I remember Kluzak a bit with Boston in the 1988 Finals (1 assist, -5). But I didn't really see him play prior to that... and after that, he was basically done, at age 23. Such an odd and unfortunate career.
He was (is?) great friends with Oilers' career-ist Craig MacTavish, from the 1982-84 period in Boston.
The thread topic is a good one, because it does seem (to me) a bit odd that Kluzak would go 1st overall. Maybe whoever was in charge of the pick (Sinden?) liked Western Hockey League guys or something, I don't know. Was Kluzak typically 'ranked' higher as a prospect than Scott Stevens, who was in the OHL and had had a fine season (playing with Bellows) and winning the Memorial Cup?
Nothing wrong with grabbing a big, good skating, two-way Dman with your first pick, but... I think it's a matter of playing the odds. Like, if your pick ends up being Scott Stevens or Chris Pronger, you kind of win the lottery. But I think it's pretty rare that a defensively reponsible Dman at 18 can be guessed to be such an impact player at the NHL level that it's worth the gamble of taking him over elite scoring forwards (who may influence games less, but at least you kind of know what you're getting). The Bruins had already won the lottery once by getting Bourque three years earlier, so maybe they thought they'd roll the dice again.
What we saw of Kluzak doesn't indicate that he was a 'deserved' 1st overall pick, but it's hard to say when it's a Dman who was basically done at 23. You'd have to see a few more years to start to judge it.
