A Boston Bruin Man Cave

This article is from The Boston Globe When not on the ice, Dennis Wideman is hanging in his pad - The Boston Globe
By Globe Staff writer:
Christopher Muther
© Copyright 2010 Globe Newspaper Company.

Sports Celebrity Man Cave

When not on the ice, he’s hanging in his pad

To hear Boston Bruins defenseman Dennis Wideman tell it, decorating his North End bachelor pad was a quick, but not necessarily painless project.

“I try to make things like that as easy as possible,’’ he says. “I don’t particularly enjoy furnishing an apartment. I have the time, but I just don’t like thinking about furniture.’’

His decorator, Waltham-based Erin Polansky, has a slightly different take on the experience, however.

“At first he was pretty indifferent to the process,’’ she says. “I think that’s the reaction some people have when they first start working with a decorator. But as we got into it more, it was clear that there were some things that were important to him.’’

The first thing Wideman wanted to change about the condo - which has dramatic views of TD Garden and the Zakim Bridge - was the wall color. The stark white left him feeling cold, so Polansky warmed up the walls with beige. White doors were replaced with cherry-stained wood to give the two-bedroom condo more personality and a more masculine feel.

But despite his stated indifference toward redecorating - and let’s be honest, not many pro hockey players, save Sean Avery, would own up to an interest in style - Wideman was clear on one item he wanted to have a place of honor in his home.

“I’ve always wanted a pool table,’’ he says. “I have a big island that I can use as a kitchen table, so I knew if I got a dining room table, I wouldn’t use it at all. I figured I’d use a pool table a lot more than a kitchen table.’’

Wideman uses the billiards table two to three times a week, although if he went to an actual pool hall he’d swiftly be defeated by professionals. He’s more skilled at the other game in his condo - the arcade-size video game Big Buck Hunter, which he managed to purchase through a contact in the bar industry. In the hockey off-season, Wideman sees real bucks when he returns home to Canada, where he lives on a lake in Northern Ontario.

“It’s definitely a bit of a man cave," says Polansky. “But I think there are some things that we did that make it a little more than the usual bachelor pad. We found a really cool [industrial] light to go over the pool table. It’s a modern take on the lighting in a pool hall."

She said that Wideman also took an interest in the art for the condo, including a painting by local artist Amber Ghory which hangs near the beloved pool table.

But Wideman says what pleases him most about the space is its “Boston feel.’’
“When I was traded here [from St. Louis], I knew I wanted to live in a place that felt like Boston,’’ Wideman says. “I like this place because it has exposed brick and beams. If I’m going to live in Boston, I want to have the full experience.’’

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Career Stats in the jump!

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1999–00	Sudbury Wolves	OHL		63	10	26	36	64		12	1	2	3	22
2000–01	Sudbury Wolves	OHL		25	7	11	18	37		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	London Knights	OHL		24	8	8	16	38		5	0	4	4	6
2001–02	London Knights	OHL		65	27	42	69	141		12	4	9	13	26
2002–03	London Knights	OHL		55	20	27	47	83		14	6	6	12	10
2003–04	London Knights	OHL		60	24	41	65	85		15	7	10	17	17
2004–05	Worcester IceCats	AHL		79	13	30	43	65		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Peoria Rivermen	AHL		12	2	4	6	31		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	St. Louis Blues	NHL		67	8	16	24	83		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	St. Louis Blues	NHL		55	5	17	22	44		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Boston Bruins	NHL		20	1	2	3	27		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Boston Bruins	NHL		81	13	23	36	70		6	0	3	3	0
2008–09	Boston Bruins	NHL		79	13	37	50	34		11	0	7	7	4
NHL totals				302	40	95	135	258		17	0	10	10	4