Life in the Regent Park section of Cabbage Town was without certainty or luxury, especially for Metropolit, who grew up with only pennies in his pocket and little more than the hockey stick and ball he carried in his hands.
"He took that stick and ball with him everywhere," his mother recalled. "He'd be on the couch, and there were times I'd be, 'OK, Glen, enough . . . put that stuff down!' "
Today a key component of the Bruins' offense, the 33-year-old Metropolit has carved a pro hockey career out of less than ice shavings. He grew up poor, never knew his biological father, spent portions of his early childhood with relatives and in foster homes, and only began to inch up the hockey ladder in his late teens when a neighborhood pal suggested he try out for the Richmond Hill (Ontario) Junior B squad. He made it, on the last cut, and has spent the last 15 or so years skating one stride ahead of the next cut.
He may have found a home these days in Boston. Maybe. In a life that never has guaranteed him much more than a tryout - which is all he arrived here with in September's training camp - Metropolit has learned to take nothing for granted.
"I've always believed in myself, and I've always loved the game," he said after a recent practice in Wilmington. "And we like it here. A lot.
"It's been good so far. And no matter what, hey, I feel blessed. I'm playing a kid's game for a living, right? But you never really feel good unless you win, and the way the business works, you've got to win to stick around."
As a boy, hockey kept Metropolit busy, and away from some of the sinister temptations of the projects. His younger brother was not as athletic, or as engaged, or as fortunate.
