Whatever you think of Bruce Boudreau, he will forever be a part of DC hockey lore. He transformed the Washington Capitals into contenders, won the Jack Adams his first year behind the bench, and he invigorated a languid fan base. He had stories; amazing hockey stories. After talking with Caps radio man John Walton, I’m ready to share one of Bruce’s most legendary moments.

On December 26, 2006, Bruce Boudreau — a few months after his first AHL championship and exactly a full year before he was permanently hired as head coach of the Washington Capitals — jumped onto a bus with the Hershey Bears for a 220-mile jaunt up I-95 to Bridgeport, Connecticut. The Bears had Christmas off and were forced to travel the day of the game. The drive usually takes about three and a half hours.

The team ran into post-holiday traffic, pushing their arrival time back a few hours. When the Bears finally arrived at the Arena at Harbor Yard, they had just 20 minutes before warm-ups. As each player grabbed his gear off the bus, they ran to the locker room. Boudreau, who always preferred the comfort of his track-suit on the bus, grabbed his only companion, a suit bag, and headed inside to the visiting team’s coaches’ office along with assistant Bob Woods and general manager Doug Yingst.

John Walton, then the radio announcer for the Hershey Bears, also traveled with the team and sprinted up the stairs to the press area. As he scrambled to get ready for the live broadcast, he was met with an odd sight:

“My boss at the time, Doug Yingst, came running out the zamboni gate, right next to the locker room, and he’s screaming at me and motioning to me to come down to the locker room,” Walton revealed in a phone interview. “It was incredibly odd. It’s certainly the last place I would be needed 20-minutes before warm-ups, while I’m trying to get us on the air. So I said to myself, whatever it is, it must be very important.

Walton, not wanting to disappoint the man who controls his job security, ran down those same steps he just ran up  to meet Yingst at ice level.

“Doug then puts his arm around my shoulders as we walked down the tunnel and into the Bears locker room,” Walton explained. “He says to me,’We have a problem. We think you can help, and you’re not going to like it.’”

It was at that point the two walked into the dressing room. The players are doubled over in laughter. “I feel like I’m walking into the Twilight Zone,” Walton continued  “I don’t know what’s going on. We’ve gone from super urgent — let’s get this show on the road — to everybody’s laughing hysterically. I had no idea why.”

As Walton and Yingst entered the coaches’ office, they first found assistant Bob Woods in the fetal position, laughing on the floor. Next, they saw Boudreau, the Bears’ usually jolly head coach, staring back at them helplessly in his boxer shorts. Mad.

In a rush to catch the bus, Boudreau had forgotten to pack his size 40-plus slacks.

Walton, still confused as to why he was asked downstairs, blurted out,”‘Well what do you need me for? Why am I here?’ And as I’m asking the question,” Walton explains. “I realize. ‘Oh, God.’”

Boudreau and Yingst, not wanting to sully the organization’s reputation or violate hockey decorum, rejected a suggestion for the entire coaching staff to wear their track suits during the game.

“So there was an exchange,” Walton, carefully choosing his words, said. “He took my [size 32] suit pants that didn’t fit and I took his — shall we say — slightly bigger track pants. I went trudging up to the press box holding up each side [of the pants] or I was going to have a problem. I’m sure people up in the press box thought I lost a bet.”

Boudreau then shuffled out to the Bears bench. “[The pants] were tight,” Boudreau explained in an interview with the Ducks’ website. “They were so tight, I never moved one inch behind the bench. If the puck would have been shot at me, I was done because I couldn’t move. I could hardly breathe. Bob was doing line changes and I was just holding my breath the whole game.”

Walton’s pants proved to be both lucky and durable. Riding two goals from Kyle Wilson and individual tallies from Alexandre Giroux, Dave Steckel, Louis Robitaille, and Quintin Lang, the Bears defeated Bridgeport 6-3. It would be the only time they beat the Sound Tigers on the road all season.

The pants made it through without a rip.

A week later, The Hockey News published a story about the Bears and their super start to the season. The night they defeated Bridgeport, their record stood at 21-4-3-4. Yingst and Boudreau told their versions of the pants story. The lede for the article was that the Bears were getting contributions from all across the roster– including the press box.

Nearly six years later, a lot has changed. Boudreau had been hired and fired by the Capitals and is now head coach of the Anaheim Ducks. He coached Alex Ovechkin during his MVP seasons and won a Jack Adams trophy as coach of the year. Walton, got his own call-up, getting his dream job as the voice of the Caps.

But Walton still keeps those slacks in his closet, the pair Boudreau wore on December 26, 2006.

“At some point when I got the job in Washington, I thought about it and said ‘I can’t get rid of these. It’s too good of a story.’ I’m not sure if I’m going to put them in a frame or not, but it’s a significant testament to friendship and hockey family. I choose to hold onto them. I certainly remember it fondly.”

And now you can too.

Boudreau gives his version of the story in the video above.

Thanks to Elliotte Friedman, who linked to a Boudreau interview about the story in his latest 30 Thoughts.

Well, that didn’t take long. Three days after being fired by the Washington Capitals, Bruce Boudreau has landed in Anaheim to be the new head coach of the Ducks. He replaces Randy Carylye, who helped guide Anaheim to a Stanley Cup in 2007.

Rumor has it that Bruce’s first moves are to hire Gordon Bombay Bob Woods as an assistant, install the Flying V, and teach Andrew Gordon the knuckle puck.

We’re also hearing that he has a special motivational speech prepared. Here’s exclusive video of Bruce practicing it on some local youth hockey players before flying out to the West Coast.

And I’m Bruce Boudreau. Toronto, Canada.

In all seriousness, we wish nothing but the best to Gabby. Here’s hoping he can get Anaheim out of dead-freaking last and wreak some havoc on Colorado as soon as humanly possible.

Two days after re-joining the Capitals as head coach, Dale Hunter made his first big change by naming Jim Johnson as an assistant late Tuesday night. Johnson — a former bruising NHL defenseman who played in 829 career games (121 as a Cap) — will replace Bob Woods who was in his third year with the team. Johnson accumulated over 100 penalty minutes in seven of his 13 seasons in the NHL and has coached before. During the 2009-10 season, he was an assistant with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He then took over the head coaching position mid-season for the AHL’s Norfolk Admirals putting up a 15-5-0-2 record in 22 games. With the Capitals’ defense floundering and ranked 28th in the league in goals against, the move certainly makes sense.

The most interesting part of the hire, however, is the fact that Hunter and Johnson actually fought each other twice during their NHL careers. Hockeyfights.com has video of their second bout from November 18, 1992 which I’ve embedded above. Hunter brutalizes Johnson in the scuffle landing eight-straight punches before the fight is broken up by the linesmen. Boys will be boys.

So did Hunter ever fight the other assistant currently on his staff, Dean Evason? The answer — amazingly — is yes. During his time with the Nordiques, Hunter dropped the mitts with Evason three times in the same game on December 31, 1985.

Finally, I wondered if Capitals’ General Manager George McPhee — who was given the nickname “The Undertaker” for his after-whistle antics — had ever dropped the gloves with any members of his new coaching staff.

Sadly, after some thorough research, McPhee never did. He did, however, fight one of Dale’s three brothers, Dave, on February 2, 1985 when he played for the Rangers. Also notable: GMGM has fought Rick Tocchet, a player he traded for on March 1, 1997.

And that’s why I love hockey.

S/t to @GlobalCapsFans and @TheStevePatrick for both tweeting us the video.

Alexander Semin picks up William after giving him his game jersey. (Photo credit: Shannon family)

Editor’s Note: By now, you’ve probably heard of William Shannon. He is five years old, has acute lymphoblastic leukemia and is everyone’s favorite little Capital. Thanks to the make a Wish-A-Wish foundation and the Caps, William had his dream realized and took the ice with Mike Green, Jason Chimera, D.J. King and Semyon Varlamov on Friday.

“This weekend was an incredible event!,” William’s father Devin Shannon said in an email. “William’s wish was to practice with the Capitals and he did! I can’t tell you how much everyone has done for us and what this weekend has meant for us.”

After practicing with the Caps, William’s journey continued on Saturday when he and his family took in Washington’s matchup with the Buffalo Sabres before riding the on the Zamboni and receiving the jersey off the back of Alexander Semin after the game. I’ll let Devin take it from here:

Day two was just as amazing as day one! Allyson Butler from Make-A-Wish met us in the hotel lobby and took us out to wait for our “ride” to the game! Within minutes a very long black stretch limo appeared before us! Bill, our driver, was very nice. William and Emily quickly climbed in and all we heard for a few minutes was: “Cool!” “This is so sweet!” Then we had chatty little ones for the short ride over to the Verizon Center! It is amazing how just the little things make such a huge impression! How neat it was for the kids to get out of the limo right in front of the Verizon Center with so many fans around wondering who the V.I.P. was!

Allyson led us to our seats which were in Ovi’s Crazy Eights section! Before game time, we got to go down to the ice level to watch warmups. However, it wasn’t just any warmup because we got to watch it from the penalty box! Both kids spent a few minutes with Wes Johnson, the public address announcer!

While we were hanging in the penalty box, one fan came knocking on the glass and congratulated William on the goals he scored on Semyon Varlamov! How thrilling it was to be with a celebrity! Then we headed up to our seats for the game! As soon as I returned from our first period run for food, we were whisked away to the press box. Kurt from Capitals PR took us around and showed us the press box with Joe Beninati and Craig Laughlin. They greeted us all with smiles on their faces! William responded with a “I saw you on TV!”. They gave William a pair of headphones so that he could listen in to what they were hearing.

As soon as the first period ended, Craig instructed William in how they use the telestrator to demonstrate plays by drawing circles, arrows, etc. He was very chatty with William about his experiences with the Caps. Joe jumped in a bit to compliment William on his hockey skills from the day before. Craig didn’t leave Emily out and gave her some of the same attention and instruction that he gave William! Top-notch guys!! We got an added bonus when we were all invited into the replay booth. The head replay guy, John Robinson, shared how he had just made a donation to friends of his participating in a Make-A-Wish Foundation fundraiser bike ride! He asked permission to include William on his prayer list, which so far contains the names of survivors! He was so sweet and so touched by my little guy!

We headed back to our seats to watch a little more of the game, but that was short-lived! William had to make his debut on the big screen riding on the Olympia (in our world, the Zamboni)! Another dream come true for him! He did not hesitate when picked up to climb in! He got his seat belt on and was ready to go! The beaming smile was just amazing! The video of William on the Zamboni went up on the jumbotron to a huge applause from the fans! He smiled and waved in reply! He looked so little up there, but so happy and confident! He chatted a little with Jamey the driver, but was mostly just checking everything out! Emily, Sandy and I got to watch him from behind the doors where the Zamboni comes on and off the ice.

We made it back to our seats for just a few more minutes. As it was Fan Appreciation Day, every fan received a Nicklas Backstrom bobblehead (and one fan randomly gave his to William as he was passing us before the game even began)! There was a contest conducted for fans to win a game-worn autographed jersey. So they came to get Sandy and William and head back down to the ice level to prepare to line up to receive his jersey. Sandy and William got to watch most of the third period on T.V. from near the Coaches Club lounge downstairs. Hanging out there they saw several goals, but had to go line up with the Caps being down by a goal. They went off to the hallway to await being brought out onto the ice. They received news of the goal to tie it up and then the winning goal by Alex Ovechkin!

There was another little boy, Luke, in the line who was getting Slapshot’s jersey. Luke was initially taken aback about which jersey William was getting (it was a surprise for all the winners except William), as it was Luke’s favorite player, but he handled it like a champ and was excited for William and for himself. Luke and William are only a few months apart in age and they hit it off big! How great it was for William to meet another kid who shares the same passion for hockey that he does! They chatted about players, goals and were just goofy together! Two peas in a pod they were! The line of winners filed out onto the carpet over the ice. Each winner had to pull a paper out of their envelope which had a player’s number on it. That player then came over to meet the winner of the jersey and to sign the jersey. William and Luke were the last two. They were so patient and so composed waiting their turn! All players had given away their jerseys except one: Alexander Semin! Semin skated over and pulled off his jersey to give to William. He signed it and then as he handed it over and went to pose for a photo-op, he hoisted William up to his shoulder to a huge applause from the fans and from the players! Just amazing! Both William and Semin were beaming!

