Robbie Ftorek * 1972 Olympic Team

Player:
Needham High School
U.S. National Hockey Team, 1971 Bern, Geneva
U.S. Olympic Hockey Team, 1972 Silver Medal - Sapporo
Detroit Red Wings
Quebec Nordiques
New York Rangers
Coach:
New Haven AHL
Los Angeles NHL
Halifax AHL
Utica AHL
Albany AHL
New Jersey NHL
Current Head Coach: Boston Bruins
Born: Needham, Massachusetts

Robbie Ftorek was named as the 24th head coach in the history of the Boston Bruins on May 9, 2001. Ftorek, who signed a two-year contract with a club option for a third year.

Ftorek is a native of Needham, Massachusetts, where he was a schoolboy standout in both hockey and soccer. Still regarded as the top high school hockey player in state history, he set a new state hockey scoring record in his freshman season at Needham High School and broke his own record in each of his final three high school seasons, including 54 goals and 118 points in 23 games in his senior year. Following a year playing junior hockey in Halifax, he joined the U.S. National Team in 1971 and won a Silver medal with the 1972 U.S. Olympic Team in Japan. He was selected by the New England Whalers in the 1972 WHA General Player Draft, but opted to sign as a free agent with the NHL's Detroit Red Wings in August, 1972 and played two seasons in the Red Wings organization in both Detroit and Virginia/AHL. He joined the WHA in 1974 and played five seasons with Phoenix and Cincinnati before returning to the NHL when he was signed by Quebec as a free agent in August, 1979. He played six more seasons in both the Quebec and New York Rangers organizations before retiring as a player in 1985. His 13-year playing career included NHL playing totals of 77 goals and 150 assists for 227 points in 334 career games and WHA playing totals of 216 goals and 307 assists for 523 points in 373 career games.
Ftorek was honored with induction into the U. S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991.
He and his wife, Wendy, have four children, Sam, Lucie, Casey and Anna.

Robbie Ftorek speech at Massachusetts Hockey induction ceremony.

Why don't we remember them?
Just as the soldiers returned from the war in Vietnam with little or no fanfare, so to did the 1972 Silver Medal Olympic team. America's consciousness was focused on the turmoil going on in the streets and in the jungle of Vietnam. Not on speed skaters, Dianne Holum's Gold Medal in the 1,500-meter race or Anne Henning, the perky 16 year old, winning gold in the 500-meter event. Both young ladies are from Northbrook Illinois, and both broke the Olympic record in Sapporo. No, not even the Richmond Vermont slalom skier, gold medallist Barbara Cochran our next-door neighbor.  Yes we missed a glorious moment; yes we lost forever the chance to welcome back our soldiers and our Olympians.

For the past 20 years we have clung to the hero's of 1980, the U. S. Gold Medal Team, the "Miracle on Ice". It was now a quiet time in America, a time to enjoy the Olympics and reflect and to dream.

Well hockey fans it time to meet some new hero's. On October 1st, 2000, some 28 years late, eyes were opened as Massachusetts Hockey inducted the members of the 1972 Olympic Hockey Team " The Forgotten Team" into the Mass Hockey Hall of Fame.
As they spoke, I can tell you truthfully, there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

Stu Irving (Assistant Coach Merrimack College) was virtually plucked from the jungles of Vietnam. Serving several months there before being called to play for the team. All together 5 members of the team were serving in the military before being called to play.
Some of the honorees hadn't seen each other in 28 years and some had spoken only briefly in that time.
Induction Night:
Robbie Ftroek had lost contact all together as his schedule in the NHL kept him busy.
Robbie (Former LA Kings--Jersey Devil and now Boston Bruins coach ) gave a speech from the heart, as did the others, which had us captivated by their emotional recollection of the events and what it meant to them.
Stu Irving spoke with vivid re-collection of how he had been plucked from Vietnam, thanking Jim Logue (Assistant Coach Boston College) for recommending to Williamson, that he (Irving) join the team.
Tim Sheehy spoke of how he had played these international teams before without much success and how happy he was to have beaten them, (Poland 6-1 Czech 5-1) and how the 72 team softened up the Russians for the 1980 "Miracle On Ice Team".
Dave Silk (1980 Olympic Team) was the Master of Ceremonies, which made the give and take lively and quite funny.

The 1972 Olympic Team Roster: