Mudbugs to Retire Buchanan's #27
February 19, 2009 - Central Hockey League (CHL)
Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs News Release
BOSSIER CITY, LA - The Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs are proud to announce that they will honor longtime player and current Assistant Coach Trevor Buchanan by retiring his number 27 before their next home game on Friday, February 27th against the Colorado Eagles. Buchanan becomes the second Mudbug to have his jersey number retired by the franchise, joining Dale Henry's #19 in the CenturyTel Center rafters.
"Obviously it's a huge honor to be recognized like this, and being only the second player chosen to have my number retired after Dale Henry makes it that much more special," Buchanan said. "There are a lot of guys that deserve recognition for contributing to the success of this franchise, and just to be considered a part of that is awesome."
Buchanan (nicknamed "Buck" by his teammates) was an original member of the Mudbugs franchise, playing the last seven of his thirteen professional seasons with the âBugs. The 6'1", 195-lb. forward built a reputation during that time as one of the top power forwards in the CHL/WPHL, combining dangerous scoring ability with toughness to become a key ingredient in the team's formula for success. Buchanan is one of just four players to have played on all three Mudbugs' President's Cup championship teams in 1999, 2000, and 2001.
At the time of his retirement in 2004, Buchanan was the team's all-time leader in games played (466), goals (144), assists (218), and points (362), and ranked second in penalty minutes (1,146). Even now, five years after hanging up his skates, he still ranks in the top four in team history in all those categories.
"Any organization that is going to have a great tradition has to have some pillars to build that history around. To me, Trevor Buchanan is one of those pillars," said Mudbugs Head Coach Scott Muscutt, who was also a teammate of Buchanan's for three seasons. "He's an outstanding player, coach, and person and is phenomenal in the community. Many of our successes both in the Bossier-Shreveport area and in the CHL can be greatly attributed to the things that Trevor Buchanan brings to this organization, and I can't say enough good things about him."
Buchanan was also a leader, serving as an Alternate Captain for five of his seven seasons with the Mudbugs. He enjoyed his best season as a pro in 1998-99, registering a career-high 77 points (32g, 45a) and 161 penalty minutes. He followed that up in the playoffs with a career-high 16 points as Shreveport rolled to its first President's Cup Championship with an 11-1 playoff record.
"When I think of Trevor Buchanan the words that immediately come to my mind are commitment and character," said President & General Manager Ray Delia. "His efforts as a player are indelibly etched in the minds of all Mudbugs fans. What stands out for me is Trevor's effort; night in and night out he was the model of consistency. I've said to Scott (Muscutt) many times over the years when describing different players that were being recruited to play here, "He's a Mudbug." "Buck" epitomizes the meaning of that statement; he's the standard we expect from all players that will follow his legacy. He's a Mudbug."
Prior to the inception of the Mudbugs in 1997, the Thompson, Manitoba native played six pro seasons in the ECHL and CHL. In all, Buchanan played 834 professional games over 13 seasons, recording 304 goals, 376 assists, 680 points and 2,879 penalty minutes in that time. Of those 13 years pro, his teams appeared in the league finals seven times and won three Championships.
Upon his retirement as a player, Buchanan took over as Bossier-Shreveport's Assistant Coach, a role that he has continued in ever since. He is one of only three people (Coach Muscutt and Equipment Manager Billy Welker are the others) who have been with the Mudbugs for all 12 years of their existence.
Buchanan and the rest of the Mudbugs are in Arizona this week, preparing for a pair of games against the defending President's Cup Champion Arizona Sundogs. The âBugs will make their first-ever appearances at the Tim's Toyota Center this Friday and Saturday night. Both games are set to face off at 8:05 pm Central time, with pregame coverage on 710 AM KEEL beginning at 7:45 pm. The games can also be seen live online on the CHL Network.
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