From NEHJ: B's super scout Bradley survives scare
By Kirk Luedeke
The highlight of Scott Bradley’s nearly 20 years with the Boston Bruins as scout and player personnel director was the 2011 Stanley Cup championship. However, Bradley’s ties to the organization run much deeper than his own service and contributions in building a winner.
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Scott Bradley (far right) and his family -- wife Cathy, son Richard and daughter Allison -- pose with the Stanley Cup in Vancouver in August. |
Bradley’s late father, Bart, played one game for the
Bruins in 1950, and was a longtime scout who taught his son the ins
and outs of the game and talent evaluation. The elder Bradley had
his hand in many successes over the years, but it was his
recommendation to then-GM Harry Sinden to acquire Cam Neely from
Vancouver in 1986 that may be the most famous.
Scott grew up around the team, and although Bart Bradley passed
away in 2006, he got to see his son follow in his footsteps with
the Bruins. The younger Bradley rose to the position of chief
amateur scout in 1996-97 after breaking into the organization as a
full-time scout just three years earlier.
Scott Bradley’s 2006-07 was not yet under way when he
noticed a lump on his knee, about the size of a quarter. After
being advised by the trainer to undergo the full medical testing
with the Boston players, a biopsy was taken from the growth.
Bradley soon got the devastating news from team physician Dr. Bert
Zarins that the lump was a malignant sarcoma.
With time being of the essence, Charlie Jacobs and Sinden acted
quickly to assemble a team of doctors to assess Bradley’s
cancer. With the Bruins assuming the medical costs upfront, an
operation was quickly scheduled and the sarcoma successfully
removed in Boston in late September. The eight-hour operation
required extensive evacuation of the right knee, resulting in
nearly a month in which Bradley was immobilized.
Bradley returned home to Vancouver to convalesce and by
mid-November was back to work, scouting players and traveling as
much as his doctors would allow. By the time Christmas rolled
around, Bradley was scouting the Viking Cup and World Junior
Championship tournaments while preparing to run the Bruins table at
the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.
In 2008, Bradley had a recurrence of cancer in the right knee.
This time, he had major surgery to remove the sarcoma and also
required the removal of muscle and tissue in his left leg to
rebuild what was taken out of the right. After missing about a
month or so recovering from the second procedure, Bradley was
cancer-free and returned to work to scout and prepare the team for
the 2009 draft.
“I can’t say enough about the Jacobs family, Harry
Sinden and the Boston Bruins organization,” Bradley said
recently as he prepared for his 19th training camp with the team.
“Without them, I wouldn’t be talking about this today
and I would not have been here to see the Stanley Cup
victory.”
Given what Bradley has done to help build the organization he
loves, it’s safe to say that without his contributions, the
2011 championship season may not have been possible.
This article originally appeared in the October 2011 issue of New England Hockey Journal. Kirk Luedeke can be reached at feedback@hockeyjournal.com