Thornton fractures his wrist

Boston Bruins center Joe Thornton, the No. 1 pick in this year's entry draft, suffered a fractured bone above his left wrist in Tuesday night's 2-1 exhibition victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins at Worcester, Mass., and will miss six to eight weeks.

Nicknamed "Big Bird", Thornton was slashed above the left wrist by Penguin center Stu Barnes in the final minute of the opening period. No penalty was called on the play. Thornton was taken to UMass Medical Center, where X-rays revealed a chip of the radial bone.

"A fracture is a fracture. Any fracture is serious, but it's not displaced," Bruins general manager Harry Sinden said. "The doctor thinks the biggest problem will come from the swelling in the tendons going up towards the thumb. How long it will be exactly, he can't say. It was an obvious stick foul that was missed. I was at the other end of the rink and I could see it from there, but it's not the first one."

Thornton, who turned 18 on July 2, was the first 17-year-old selected first overall since the Buffalo Sabres tabbed Pierre Turgeon in 1987. He later signed a reported three-year, $9 million contract with the Boston Bruins.

Analysis:
Boston missed the playoffs last year and fired coach Steve Kasper and hired Pat Burns as his replacement. Loss of Thornton doesn't fare well with the team, altough rumor has the Bruins sending him to minors to get a lot of icetime.

Signing of Sergei Samsonov, their second first-round pick in '97 entry draft, and his performance have been the highlights of the Bruins pre-season. On the downside the team committed an idiotic trade with the L.A. Kings, giving up center Jozef Stumpel, right wing Sandy Moger and a draft pick for left wing Dimitri Khristich and goalie Byron Dafoe. Khristich's attitude problems in Los Angeles were widely reported and he was called "a cancer" by teammates.