Terry ranks right at the top of the players who made the most out of their opportunity to play in the NHL. Most of the credit for his 14-year NHL career was definitely his work ethic. He never had the talent as most of the other players had,but he had more guts and will to work hard than most of the other NHL players and that was a major reason why he lasted so many years in the league.
Terry was the most popular player on the Boston Bruins team for many years. People loved his never say die attitude. He went out on every shift like if it was his last.
Charismatic Don Cherry said "Terry typifies our team. He's tough, really tough, and that's the way I like em'. I know a coach isn't supposed to like one player more than another, but I can't help it in regard to Terry O'Reilly."
Terry was indeed a tough player who racked up 2095 penalty minutes in 891 regular season games. He earned nicknames as "Terry the Tiger" or "The Irish Thunder" but the nickname that stuck with him was "The Tazmanian Devil" or just "Taz" as he was called by teammates.
Terry in fact was a goalkeeper as a kid and still played in goal for the St. Gertrude team as a 13-year old. The reason why he was in goal was that he was a poor skater, and he wasn't much of a skater as a pro either. As a junior Terry had problems making the Oshawa Generals junior A team. But his desire and leadership qualities were so strong that he ended up as the team captain in his final season with the Generals.
The Bruins picked him with their 2nd choice and 14th overall in the 1971 draft. Throughout his career it was always Terry that was the first player on the ice when his team practiced and the last off. This devotion and dedication payed off later on in his career when he became the captain for the Bruins.
Terry had a great sense of humour and was always quick to offer a joke on himself, downplaying his talents and often pointing attention to his skating ability or lack thereof. When travelling between the games you seldom found Terry without a book in his hand. He was always reading something, best sellers, fiction or non-fiction. He was also an avid antique collector who liked to just scour through many of the antique shops around New England.
Terry played mostly on checking lines the first couple of seasons and scored 27, 35 and 35 points before getting 23 goals and 50 points in 1975-76. He then increased his point production to 55 points and a career high 90 pts (29 goals) in 1977-78. He had 77 points in 78-79 and 61 points in 79-80. Terry had a total of 606 points (204+402) in 891 games and an excellent career +/- rating of +212
His hardwork also gave him two trips to the All-Star games in 1975 and 78.
Terry quit after the 1984-85 season to the dismay of the Boston fans who had taken the "Irishman" to their hearts during his career in beantown. Terry is the prototype of a player who made it to the NHL on passion, grit and a lot of hard work.