30. Chris Kelly

There are maybe 10 die hard Chris Kelly fans, if that. I'm not saying that to sound like a hipster, or maybe I am.

"I liked Chris Kelly before he scored goals!"- Something I actually said seriously.

I was a Bruins fan long before the team acquired him before the trade deadline in 2011, but there was something about him where from the moment he got signed, I couldn't help but think, "This'll be good."

And it has been, least for 10 of us.

Not every player is going to be a Patrice Bergeron, or a Sidney Crosby, or a Jonathan Toews. It'd be nice, sure, and it's easy to like those players because they play with integrity and they score goals, but hockey is not JUST about raking in points. You need players that are going to set up plays, and forwards that are comfortable acting as defense on the penalty. You need goalies that can see around the bodies and right through to the puck. A team without variety in terms of position and skill would look just like the all star teams and no one would take it seriously.

What I've always like about Chris Kelly, is that the moment he touched the ice in black and gold, you could see in his playing that he gives 100%, every single game. Sometimes that means scoring a goal, sometimes it means setting them up, other times it means killing a penalty. He's a third line center. He knows his role, and for what he is, he plays it incredibly well. Various sports news sources have called him one of the most underrated players in the NHL. Many Bruins fans will disagree. When you compare him to Malkin yeah, he's going to fall a little short, but Malkin and Kelly aren't on ice to do the same thing. That's like being mad at a lawyer for his inability to diagnose cancer.

I know that's a stretch, but seriously, when you judge him for what he's supposed to do, Chris Kelly is pretty fricken incredible.

So why a post about him? Well, I have his jersey and to me he's about as important as my favorite band, or the sushi chef at my local takeout place. I've been rooting for this guy for three years. I can't help it. I love a good underdog.