Robert Paul Allen (born November 14, 1978) is an American former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

who played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

for the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

and the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The ...

Playing career

As a youth, Allen played in the 1991 and 1992

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

s with a

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from c ...

team from

Beverly, Massachusetts Beverly is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, and a suburb of Boston. The population was 42,670 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. A resort, residential, and manufacturing community on the Massachusetts North Shore, Beverly incl ...

. Allen played for

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Founded in 1863, the university has more than 9,300 full-time undergraduates and nearly 5,000 graduate students. Although Boston College is classifi ...

, from which he was selected fifty-second in the

1998 NHL Entry Draft The 1998 NHL Entry Draft was the 36th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 27 at the Marine Midland Arena in Buffalo, New York. A total of 258 players were drafted. The last active players in the NHL from this draft class were Brian Gionta, Mi ...

by the

. He was subsequently traded to the

on the 2002 trade deadline, in exchange for Sean Brown. He spent the majority of his Oiler career in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

, although he did play one game for Edmonton in 2002–03. On July 22, 2004 he signed as a free agent by the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The club was founded as the Kans ...

. Allen never played with the Devils due to the

NHL Lockout The NHL lockout may refer to any of the four labour actions in the history of the National Hockey League: * The 1992 NHL strike, which postponed 30 games of the 1991–92 season * The 1994–95 NHL lockout, which cancelled many of the games of ...

. He was assigned to the

Albany River Rats The Albany River Rats were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Albany, New York at the Times Union Center. History Before the formation of the franchise Without a viable indoor arena with an ...

, of the AHL. On July 17, 2006, Allen was signed as a free agent by hometown team, the Boston Bruins, to a one-year deal. Allen was assigned to start the 2006–07 season with Boston's AHL affiliate, the

Providence Bruins The Providence Bruins are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the primary development team for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL). They play at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence, R ...

. He spent the first half of the season with Providence before playing his first NHL game in 5 years with the Bruins on January 17, 2007 against the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conf ...

. Allen's physical play earned him a spot with the Bruins for the remaining half of the season. On July 6, 2007, after testing free agency Allen re-signed with the Bruins to a one-year contract for the 2007–08 season. Allen only managed to play in only 19 games over the season with the Bruins as he was hampered by a back injury. Prior to the 2008–09 season Allen was diagnosed with two herniated discs in his back and has been unable to play since.

Personal

Allen was born in

Weymouth, Massachusetts ("To Work Is to Conquer") , image_map = Norfolk County Massachusetts incorporated and unincorporated areas Weymouth highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in Norfolk County in Massa ...

raised in

Hull, Massachusetts Hull is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States, located on a peninsula at the southern edge of Boston Harbor. Its population was 10,072 at the 2020 census. Hull is the smallest town by land area in Plymouth County and the four ...

, attended

Cushing Academy Cushing Academy is a Private school, private, coeducational College preparatory, college-preparatory school for Boarding school, boarding and Day school, day students in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, United States. It serves approximately 400 student ...

and currently lives in

Hingham, Massachusetts Hingham ( ) is a town in metropolitan Greater Boston on the South Shore of the U.S. state of Massachusetts in northern Plymouth County. At the 2020 census, the population was 24,284. Hingham is known for its colonial history and location o ...

with his wife Natalie, a teacher at the

Hingham High School Hingham High School is a co-ed public high school serving grades 9 through 12 for the town of Hingham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on Union Street near Hingham Center. This school was ranked number 985 on ''Newsweek''s 2005 list o ...

, and their son their daughter.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Bobby 1978 births Albany River Rats players American men's ice hockey defensemen Boston Bruins players Boston Bruins draft picks Boston College Eagles men's ice hockey players Edmonton Oilers players Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players Ice hockey players from Massachusetts Living people People from Hull, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Weymouth, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Plymouth County, Massachusetts Providence Bruins players Toronto Roadrunners players AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans NCAA men's ice hockey national champions