During his first training camp in September of 1966, Bobby Orr was already being touted as a potential savior for the Boston Bruins.
The Oshawa Generals all-star defenseman finished in 3rd place in OHL scoring during the 1965-66 season, with 38 goals, 56 assists and 94 points. That was one more point than the Montreal Jr Canadiens center Jacques Lemaire (41-52-93)and 20 more than Niagra Falls Flyers center Derek Sanderson (33-43-76). Oshawa teammate Wayne Cashman only had 70 points (26 goals and 44 assists).
The Boston Bruins leading scorer during the 65-66 season was center Murray Oliver (18-42-60). Johhny Bucyk, long-time franchise scoring leader for the Bruins, only scored 57 points that year. The B's were in need of scoring punch, and Orr could score goals and generate offense.
So there was a possibility that Bobby Orr could have ended up as a forward.
Orr took his turn on defense as the Boston Bruins opened training in London, Ont in September of 1966., but general manager Hap Emms hinted that he would get some work in camp as a forward.
Orr had signed with the Bruins that summer for a salary speculated at $50,000 over two years, the highest ever for a rookie at that time.
While a crowd of about 1,500 watched the Bruins' drill on September 19, it was a quiet day in the Peterborough camp of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Three other teams, the Chicago Black Hawks, New York Rangers, and Detroit Red Wings, opened training on that day, with the Montreal Canadiens, defending Stanley Cup champions, waiting until that Friday to begin workouts.
The Red Wings and Black Hawks trained on home ice, and the Rangers were in Kingston, Ont. The Canadiens settled down to work at the Montreal Forum.
The Bruins' workout also gave rookie coach Harry Sinden his first chance to see how the 18 holdovers stacked up against the 21 rookies he had in camp. Sinden, who had coached the Oklahoma City Blazers of the Central Professional League the previous season, succeeded the legendary Milt Schmidt to be the Boston bench boss.
Ted Green, who had suffered a damaged right knee the previous season when he collided with Chicago's Eric Nesterenko, showed no apparent ill effects during the workout. He had undergone treatment that summer, pumping a bicycle exerciser up to 35 miles a day.
Orr, who was 18 at the time, had been paired on defense with 21-year-old Gilles Marotte, who had stayed with the Bruins the previous season after being called up from the Niagara Falls Flyers, Boston's farm club in the Junior A OHA.