The New England Patriots have several players on their roster who shined in other sports before focusing their athletic talents on the NFL.
Tom Brady was a star catcher in high school and actually was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 1995 Major League Baseball draft. Wide receiver Chris Hogan was a four-year starter for the Penn State lacrosse team and special teamer Nate Ebner represented the United States in rugby during the 2016Â Summer Olympics.
And while there are no Patriots who had a noteworthy hockey career, Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy believes there’s one player on New England’s roster who could be rather versatile on skates, much like a current B’s star.
“You take a guy like (Julian) Edelman, it would be interesting to see if he could be a goal scorer,” Cassidy told ESPN. “It seems like he has the talent to play a lot of different positions. He competes hard in those dirty areas. He might have a little (Brad) Marchand in him.”
It’s not difficult to find comparisons between Edelman and Marchand. Both players are considered undersized for their respective sport, but they’ve made names for themselves through tenacity and grit.
Despite Cassidy’s review of Edelman, the speedy wideout isn’t the first Patriots player the Bruins coach would want to see on the ice. Cassidy couldn’t help but fantasize about Rob Gronkowski, whose 6-foot-6, 265-pound frame would present a daunting presence on the blue line.
Thumbnail photo via Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports Images
