Mount goalie Boucher feeling a draft

From the Providence Journal-Bulletin

SHERRY SKALKO; Journal-Bulletin Sports Writer

The goaltender slipped away in the dark of a cold Canadian night, leaving his low-budget team for a richer team half a continent away.

It wasn't exactly a covert operation, said Brian Boucher, the former Mount St. Charles goaltender from Woonsocket. But it was a trip that changed his life.

Boucher left the Tier II-Junior A Wexford Raiders in suburban Toronto to play major junior hockey for the Tri-City Americans in Kennewick, Wash., of the Western Hockey League. As a result of that move, NHL scouts found him and now consider him the third best goaltender in North America in tomorrow's draft at Edmonton Colosseum. "Last summer, if you told me I was getting drafted, I would have laughed right in your face," Boucher said. "I never believed I'd jump this far."

Or this fast, says his agent Tom Laidlaw, who also represents Boucher's former Mount teammate Bryan Berard. "He has suprised a lot of people," Laidlaw said. Despite having a goals-against average below 1.00 both his sophomore and junior seasons at Mount, college coaches saw through that statistic - or rather in front of it, noting an excellent Mount defense led by Berard and an offense that carried the puck most of the game. Boucher played with the U.S. Select 17 team in Mexico last August and found he could compete at a higher level. A week later he joined the Wexford Raiders of the Metropolitan Toronto Hockey League.

"The Select 17 tournament was a big boost of confidence. For the Select 16, I was gone in the first cuts," Boucher said. "It was a big step and it was tough to focus, but I wanted it pretty bad. If I had not made it last summer, I would never had made the decision. I would never have had the confidence for the next jump."

Over the next two months, Boucher's world unraveled. The Wexford coach was fired and the promises made to Boucher weren't being fulfilled. To compound the situation, all the free time Boucher had on his hands led to homesickness.

His options were limited. He could go to another Tier II league, where only the city would change, or he could submerge himself in a hectic major junior schedule - if he had the talent to cut it.

"The decision was a big deal. I'd lose my college eligibility if it didn't work out," Boucher said. "I was never really happy in Toronto. I was looking for a way out. In Tier II we practiced twice a week and played two games a week. There was a lot of free time to get homesick.

"In Tri-City, we practiced every day, played three or four games a week, had long road trips and school. It was hard to find the time to call my parents."

On the ice, Boucher compiled a 17-11-2 record with a 3.29 goals-against average and helped Tri-City to the semifinals in the league playoffs.

At 6-2, Boucher is taller than the average NHL goaltender. He plays a stand-up, technical style and has the mental composure that is rarely found in an 18-year-old goaltender.

"The big key with Brian that sets him apart from an average player is if he lets in a goal that potentially hurts the team, it never bothers him. He comes back strong and doesn't get down on himself," Laidlaw said.

Red Line Report, an independent monthly scouting review, projects Boucher will be selected in the first round, 24th overall, by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Hockey News has him going in the second round.

Under NHL guidelines, if a player comes from the junior ranks and still has eligibilty left, he must be returned to his junior team if he doesn't break into an NHL lineup on a full-time basis. He cannot be demoted to the minors. Because of that provision, Boucher expects to return Tri-City next season regardless of where he is selected.

"I don't think I can crack an NHL lineup in a couple of months unless all the goaltenders in the organization break their legs," Boucher said. "I don't want to get greedy and try to make the entire jump in two years. There is a certain amount of time. I have a lot to learn."

July 8, 1995


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