Driver Reflects on Devils Franchise History | FEATURE

When Bruce Driver was drafted by the Colorado Rockies in 1981 little did he know the franchise would move to New Jersey and become the Devils before he made his NHL debut.
"I was actually just at home," Driver recounted, "Back in that time computers were not a factor so it was more just seeing it on TV that the team was going to move."
Although Driver never played for the Rockies, he did catch one game in Denver during his college years.
"Fortunately for me, I actually got a chance to watch Colorado play and Chico Resch of course," Driver said about the former franchise. "I played at Wisconsin so we always went out to Denver and played (University of) Denver and Colorado College and I was actually able to catch a game. We just happened to be out there at the right time and saw them play one game."
During Driver's time playing with the Canadian Olympic Team, the Devils invited him to forgo his senior year of college at try-out for the NHL team at the end of a season. For the defenseman, this was an opportunity he couldn't turn down.

"A few years later I was with the Canadian Olympic Team in 1983-84 and my intention was to go back my last year and graduate school because I still had a year left," Driver explained. "But the Devils called me, asked me to come here essentially on a try-out at the end of the year, so it was a big decision to make. Do I turn pro now or do I go back to school and finish my last year? But the decision was made pretty easy.
"The team was struggling a little bit that year," Driver remembers, "it was the Mario Lemieux draft year so Pittsburgh and Devils were kind of last and second last the whole year and I just felt that if this was going to be a great opportunity for me to come in at the end of the year and actually play in some live games right away, and not have to come to training camp and fight for a spot on the team, so I could at least get my foot in the door that way."
Driver spent parts of 12 seasons for the New Jersey Devils, playing 702 games, and the defenseman helped the franchise win its first Stanley Cup in 1995. Fast forward to 2022, Driver is still involved as a Devils alumnus, he coaches high school girls hockey in New Jersey and continues to be a part of the communities he first called home in 1984.
As the Devils celebrate four decades of hockey in the Garden State, Driver helped the team celebrate franchise history with this year's Reverse Retro jerseys. The sweaters feature Colorado Rockies colors while bearing the NJ crest, a tribute to both the past and present.
"I think it's very important," Driver said ahead of the Devils first Reverse Retro game at Prudential Center. "A lot of people know a little bit about the Rockies but don't really know that the franchise actually originated in Kansas City, they were there for such a short time. It's very important. It's 40 years of the franchise being alive so it's a great tribute to them. I like the color scheme. It's as close as you're going to get to what the old Rockies jerseys were like. And of course, the most important thing is that nice logo on the front. That's what we play for, we play for the Devils. So it's an awesome looking jersey."