The Bruins coach was selected by Chicago with the No. 18 pick in the 1983 NHL Draft and trained with the Blackhawks at Notre Dame when Mike Keenan was coaching them. As for the Bruins, he grew up in Ottawa rooting for them.
"Being a Bruins fan growing up and being a Blackhawks player in my NHL] career, it's nice to have both those things," Cassidy said.
***[\[RELATED: Complete NHL Winter Classic coverage\]*
As the Bruins prepared to head to South Bend, Indiana, following
their 3-2 overtime win
against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, Cassidy and his players spoke about how special the game will be.
During his three seasons playing at Harvard, Bruins forward Ryan Donato saw other college teams play in outdoor games, but he never had the chance to play in one.
"It's pretty surreal," said Donato, who played indoors at Notre Dame for Harvard in the Shillelagh Tournament Championship in 2015. "What a cool experience that was playing at their hockey rink; it's an awesome rink. I think we stopped off by the football stadium and I just thought, I can't even imagine playing in front of an atmosphere like this. The fact that we have an opportunity to do it, it's pretty special."
That's a sentiment echoed by Bruins captain Zdeno Chara, who's in his 21st NHL season and will be playing in his third Winter Classic. He and Patrice Bergeron are the only two current Bruins who played for Boston in the 2010 Winter Classic at Fenway Park and the 2016 Winter Classic at Gillette Stadium. Though they've been there before, Chara said the anticipation is still high.
"It's the very first time at Notre Dame Stadium, so that's kind of exciting," Chara said. "As far as playing in a third Winter Classic, if it's still special, I'd say yes. It's been a few years (since the last time the Bruins took part in the Winter Classic) so it's exciting and I'm looking forward to playing again. It's a big-stage game. I'm not going to lie; it's something that we all look forward to."
