Bruce Boudreau

An award-winning coach in the National Hockey League, Bruce Boudreau was a dynamic scorer during his playing days in the AHL and a championship-winning coach behind an American Hockey League bench.

A Toronto native, Boudreau was drafted by his hometown Maple Leafs in 1975 and made his AHL debut with the Leafs’ affiliate in Moncton, New Brunswick, during the 1978-79 season. A year later, his team-high 36 goals and 90 points helped the Hawks to a berth in the Calder Cup Finals.

With the St. Catharines Saints in 1982-83, Boudreau engaged in one of the most heated scoring races in league history. He finished second to Ross Yates but still bettered the previous AHL scoring record with 122 points, and he hit the 50-goal plateau with a hat trick on the final day of the season.

Boudreau joined the Baltimore Skipjacks in 1984-85 and made a return trip to the Finals, then spent two seasons in Halifax with the Nova Scotia Oilers. In 1987-88, Boudreau went to Springfield and had another record-setting season, leading the AHL in scoring with 116 points and becoming the second player ever with three 100-point campaigns.

Boudreau’s playing career ended during the 1992 postseason with a stint for the Adirondack Red Wings, who were on their way to a Calder Cup championship. He immediately joined the coaching ranks and returned to the AHL with the Los Angeles Kings organization, spending two seasons with the Lowell Lock Monsters (1999-2001) and four with the Manchester Monarchs (2001-05) and qualifying for the postseason each year.

Boudreau was hired by the Washington Capitals in 2005 and coached the Hershey Bears to a Calder Cup championship in his first season in Chocolatetown. That was followed by the winningest regular season in the Bears’ long and proud history and a return to the Finals in 2006-07.

In November 2007, with 340 career AHL coaching victories under his belt, Boudreau was promoted to Washington and penned another chapter to his remarkable story, leading the Capitals to a division title and earning the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s coach of the year.

Boudreau’s 483 career assists and 799 career points both rank 11th in AHL history, while his 316 goals are good for 14th place. Of the 72 players in AHL history with at least 500 career points, Boudreau ranks second with an average of 1.26 points per game.

Career AHL Statistics – Bruce Boudreau
Regular Season Playoffs
Season Team GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1978-79 New Brunswick Hawks 49 20 38 58 22 5 1 1 2 8
1979-80 New Brunswick Hawks 75 36 54 90 47 17 6 7 13 23
1980-81 New Brunswick Hawks 40 17 41 58 22 8 6 5 11 14
1982-83 St. Catharines Saints 80 50 72 122 65 -- -- -- -- --
1983-84 St. Catharines Saints 80 47 62 109 44 7 0 5 5 11
1984-85 Baltimore Skipjacks 17 4 7 11 4 15 3 9 12 4
1985-86 Nova Scotia Oilers 65 30 36 66 36 -- -- -- -- --
1986-87 Nova Scotia Oilers 78 35 47 82 40 5 3 3 6 4
1987-88 Springfield Indians 80 42 74 116 84 -- -- -- -- --
1988-89 Springfield Indians 50 28 36 64 42 -- -- -- -- --
Newmarket Saints 20 7 16 23 12 4 0 1 1 6
1991-92 Adirondack Red Wings -- -- -- -- -- 4 1 1 2 2
Playing Totals 634 316 483 799 418 65 20 32 52 72

 

Regular Season
Playoffs
Season Team GP W L/
OTL
T/
SOL
Pts Pct Finish GP W L Pct Finish
1999-2000 Lowell Lock Monsters 80 33 40 7 77 .456 3rd, Atlantic 7 3 4 .429 Lost div. final
2000-01 Lowell Lock Monsters 80 35 40 5 80 .469 4th, N.E. 4 1 3 .250 Lost div. semifinal
2001-02 Manchester Monarchs 80 38 31 11 90 .544 2nd, N.E. 5 2 3 .400 Lost conf. quarterfinal
2002-03 Manchester Monarchs 80 40 29 11 97 .569 2nd, N.E. 3 0 3 .000 Lost conf. quarterfinal
2003-04 Manchester Monarchs 80 40 33 7 92 .544 2nd, Atlantic 6 2 4 .333 Lost div. semifinal
2004-05 Manchester Monarchs 80 51 25 4 110 .663 1st, Atlantic 6 2 4 .333 Lost div. semifinal
2005-06 Hershey Bears 80 44 26 10 103 .613 2nd, East 21 16 5 .762 Won Calder Cup
2006-07 Hershey Bears 80 51 23 6 114 .675 1st, East 19 13 6 .684 Lost Final
2007-08 Hershey Bears 15 8 7 0 16 .533 -- -- -- -- -- --
  Head Coaching Totals 655 340 254 61 779 .566 71 39 32 .549

Bruce Boudreau