WHA Whalers to Give Bolduc Tryout

Danny Bolduc, former Harvard and Olympic hockey team member, will be wearing a different uniform tonight as he takes the ice in the first of a ten game amateur tryout with the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association.

Bolduc, reached last night in San Diego, where the Whalers take on the Mariners tonight, said that he "will be given a good long look" and will hopefully be skating on a regular shift.

"Danny's a dynamic, exciting skater with good goal scoring ability," coach Tim Taylor said yesterday.

Bolduc echoed Taylor's confidence. "It's a chance I want to take, and I really think I can make it," Bolduc said.

If the 5 ft. 9 in. speedster impresses the management with his tryout he will be given a regular contract, making him ineligible to play his final year of varsity hockey at Harvard. However, he does plan "one way or another" to complete his final year of college, which he left to play on the Olympic team.

Bolduc's dealings with professional hockey teams go back to his freshmen year at Harvard. He has been on the negotiating list of both the Whalers and the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League. The Kings also offered him the same ten game amateur tryout, but he chose the WHA.

After skating with the team for only two practices, Bolduc almost immediately noticed "a quicker, more physical game" than he playyed in college or the Olympics. He describes his Olympic experience as "fantastic. My puck handling and stick control really improved. It was also a great thrill playing against the Russians. It's something I'll long remember."

So will the Whalers, who took high regard of his 41 goals and 32 assists in his six month touring stint with the Olympic team. Hockey captain Kevin Carr added, "He has all the tools. He played the best hockey of his life with the Olympic team."

Bolduc seems to think there's still room for improvement, and his parents agree. Both his mother and father see the tryout as "a fantastic opportunity. It's been an exciting year for Danny. I have no doubt he can make it," the elder Bolduc said.