Take 5 with Lewy's Legion - Former Goaltending Coach Dan Bouchard

February 16, 2011 - Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)
Lewiston MAINEiacs News Release


You were goaltending coach in 2006-2007, when the Maineiacs went to the Memorial Cup in Vancouver. What do you remember most about that team and goalies Jo Bernier & Peter Delmas

It was a very good team, and the end result was not really the just value of it! Jo Bernier was a promising - and still is an uprising - star in the NHL, and he was a very good leader. Peter Delmas had a very good season and was instrumental in the team's success, but then I don't know what happened. Bizarre!!!

You went to the Memorial Cup once before, and this was as the Sorel Black Hawks' netminder in the 1969 Memorial Cup. Share some memories of your junior career and how things have changed/stayed the same since 1969.

We had a great team, and even the powerful Montreal Junior Canadiens needed goalie reinforcement from Jim Rutherford (now GM in Carolina), so they could beat the Black Hawks. Montreal went on to win the cup, beating us in the semi-finals, but we were the #2 team in the country that year.

In that series, I stopped 68 shots in a game. It was magical. Every time after that when I played in the old Montreal Forum with Atlanta or the Nordiques, I felt at home there.

As far as changes go, the sophistication of the equipment is without a doubt the difference. The NHL should go back to 10-inch pads and shrink down the goalies' pants and shoulder-chest pads. Then we'll see more if the goalie is a goalie or a Puck Blocker!! Raw skills to be magnified!

Although it was not your first NHL team, you did play with the Quebec Nordiques, and we all know about the fierce rivalry between Quebec & Montreal [in the 1982 Stanley Cup playoffs, you eliminated the Canadiens. Rejean Houle - father of current Maineiacs head coach JF, was on that Canadiens team.]. With a few years and many kilometers between you and Montreal now, how do you feel about Montreal, the city Montreal, the Canadiens

Like I said, ever since I played those games in the Memorial Cup, I've always felt I belong in the Forum. To win there in 1981 was really a brain job! We kept saying throughout the series, "We're gonna win," and then their players started to doubt in their dressing room saying, "They (Nordiques) think they can win " By then we had won!

Who do you follow in the NHL Is it the Flames (although you spent almost all of your Flames career in Atlanta before the relocation to Calgary) Maybe it's the Kings because of Jonathan Bernier

I mostly follow Atlanta and players like Jo Bernier, David Perron. Danick Paquette - guys that played in Lewiston. When they visit Atlanta, I wear my Maineiacs jacket!!

When will Quebec have another NHL team

Soon! It will happen when they get a new rink (which will be expensive!).

Your Atlanta Flames card from winter 1977-78 says, "Dan enjoys eating pizza." Is this still true

Very True!

Your 1978-79 card says your brother, Guy, was a goalie in Quebec Junior. I understand your dad was a D-man in the AHL, and your uncle was a goalie. Very strong defensive presence in your family - has anyone played center or wing

My dad was actually a D-man and a Center. He played 3 years for Eddie Shore Pro teams.

Do you still have relatives in your native Val-d'Or (We currently have a player from Val-d'Or - Sam Henley - in Lewiston.)

My family only lived in Val-d'Or until I was 5, and we had no relatives left there.

What was the significance, if any, of numbers (30 & 35) you wore on your jersey

None whatsoever. Originally the expansion team went with numbers 1-30 and after 1-35.

What were your game day rituals as a player

To be prepared, to be on time and ready 10 minutes before warm-up and the game. Stick and equipment were always double checked.

What moment are you most proud of as a) an NHL goaltender and b) as Maineiacs goaltending coach

a) I helped the former NHL Alumni in their anti-trust lawsuit, helping them get some money back to the guys who paved the way for us and were receiving so little pension! I feel it was my best accomplishment. John Ferguson was also very instrumental in it and was haunted by want the owners did prior to 1988.

b) As a Maineiac, my biggest accomplishment was to have written on our calendar in the coaches' office that in MAY 2007, we were going to Vancouver for the MEM CUP!

Tell us more about life in Atlanta and also about your role at Life University.

Atlanta has been home since 1972, and the people, weather, and golf courses are great! At Life, which has a chiropractic focus, I coach a non-NCAA club team, and it's lots of fun. Chiropractors are also good hockey players!!

We've had a wonderful tradition of strong goaltending in Lewiston. You are obviously a key part of that secret. To what do you attribute our success

The understanding that good goaltending is 70% of a team, and a good team is 70% of the goalie!

What else would you like to share with the Maineiacs team and community

Once a team leaves, it is never the same - ask Sherbrooke (Castors), Laval (National, Voisins, Titan), etcetera. Lewiston is a super town, and the team and community should walk hand in hand to make hockey a social event embraced by all!

Dan, many thanks for this interview! Does the idea of cold, snowy Maine make you want to visit us All our best to you from Lewiston-Auburn.

- Sarah Alto



Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Stories from February 16, 2011


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