On their final trip back to our seats, Sandy said William was met with applause and gestures of awe as they walked along the corridor: “There’s that kid!” “Way to go William!” “I saw you on T.V.!” “You skated great!” I think he might have been a bit overwhelmed, but certainly so happy! I can’t wait to see the recording of the game. I heard that Joe and Craig mentioned William’s practice Friday and that we had visited them in the booth. I am sure I am leaving out so much! It was just an amazing night! I cannot get over the generosity of this organization and the special place they held in their hearts for our little boy! The stories being written and the tweets posted tell me how touched the players, bloggers and media were with his story. I don’t think that his story medically is much different from many other children, but I know that his passion and love for hockey and the Capitals makes him stand out! When we were talking earlier that day about the game, the kids predicted that the Caps would score three or four goals (they scored five). William said Ovi was going to get at least three points! And he was right on! Two assists and the final overtime goal!!!

Bill met us with our beautiful stretch limo and took us back to the hotel! William loved his limo ride and was excited that his feet could touch the ground! When asked his favorite part of tonight, he responded that it was meeting Semin! All in all, I don’t think Make-A-Wish and the Capitals could have made the trip any better! When Sandy and William were walking back to our seats, William turned and told Sandy, “Mom, my wish really did come true!”

There are so many people that played such a huge part in William’s wish! Bruce Boudreau, George McPhee, Bob Woods, Scott Hannan, Matt Bradley, Mike Green, D.J. King, Semyon Varlamov, Jason Chimera, Alexander Semin, Joe Beninati, Craig Laughlin, John Robinson, Ted Leonsis, Liz and Nadia (our Capitals escorts), Allyson and Jessica from Make-A-Wish Mid-Atlantic, Pam Haymond from the Make-A-Wish Northern WV chapter, Laura our Red Rocker, Wes the PA announcer, Bill the limo driver, Jamey the Zamboni driver, Jorge from Front Page Arlington, Chris Gordon, the crews from WUSA 9 and CSN, all of the bloggers, the fans who cheered William on and so many more! It truly was a magical night!

(All photos courtesy Shannon family — Click to enlarge)

Alex Ovechkin signs his stick for William on Friday.

William and his sister Emily take in practice.

William poses for a photo with Caps Head Coach Bruce Boudreau.

William’s very own stall in the Capitals locker room.

“Authorized Personnel Only”

William meets Scott Hannan.

William talks to Joe B outside the locker room.

Capitals General Manager Geogre McPhee with William.

William in Capitals locker room with Jay Beagle (left) and Matt Bradley (center).

The Shannon family poses for a photo at Kettler Capitals Iceplex.

Jorge from Front Page Arlington talks with William.

John Carlson poses for a photo with William and Emily.

The limo arrives in front of the hotel.

William and Emily in their V.I.P. ride.

Devin, Emily, Sandra, William and their driver Bill.

William with his Nicklas Backstrom bobblehead.

William and Emily await warmups from the penalty box.

William and Wes Johnson pose for a photo.

William takes in warmups.

William cheers on the boys in red.

William meets CSN Washington color man Craig Laughlin.

Joe B. puts headphones on William.

Locker shows William how to work to the telestrator.

“Hold it here!”

William and Emily pose with the crew from the NHL replay booth.

Hat Trick, William, Slapshot and Emily pose for a photo.

William rides the Zamboni.

William and Luke share a laugh.

Hat Trick shakes William’s hand.

Sasha Minor signs his game jersey for William.

William, Devin and Emily pose for a photo with Semin’s sweater.

Editor’s note: After two friends won an auction at Caps Care Casino Night, RMNB reader Julie Roemele was presented with the opportunity of a life-time: to learn hockey from some of her favorite NHL pros. This past Sunday, Kettler Capitals Iceplex hosted a Capitals hockey clinic featuring workshops from Brooks Laich, Matt Hendricks, Semyon Varlamov, Mike Green and Assistant Coach Bob Woods. Below, Julie describes her and her son Joshua’s experience.

