Back in '93, Hal Gill learned he made the NHL when a Bruins legend sang to him

''My rookie camp in '97 was tough. I was 6′ 7″, and every single guy trying to make a name for himself wanted to get a piece of me. I felt like I was getting into a scrap every day. I met my mother for dinner one night during camp, and she saw the black eye and the bloody knuckles.''

''It was a new experience for both of us. She knew I was going for it, and she was right out there with me.''

''Camps have changed a lot, but even back then we had the VO2 max test. Which — for those fortunate enough to not know — is an exercise that basically tests how fit you are by pushing you to your limit.

''It sucks. In Boston, we did our test on a stationary bike. And, O.K., I have to tell a quick story about the bike. In 2000, when Mike Keenan was our coach, we did all our testing in camp. I rode for about 13 minutes and I think I scored around 50 on the bike, which was below average.''

''Right after I finished, this lanky, blonde-haired kid came in. It was a 21-year-old Joe Thornton. He sat on the bike with a doughnut in his mouth kind of smirking while he ate it.... near Mike Keenan! And he took his time eating that thing, too. Then he rode and scored a 65. Which was really, really good.
And now that doughnut-eating kid is on his way to the Hall of Fame.''

''But my best memory of Bruins camps? Definitely when I finally made the team. Because after I was told I wasnt getting sent down & most likely going to be a Bruin — for real — we were all getting ready for the team picture, Ray Bourque came up to me while I was looking in the mirror. He had a big smile on his face, and he was singing, «Loooooks like you made iiiiiit! Loooooks like you made iiiiiit!» to the tune of that Barry Manilow classic. So yeah! Hall of Famer Ray Bourque sang to me.''