Long before before Bruce Boudreau was a yappy guy behind the bench in the National Hockey League, he was one hell of a hockey player that just couldn’t quite make the jump to the NHL. He ended his career with just 141 regular season games in the show but had a career in the American Hockey League worthy of induction to the AHL Hall of Fame in 2009.
Bruce Boudreau – Junior Hockey
Bruce Boudreau’s junior career in the Ontario Hockey League (OMJHL at the time) was nothing short of awesome. He might be roly-poly now behind the bench of the Anaheim Ducks but back in the early 1970’s he was an offensive machine.
Boudreau played three years with the Toronto Marlboros (now Guelph Storm) between 1972-73 and 1974-75. Over 183 career regular season games with the Marlies, Bruce had amazing numbers with 152 goals and 213 assists for 365 points.
It all came to a head in his final year of junior, 1974-75. He led the league with 165 points over 69 games to earn the Eddie Powers Trophy. His 68 goals tied him for first in the OMJHL with Peter Lee of the Ottawa 67’s. Boudreau’s 97 assists were ten behind league leader Tim Young of the 67’s. Young was just two points behind Bruce for the league lead.
Toronto finished first overall, 19 points ahead of the second place Peterborough Petes. The Marlboros won the Robertson Cup championship by downing the Hamilton Fincups in the finals. They then went on to capture the national title with a 7-3 victory over the New Westminster Bruins in the Memorial Cup final.
Bruce Boudreau – Pro Hockey
Boudreau was the 14th overall pick at the 1974 WHA Amateur Draft by the Minnesota Fighting Saints. He played 30 games with Minnesota, his only time in the World Hockey Association, during the 1975-76 season. That year, he started with the Johnstown Jets of the North American Hockey League, the team that the hockey cult movie classic ‘Slapshot’ was losely based on.
At the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft, Boudreau went in the third round to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 42nd overall. He would play most of his 141 NHL games with the Maple Leafs but would also appear in a handful of games with the Chicago Blackhawks. His NHL experience was stretched out between 1976-77 and 1985-86.
He was a 50 goal scorer once over his pro career. Bruce scored exactly 50 in 1982-83 with the St. Catherines Saints of the AHL. He was third in the league for goals that season and second in points with 122.
Six different times during his career, Boudreau topped the 100 point plateau, once in the Central Hockey League, three times in the AHL and twice in the IHL. In 1987-88 with the Springfield Indians, he led the AHL with 116 points to earn the John B. Sollenberger Trophy.
Boudreau’s final two years, 1990-91 and 1991-92, were spent with the Fort Wayne Komets of the IHL. In 1990-91, Bruce was player/coach while scoring 40 goals and assisting on 80 for 120 points. He led the IHL in assists and finished second to teammate Lonnie Loach for points. The Komets reached the Turner Cup finals before falling to the Peoria Rivermen. In his final year of hockey as a player, 1991-92, Bruce was still providing heavy offense. In 77 games with the Komets, Boudreau scored 37 and assisted on 50 for 84 points.
In the end, much of his time was spent in the AHL. Over 625 career AHL games, Boudreau scored 316 and totalled 799 points. He is certainly worthy of his position in the AHL Hall of Fame among a select few.
Bruce Boudreau – Pro Coach
Bruce jumped right into coaching once his playing career came to an end. In 1992-93, he was behind the bench for the Muskegon Fury of the Colonial Hockey League. Since, he has coached in the IHL, ECHL, AHL and NHL.
Although pro hockey championships eluded Boudreau through his pro playing career and have his NHL coaching career, he has guided two teams to championships through the years.
With the Mississippi Sea Wolves of the ECHL in 1998-99, Bruce led the club to a Kelly Cup championship. The Sea Wolves met the Richmond Renegades in the finals and took the full seven games to take home the cup.
In 2005-06, in the American Hockey League with the Hershey Bears, Boudreau led the team to a Calder Cup championship. The Bears faced off against the Milwaukee Admirals in the finals and won the series in six games.
Bruce Boudreau – The Hockey Cards
Boudreau made it onto main stream cardboard just twice. The Bruce Boudreau rookie cardappears as number 280 in the 1978-79 O-Pee-Chee set. The card shows Bruce as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs and is valued as a common.
The following year, Bruce appeared on his last hockey card as a National Hockey League player. Again as a member of the Maple Leafs, Boudreau appears on card number 354 in the 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee set. Once again, this card is also valued as a common.
Bruce Boudreau – The Author
In 2009, Boudreau published the book Gabby: Confessions of a Hockey Lifer
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1972-73 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA | 61 | 38 | 49 | 87 | 22 |
| 1973-74 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA | 53 | 46 | 67 | 113 | 51 |
| 1974-75 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA | 69 | 68 | 97 | 165 | 52 |
| 1975-76 | Johnstown Jets | NAHL | 34 | 25 | 35 | 60 | 14 |
| 1975-76 | Minnesota Fighting Saints | WHA | 30 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 4 |
| 1976-77 | Dallas Black Hawks | CHL | 58 | 37 | 34 | 71 | 40 |
| 1976-77 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 15 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 |
| 1977-78 | Dallas Black Hawks | CHL | 22 | 13 | 9 | 22 | 11 |
| 1977-78 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 40 | 11 | 18 | 29 | 12 |
| 1978-79 | New Brunswick Hawks | AHL | 49 | 20 | 38 | 58 | 22 |
| 1978-79 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 26 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 2 |
| 1979-80 | New Brunswick Hawks | AHL | 75 | 36 | 54 | 90 | 47 |
| 1979-80 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1980-81 | New Brunswick Hawks | AHL | 40 | 17 | 41 | 58 | 22 |
| 1980-81 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 39 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 18 |
| 1981-82 | Cincinnati Tigers | CHL | 65 | 42 | 61 | 103 | 42 |
| 1981-82 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 12 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 1982-83 | St. Catharines Saints | AHL | 80 | 50 | 72 | 122 | 65 |
| 1982-83 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1983-84 | St. Catharines Saints | AHL | 80 | 47 | 62 | 109 | 44 |
| 1984-85 | Baltimore Skipjacks | AHL | 17 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 4 |
| 1984-85 | Iserlohn ECD | 1.GBun | 29 | 20 | 27 | 47 | 37 |
| 1985-86 | Nova Scotia Oilers | AHL | 65 | 30 | 36 | 66 | 36 |
| 1985-86 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 1986-87 | Nova Scotia Oilers | AHL | 78 | 35 | 47 | 82 | 40 |
| 1987-88 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 80 | 42 | 74 | 116 | 84 |
| 1988-89 | Springfield Indians | AHL | 50 | 28 | 36 | 64 | 42 |
| 1988-89 | Newmarket Saints | AHL | 20 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 12 |
| 1989-90 | Phoenix Roadrunners | IHL | 82 | 41 | 68 | 109 | 89 |
| 1990-91 | Fort Wayne Komets | IHL | 81 | 40 | 80 | 120 | 111 |
| 1991-92 | Fort Wayne Komets | IHL | 77 | 34 | 50 | 84 | 100 |
| 1991-92 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | — | — | — | — | — |
| NHL Totals | 141 | 28 | 42 | 70 | 46 | ||
| WHA Totals | 30 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 4 |