Julie's all smiles as she skates at on the fresh sheet of ice at Kettler Capitals Iceplex. (Photo credit: Cheryl Nichols)

When someone gives you the chance to learn from the best, you don’t pass it up. So when my friends Mark and John called to invite me to a hockey clinic with the Capitals that they’d won at the Caps Care Casino Night, I couldn’t feign disinterest because I was a little afraid I’d be unsteady on the ice. Admittedly I’m more hockey mom than hockey player, even though I’ve been taking lessons for a year now.

Once at Kettler, the participants (there were about 20 of us) were split into five groups of four to work at five different drill stations. First up, defense with Caps Assistant Coach, Bob Woods. He’d pass each of us the puck and instruct us to circle as if trying to lose an opposing player. He would then dump a puck into the end boards while we skated after. To be honest, I suck at this and I was glad when the ten minutes were up, but it’s a skill I need to improve if I’m going to be a better player. I’ll definitely keep practicing it.

Then it was on to a lesson on screening the goalie with Brooks Laich. The ideal screening position looks a lot like a tripod, with your ass (his words, not mine) right in front of the goalie and your stick acting as a third leg, keeping you steady against any nefarious defensemen bent on checking you from behind. From there, we took turns alternating tipping in and batting down the shots Brooks took on net.

A soft-spoken Semyon Varlamov teaches the group how to properly stop shots. (Photo credit: Lisa Gasparott)

Next, Semyon Varlamov taught us how to take shots on the goalie. I know what you’re thinking, “Varly speaks English?” Yes, very well. He was soft-spoken and polite, introducing himself to everyone and spending extra time going over technique with the goalie in our group. I was the last to shoot and Varly even lined my five pucks up. At the end of the session, I said, “Spasiba” [Thank you] to which Varly responded, “You’re welcome.” I couldn’t stop myself from giggling a little because he was so unexpectedly sweet.

After Varly, I was running late to Matt Hendricks’ mini clinic and got subsequently called out for it.

“Hi, I’m Matt,” Hendricks said.

“Yeah, I know” I responded, jokingly sarcastic. Hendricks just laughed and smiled before starting in on the lesson. He had us working in the corners on both offense and defense. This involved taking turns either guarding the puck with our stick, trying to create a turnover or positioning ourselves between the offense and the goalie. While the drill was fun and physical, I have a better appreciation of how exhausting board battles can be.

Mike Green smiles as Julie takes the puck out of the corner. (Photo credit: Lisa Gasparott)

Finally, Mike Green worked with us on passing and shooting. My passes are rarely tape-to-tape. I think there might be a hole in my blade, so when Green was able to pass to me, I was amazed. Not everyone can say they took a pass from Mike Green. More than just the pointers from Greenie, the slower pace of these drills gave me a chance to actually chat with the blue-liner, mostly about how tired Hendy’s session had left us.

When the clinic was over, everyone got the chance to participate in a shootout. I opted out; I wanted to get my son and show Green the sign he’d had made him a year earlier (with Emily Karol’s help). After group pictures and some autograph signing, the afternoon was done and we were left with an unforgettable experience.

Even though I learned some pointers from some of my favorite players, exchanged jokes with Matt Hendricks and heard the seemingly straight-laced Brooks Laich curse, the best part of the clinic was watching my seven year-old autistic son, also a hockey player with the NOVA Cool Cats, impress both Mike Green with his skillful Autobot impression and Hendricks with his knowledge of Minnesota. I got more from that than I did anything I learned on the ice that day.

Bonus Photos via Cheryl Nichols. Click to englarge!

Editing by Meredith Jones. Additional reporting by Ian Oland.

Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitri Orlov & Cody Eakin stood out in Group A today. (Photos by Addison Huber)

Group A Observations

Group A was the second group to take the ice on Day 2, and arrival onto the ice was delayed over fifteen minutes because the coaching staff was unhappy with the ice conditions after Group B skated earlier in the morning. Of the Group A players, Eakin, Kuznetsov, and Orlov were by far the most impressive and polished. Kuznetsov was the class of the group, displaying noteworthy hustle and speed as well as solid shooting ability from the point and deft, light hands in close around the net. Two college invitees also showed flashes of brilliance. Sean Wiles, a junior forward from the University of Alaska Anchorage, threw his body around, landing several big hits and crashing the net well. Additionally, Andrew Cherniwchan, a sophomore forward from Northern Michigan University, put on a puckhandling show, leading Comcast Sports Net’s play-by-play announcer Joe Beninati, an unexpected visitor to camp, to label him a “dangler.”

Group B Observations

Evgeny Kuznetsov watches Group B practice.

Group B was on ice for the early skating session of day 1. The players in Group A were put through the paces by the coaching staff, participating in mostly skill-based drills, including crashing the net, long-range shooting, and saucer passes. The practice culminated with a brutal set of Herbies, leaving just about all the players, including the well-conditioned Marcus Johansson, gasping for air on their knees. Before his legs were ruined by the sprints, Johansson was by far the most impressive player on the ice in Group B. Johansson’s well-practiced footwork led to an easy stride that enabled him to quickly float around the ice with ease. His puck control was also solid, a result of what the Caps PR staff described as a core that is stronger than comparable Swede, Nicklas Backstrom. Much like the Disney character Mary Poppeins, Johannson is “practically perfect as a prospect”.

The other player to watch in this group was Russian draftee Stanislav Galiev. Galiev flaunted a smooth stride that allowed him to speed around the ice and unleash his accurate wrist shot. The only potential negative about Galiev (as well as fellow Russian Kuznetsov) is that he sports a very lanky frame (6’1″, 178lbs) and could benefit from some extra time in the weight room to ensure he will be able to fight for pucks in the corners.

A Budding Friendship?

Group A partners Cody Eakin and Evgeny Kuznetsov seemed to strike up a real rapport both on the ice and on the bench. In addition to skating well together, the pair was constantly together and joking around, exchanging jabs in both English and Russian.

Improving Foreign Relations

It is clear that the Russian draftees are very comfortable with the spotlight into which they have been thrust in Washington. They seem to relish the attention given to them by the fans and media alike, often mugging for the camera along the glass and always willing to sign autographs for the fans. According to Washington Post beat writer Tarik El-Bashir, Evgeny Kuznetsov has “already signed more than [Alex] Semin did all last year.”

Welcome to the Media

The members of the media who cover the Capitals are definitely like members of one big fraternity. After being ignored by most members of the media during my first day covering Development Camp, my appearance the second day must have convinced them that I was at least somewhat legitimate. Over the course of the day I got to know, speak with in-depth, and get coffee with the bloggers from Caps Snaps (who provided our translations), Fight for Old DC, and Rock the Red. One of my proudest moments was when the sports reported from ABC7 came over and thanked me for the lead I had generated by talking to Nate Ewell about Chris Bond and his interaction with his mom on Day 1.

Interview Highlights

Stanislav Galiev

On what he wants to show the coaches: “What I can do and [that I can] do my best.”

On which Washington player he most wants to me: “Every one.”

Personal goals for camp: “Gain some upper body strength.”

Cody Eakin

“[I feel] more prepared and more comfortable the second day [of camp].”

On how he scored so many goals last season: “I was shooting the puck [more].”

Joe Finley speaks about Dmitri Orlov

On his day 2 defensive partner, Orlov: “He’s a fun player, a lot like John Carlson or Mike Green, [so] I’m real comfortable playing with him. He’s got great hockey sense. The communication is a little difficult, but hockey is a common language.”

On how it feels to have come to so many development camps: “This year is a fresh start.”

Final Thought

Listed on the development camp roster at 6’8″, 247lbs, veteran camp attendee Joe Finely seems even bigger than that in person (if such a thing is possible). While interviewing Finely after the second group, I found myself having to crane my head upward to meet the hulking defenseman’s gaze. Moreover, I think his crushing handshake after the interview concluded broke a few bones in my hand.

Extra Photos