Friday 20 July 2012

Boucher return to North America confirmed

Former Hull Stingrays netminder Christian Boucher's move to the Quebec based LNAH was today confirmed by Saguenay Marquis - the Canadian's latest club.

The move brings to an end a relatively successful two-year stint in East Yorkshire for the well-liked keeper - who joined the club in 2010 from Dutch side Nijmegen Devils.

Replacing outgoing Latvian Martins Raitums for 10/11, Boucher immediately established himself as a solid choice by Stingrays coach Sylvain Cloutier - who he had played and impressed against while with Rio Grande Valley Killer Bees of the Central Hockey League.

The Ontario native developed into a solid, if unspectacular netminder for the Stingrays - someone who may not regularly win a game on his own but one whose level of performance night in, night out remained stable throughout the season.

For a Stingrays side who had previously fluctuated between injury prone and inconsistent in the netminding department - his largely mistake free game and consistency was a welcome relief.

While he had a small number of critics over the two years it can't be forgotten the the club broke all kinds of records during his two seasons between the pipes.

During his first season - generally regarded as the 2nd best of his two years in Hull - Boucher recorded a 3.68 goals against average and 89.3sv.% as the Stingrays broke all kinds of records including finishing position (7th), wins (23), goals scored (178) and points (49) before qualifying for the playoffs in their own right for the first ever time.

Boucher undoubtedly settled better last season and upped his game and consistency. Although the regular season was tougher on the whole, the Rays hit form at the perfect time as the regular season ended and qualified for their third consecutive playoff berth.

'Bouch' - who stopped a season high 56 shots against Dundee in October - then stood on his head in the Playoff Quarter Final First Leg against the Sheffield Steelers - restricting an offensively laden South Yorkshire side to two goals.

The rest was history, as a Derek Campbell hat-trick lead the club to their first ever Playoff Semi-Final and Final Four Weekend in Nottingham.
The Semi-Final itself was one to forget - not just for the keeper but for the whole team - as the Rays (and Boucher) conceded ten to the eventual playoff winners the Nottingham Panthers in what turned out to be Boucher's final game for the club.

It was an unfortunate and unjust way for the Robert Morris University graduate to leave the club having served them so well

Speculation initially suggested the 28 year old would retire from the game after he returned to Canada and gained a full-time job.

However, on 16 June he was drafted by the third year old Saguenay Marquis of the LNAH - a fighting dominated league based in Quebec, Canada - with their fifth pick of the draft in the second round.

The move - which gives Saguenay Boucher's LNAH rights were he ever to play in the league - suggested they were looking into the possibility of signing the netminder.

His signature was confirmed today in a press release announcing the majority of the team's squad for the upcoming season including the impressive additions of Bruno St Jacques (DEL, Straubing Tigers), Jonathan Paiement (Austria, HC Innsbruck) and former Coventry Blaze and Cardiff Devils forward Sylvain Deschatelets.