The Stanley Cup's Crimson connections

Three Harvard alumni played front-office roles in building the Boston Bruins team that won ice hockey's 2011 Stanley Cup.

The Bruins' Don Sweeney '88 hoists the Stanley Cup.

The Bruins' Don Sweeney '88 hoists the Stanley Cup. | Photograph by Brian Babineau/Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League celebrated on the ice in Vancouver, Canada, on June 15 when they won the seventh game of the finals over the Vancouver Canucks and so captured ice hockey's coveted Stanley Cup. The Bruins had not won the Cup since 1972. Three Harvard alumni, all ice hockey players themselves, were in the Bruins' front office and helped build the championship team. General manager Peter Chiarelli ’87 hired Bruins head coach Claude Julien in 2007 and has shaped the roster for more than five years with signings and trades. Assistant general manager Don Sweeney ’88 and director of collegiate scouting John Weisbrod ’91, both of whom have also logged five years with the Bruins, worked alongside Chiarelli in the team's front office to construct the squad that now owns the bragging rights on ice.

Related topics

You might also like

Despite personnel losses, Crimson captain Xaviah Bascon is upbeat about the 2026 season.

After a historic 2025-26 season, athletes eye NCAA championships.

Rassey returns to Cambridge from Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Most popular

The 1884 Cannibalism-at-Sea Case That Still Has Harvard Talking

The Queen v. Dudley and Stephens changed the course of legal history. Here’s why it’s been fodder for countless classroom debates.

Mindfulness—the unconventional research of psychologist Ellen Langer

Psychologist Ellen Langer's unconventional research. Plus, read about applying mindfulness techniques to eating.

An animal’s journey from grief to love shows how much humans need each other, too.

Explore More From Current Issue

Three hands hold smartphones displaying social media profiles with likes and hearts.

Tell us about how social media impacts your daily life.

Runners compete on a track, with a Harvard athlete in the foreground and others behind.

After a historic 2025-26 season, athletes eye NCAA championships.

Three actors perform on stage, with one actor interacting closely with another, set against abstract backgrounds.

The play Spare Parts is a contemporary fable about the quest to live forever.