Woonsocket's Own Boucher Reflects On Road To Flyers Success

Before Brian Boucher felt comfortable staring down Sidney Crosby, Steven Stamkos or Alex Ovechkin, he had to master the intense practices at Mount St. Charles Academy.      

Yes, practices.      

If the young goalie allowed a bad goal during workouts, legendary coach Normand "Bill" Belisle might banish him to practice with the JV team. Surrendering soft goals wasn't conducive to winning hockey games, especially for a team in the midst of a run of 26 straight national championships.      

Knowing this created trepidation for Boucher during long walks down the stairs toward the ice rink. Practices "were our games," he said. "I remember going home sometimes feeling humiliated. The bottom line is he was trying to teach me to have a thick skin and never give up. That's where I learned to compete, in practices."       

If Boucher learned nothing else during his years at Woonsocket's tough-love hockey factory, that mindset works well in his current occupation, as the net guarder for the NHL's Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia Flyers.      

Boucher, 34, has appeared in 303 games in a career that began in 1999, after the Flyers selected him 22nd overall in the 1995 draft. That same draft also saw Boucher's Mount teammate Bryan Berard selected No. 1 overall by the Ottawa Senators.      

Boucher had an impressive first season, wresting the starting job from veteran John Vanbiesbrouck and leading the league in goals against average at 1.91. The Flyers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals, but squandered a 3-1 lead to the eventual Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils.       

A weak start the next season cost him his starting position to Roman Cechmanek, and began a bumpy, decade-long ride through the league. Traded to the Phoenix Coyotes in 2002, he broke the modern-day record for the longest shutout streak, going unscored upon for 332 minutes, or 5 1/2 games.       

Phoenix sent him to the Calgary Flames in 2005, and he also spent time with the Columbus Blue Jackets and San Jose Sharks -- with a stop at Philadelphia's minor-league team in between -- before returning to the Philadelphia organization for the third time in 2009.       

Beginning that season as Ray Emery's backup, Boucher played after Emery was hurt, then got hurt himself and was replaced by Michael Leighton. Continuing his trend of never giving up, Boucher was again needed with 13 games left in the season and the Flyers struggling for a playoff berth.       

Boucher played well to lead the Flyers to the playoffs, then past the New Jersey Devils, Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens, the team he rooted for growing up. He was injured in Game 5 of the Bruins series, so Leighton started against the Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals.       

Even this season, Boucher emerged from an afterthought to rookie Sergei Bobrovsky and Leighton, to helping the Flyers dominate the league. He has a 13-6-2 record in 23 games this season, with a 2.25 goals against average through Feb. 14, good for seventh in the league.      

"I think my strongest attribute is that I don't give up," Boucher said. "There are days when I feel sorry for myself, but I always find a way to keep a goal in mind. There are some guys who cave, and you wonder, 'Whatever happened to that guy?' You have to wait for an opportunity, then be prepared to take advantage. There were tough years where my career was going sideways, so I'm going to enjoy this."       

Getting to that point paralleled Boucher's path to getting noticed in the first place. While in high school, scouts flocked to Mount for Berard, barely noticing the goalie who'd face maybe 10 shots a game for a dominant team.       

"The focus was always on Berard because he was so good," said Dave Belisle, Bill's son who also coached Boucher. "But Boucher was always very athletic and fundamentally sound. You knew he had promise and you knew he was going to be good. We saw him in practice and knew how good he was. He just didn't get too many chances to shine."       

After starring for the Woonsocket North Stars in youth hockey, Boucher didn't play much for Mount until his junior year. As he matured physically, and was selected for the USA National teams at 17 and 18, he realized that perhaps he was good enough for the next level.       

Leaving Mount, for junior hockey, he was on his way.       

"It's funny because growing up in Woonsocket, my goal was to play for Mount St. Charles," Boucher said. "I can remember watching my brothers play the 7:30 [Woonsocket High School] game before Mount would play the big game. I'd see them warm up in their red, white and blue jerseys. I was so enamored by it and wanted to play for them so bad. As a ninth grader, that was my goal. The NHL was such a long way away."      

While Mount St. Charles is now a long way away, it remains close to Boucher's heart. His father, Norman, lives in North Smithfield and Boucher has a home in Smithfield. His nephew attends the Bill Belisle Hockey camp in the summer.       

He also has plans for his 8-year-old son, Tyler.      

"Maybe someday, he'll play for Mount," Boucher said. "It worked well for me."