P.J. Axelsson: A Bruin Through and Through

When you think of star players on the Boston Bruins names that come to mind are guys like Marc Savard, Phil Kessel, Zdeno Chara, and Michael Ryder. Most people don't think about P.J. Axelsson.

Anders Per-Johan Axelsson usually abbreviated to P.J. Axelsson has played for the Bruins his entire career—he plays left wing for the Bruins. Axxelson is the longest tenured Bruins player, having played for them since 1997. P.J. was drafted 177th overall in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft.

In P.J.'s first season he played all 82 regular season games, finishing with eight goals and 19 assists. His best year point wise would come in 2002-2003 in which he ended up with 17 goals and 19 helpers.

While P.J. isn't considered a great goal scorer or offensive threat he makes up for it in other areas of the ice. Through his 10 years in Boston he has averaged 73 games a year out of the 82. He has been known to be able to make great defensive plays for an offensive player and plays a key role on the penalty kill.

In 2006 P.J. played for his home country Sweden in the Olympics in which he helped them win the Gold Medal. He does hold one record in League Elitserien for most assists in the playoffs with 10.

This year P.J. finished with six goals and 24 assists and had two game winners in shootouts. His first game winner came against the Chicago Black Hawks. P.J. put a backhander past Nikolai Khabibulin to win it for the b's and then did it again against Ottawa later in the year to give them another victory. While P.J. might not be the best player, he should get his due.  This is for him so other people can see one of the better players in hockey that doesn't get as much recognition.