Robert Emmett Sweeney is a retired American professional ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 center

Centre (ice hockey)

The centre in ice hockey is a forward position of a player whose primary zone of play is the middle of the ice, away from the side boards. Centres have more flexibility in their positioning and are expected to cover more ice surface than any other player...

.

Career

Sweeney was born in Boxborough, Massachusetts

Boxborough, Massachusetts

Boxborough is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 4,996 at the 2010 census. The town name is often spelled "Boxboro" on highway signs and official documents, but the correct spelling is, in fact, Boxborough....

. He was drafted out of high school by the Boston Bruins

Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...

 in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft

1982 NHL Entry Draft

The 1982 NHL Entry Draft was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League teams selected 252 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the reverse order of the 1981–82 NHL season and playoff standings. This is the list of those players...

, and went on to play four years at Boston College

Boston College

Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...

. He made his NHL

National Hockey League

The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

 debut in the 1986–87 season, but spent most of the year with the Bruins AHL

American Hockey League

The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...

 affiliate the Moncton Golden Flames

Moncton Golden Flames

The Moncton Golden Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Moncton, New Brunswick, playing home games at the Moncton Coliseum. The team operated in the American Hockey League between 1984 and 1987, as a minor league affiliate of the Calgary Flames and the Boston Bruins...

. The 1987–88 season was Sweeney's first full year, a season where Boston traveled to the Stanley Cup Finals

1988 Stanley Cup Finals

The 1988 Stanley Cup Finals was between the Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins. The Oilers would win the series 4–0 in five games; game four was abandoned due to a power failure at the Boston Garden with the score tied 3–3 and replayed.-Paths to the Final:...

 only to be swept by the Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....

.

Following six seasons with Boston, Sweeney was claimed off waivers by the Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:...

 in 1992 and then by the New York Islanders

New York Islanders

The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

 in 1995. After being traded to the Calgary Flames

Calgary Flames

The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is the third major-professional ice hockey team to represent the city of Calgary, following the...

 during the 1995–96 season Sweeney retired from the NHL. He spent the next season in the IHL before traveling across the Atlantic to play in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga from 1997 until 2001. He is currently the head coach of the Valley Jr. Warriors '96 Elite squad.

Awards and achievements

• Hockey East Second All-Star Team (1985)
• Bob Sweeney Named Director of Development for the Boston Bruins Foundation - 2007

Personal

Bob Sweeney is the brother-in-law of Madeline Amy Sweeney

Madeline Amy Sweeney

Madeline Amy Sweeney , known as Amy Sweeney, was an American flight attendant on board American Airlines Flight 11 which was hijacked and flown deliberately into the North Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, as part of the September 11, 2001 attacks...

, one of the flight attendants on American Airlines Flight 11

American Airlines Flight 11

American Airlines Flight 11 was American Airlines' daily scheduled morning transcontinental flight from Logan International Airport, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Los Angeles International Airport, in Los Angeles, California...

, which hit the north tower of the World Trade Center during the September 11, 2001 attacks.

External links