyed it and have been trying to improve”.

Like any athlete who’s made the transition from player to member of the media Andrew Raycroft has seen just about every side the Hockey world has to offer and one thing is for sure he is very thankful to those who helped him get to where he is today “My family and friends have always been my biggest supporters. My parents and sister were here there for me through everything, and my success would not have been possible without them.”

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