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Killer Bees Add Prolific Veteran Scorer Bouchard

August 4, 2008 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees News Release


HIDALGO, TEXAS --- The Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees of the Central Hockey League (CHL) today announced that the team has signed right wing Robin Bouchard for the 2008-09 season as a player-assistant coach. Bouchard is one of the most prolific goal scorers in minor professional hockey history and currently ranks eighth all-time in minor pro goals scored.

The 34-yard old Jonquiere, Quebec, native will embark on his 15th professional season when he arrives in the Rio Grande Valley. He spent 11 seasons playing for the Muskegon Fury, a stint that saw him play on three incarnations of the team in the Colonial, United and (new) International Hockey Leagues. He also made stops in Columbus (ECHL), Roanoke (ECHL), Flint (CoHL), Fort Wayne (IHL), San Angelo (CHL), Grand Rapids (AHL) and Bolzano (Italy). He has appeared in 932 regular season games, posting 1,211 points (595-616-1211) along with 2,269 PIM. His career boasts five championship rings; four with Muskegon and another with Flint.

"I've accomplished a lot in my time with the Muskegon Fury and thoroughly enjoyed my time playing for the fans there," said Bouchard. "At this stage of my career, I want a new challenge and look forward to helping the Killer Bees become a contender in the Central League. Talking to Coach (Chris) Brooks and other people around hockey, they've all said what a first class organization it is and how great the fans, the area and the arena are. I'm really looking forward to my experience there."

Last season, Bouchard finished second in the new IHL with 17 power play goals and third with five game-winners. His 71 points (30-41-71) were tied for the Fury team lead, while his 183 PIM were second among players who spent the entire season with the club. He is currently second in regular season goal scoring among all active minor pro players, trailing former Memphis RiverKings and current Bloomington Prairie Thunder forward Don Parsons.

Bouchard is a consistent goal-scoring threat, finishing no lower than fourth in seven of the 12 seasons he played in the CoHL/UHL/IHL. He led the league in overall scoring during the 2003-04 season and finished in the top 5 a total of five times. He finished second in goal scoring four times and was consistently among the leaders in game-winning and power play goals. He led the league three times in the latter category.

When the UHL changed its name to the IHL prior to the 2007-08 season and assumed the original IHL's records, Bouchard's name became permanently etched in the UHL record book as the all-time regular season leader in goals (490), power play goals (202) and game-winning goals (70). His 483 assists, 973 points and 732 games all rank him as third-best in those categories. He also ranks fifth in career PIM with 1,730. In addition, he is the league's all time playoff scoring leader.

Combining the stats from the CoHL, UHL and IHL, Bouchard appeared in 798 games, collecting 1044 points (520-524-1044) and 1,913 PIM. Those numbers make him the all-time leader in regular season goals (520), second in both points (1,044) and games played (739) and third in both PIM (1913) and assists (524). His 75 game-winning goals are also a record.

He departs the Fury as the franchise leader in almost every statistical category. Some of his accomplishments include a 17-game goal scoring streak (which is a professional hockey record for all levels), consecutive games with a point (27), career games played (709), goals (458), assists (461), points (919), penalty minutes (1,606), hat tricks (15), 20-goal seasons (10), 30-goal seasons (10), 40-goal seasons (7), 50-goal seasons (3), 100-point seasons (3, tied with Todd Robinson), goals in one season (59), and power play goals in 1 season (34).

"Robin Bouchard has proven himself as one of the greats at the AA level of hockey," said Killer Bees Head Coach Chris Brooks. "He has an incredible shot and isn't afraid to get dirty in front of the net. I'm confident that the fans in the Valley will be excited to see him put on a Killer Bees sweater."

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