By Jess Lander, YawkeyTalkies Editor

David Warsofsky was watching the World Cup dreams of the US National Soccer Team slip away against Ghana on Saturday afternoon when his phone rang. Little did he know that his own dream was waiting on the other end of the line.

It was his advisor, with news that he had been traded to the team he grew up not only watching, but also dreaming of one day sporting the black and gold jersey for himself: the Boston Bruins.

“Just growing up and watching all the Bruins that came through the system over the years, it’s an honor to put on the same sweater as them and be part of the same organization as them,” said Warsofsky.

The Marshfield native has had a phenomenal year and a half. He won the 2009 NCAA Championship with his fellow Boston University Terriers his freshman year, before going on to win a gold medal with the U20 US team at the Junior National Championships. Just weeks later, he had the honor of skating at Fenway Park (50 seconds in, Warsofsky’s great goal celebration), home of his favorite baseball team, as part of the Winter Classic game between BU and the BC Eagles. In his sophomore season, he scored a career high of 12 goals, to total 15 goals and 31 assists for 46 points over his college career thus far.

“It was icing on the cake to win [the NCAA Championships] the way we did; it was an awesome way to start my college career. Then the National Championships were another thing,” said Warsofsky. “It’s been a hell of a year for me. I know it’s there but it’s still kind of surreal.”

Now, with the Bruins in his future, Warsofsky, at just twenty years old, can top that icing off with some sprinkles.

The youngest of four boys, he followed in his brothers footsteps and started skating at the age of three, and hockey by six of seven. He played for the U20 team before he was even out of high school. Then, as if getting a spot on a Division 1 college squad wasn’t enough to be proud of, the defenseman closed out his freshman year being drafted to the NHL by the Saint Louis Blue Jays in the fourth round as the 95^th pick overall.

Warsofsky worked very hard on and off the ice but says that a lot of his success is the product of a higher power.

“A lot of it is about giving yourself the opportunity to get noticed by teams. It’s also a lot of luck, to get noticed by the right person at the right time. All it takes is one person to like you. I believe that everything happens for a reason,” he said.

If his destiny was to leave home for Saint Louis than so be it, but that’s not quite what turned out to be in the cards for him as the Bruins traded frontman Vladimir Sobotka to the Jays to acquire his rights.

“When you get drafted by a team you grow a passion for them. I like Saint Louis, they’re a great team, but being traded to Boston gives me an unbelievable opportunity,” said Warsofsky.

Moreover, staying local has the added advantage of remaining close to family and friends.

“It’s unbelievable playing in Boston [for BU] now. My family can come to every game. Hopefully I’ll be able to play at the Garden and they can come then too,” he said. “It’s nice to know I have family that will always support me.”

His current plan is to stay at BU for at least another year, possibly two, before joining the NHL and seeing what happens from there. While he’ll be training hard to get into professional shape, he’ll also be focusing on his junior Terrier season.

“Last year at BU, we struggled. Hopefully this year we can get back on top and win another championship,” said Warsofsky.

Then, in a few years, Boston fans can cross their fingers that a champion like Warsofsky can be the good luck charm that the Bruins, now almost four decades deep in Cup drought, need after an extremely disappointing end to their 2010 playoff run against the Flyers.

“It’s one of those things you can’t put in words. When it happened we were all devastated,” he said.

But, if his luck continues, 2010 will be soon forgotten when Warsofsky attains his ultimate dream of winning a Stanley Cup—at home.

Parts of this article also appeared in the Marshfield Mariner

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