1972-73 O-Pee-Chee 41 Ivan Boldirev Hockey Card (Front)
1972-73 O-Pee-Chee 41 Ivan Boldirev Hockey Card (Back)
1972-73 O-Pee-Chee NHL Checklist
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Card Notes
Ivan is typical of the young, talented players around who the Seals are trying to build a winner. He’s a rugged centre, a strong skater and a fine puck handler. Ivan appeared briefly with the Boston Bruins, but the Bruins had so many good centers they decided to trade him. Ivan comes from the same hometown of the Esposito Bros.
En Français
Ivan est représentatif des jeunes joueurs talentueux qui forment la base des Seals. Il patine bien et sait manier la rondelle. Ivan joua brièvement pour les Bruins, mais ce club avait tellement de bons centres qu’il fut cédé aux Seals. Ivan demeure au Sault comme les frères Esposito.
Details
Ivan Boldirev came over the California Golden Seals in a trade with the Boston Bruins on November 17, 1971. Going the other way were Rich Leduc and Chris Oddleifson. Leduc played 33 games over two seasons with Boston before jumping to the WHA. Oddleifson didn’t hang around with the Bruins long either. He played six games in 1972-73 and was traded to the Vancouver Canucks 49 games into the 1973-74 NHL season.
Boldirev, on the other hand, played three solid seasons with the Golden Seals, scoring 25 goals in 1973-74. Following that season, he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for Mike Christie and Len Frig. With Chicago, Ivan’s career really took off.
Between 1970-71 and 1984-85, Ivan Boldirev played in 1,052 regular season and 48 playoff games in the National Hockey League. Along with the Bruins, Golden Seals and Blackhawks, Ivan also played for the Atlanta Flames, Vancouver Canucks and Detroit Red Wings.
Although born in Zrenjanin, Yugoslavia (now Serbia), Boldirev moved to Canada when he was two years old. He grew up in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, indeed the same hometown as Phil Esposito and Tony Esposito.