Marc Savard
Marc Savard was born in Ottawa, Ontario, and played for the Oshawa Generals of the OHL. He enjoyed several highly successful offensive seasons with the Generals, including 1994-1995 in which he scored 139 points in 66 games and the 1996-1997 season in which he scored 130 points in 64 games. Savard was selected 91st overall in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft as a result of his excellent play with the Generals. He was selected as the 2nd choice of the New York Rangers. He was acquired by Atlanta from Calgary in exchange for Ruslan Zainullin on November 15, 2002. Savard played in the Swiss league during the 2004-05 NHL lockout. In July 2006, he signed with Boston after becoming an unrestricted free agent. Savard is steadily becoming one of the most reliable and exciting forwards in the game. He is at his best when he has solid wingers to work with, as evidenced with his years in Atlanta playing alongside Ilya Kovalchuk. With Kovalchuk on his wing, Savard tied for third in the league with assists and was able to use his speed and skill to move the puck to the sniper. In Boston, Savard will be doing more of the same, but will likely not have as much to work with. He'll have to go it alone more often than not, leading to reliance on his own offensive prowess to get the job done. Savard also has a feisty side, being one of just two players in the 2005-2006 season to score more than 90 points and have over 100 penalty minutes. It is that grit that will serve him well in Boston. Savard is the all-time points leader for the Oshawa Generals and has twice been awarded the top scorer award in the OHL, in 1994-1995 and in 1996-1997. He also set the Atlanta Thrashers single season record with 69 assists.
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