Bob Boughner

Bob Boughner
Born	March 8, 1971 (1971-03-08) Windsor, ON, CAN
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	206 lb (93 kg; 14 st 10 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Right
Played for	Buffalo Sabres Nashville Predators Pittsburgh Penguins Calgary Flames Carolina Hurricanes Colorado Avalanche
NHL Draft	32nd overall, 1989 Detroit Red Wings
Playing career	1991–2006

Robert Boughner (born March 8, 1971), nicknamed The Boogieman, is a retired professional ice hockey defenceman and the head coach of the OHL Windsor Spitfires. As head coach of the Spitfires, Boughner has won two Memorial Cup championships, in 2009 and 2010 and has won the Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award twice, in 2008 and 2010.

Playing career

Boughner grew up in the Windsor area playing minor hockey and played as a 15-year old with the Belle River Canadians Jr.C. club. He moved away at age 16 to play for the St. Marys Lincoln's Jr.B. team in 1987–88. One of Boughner's teammates with the Lincolns was current NHL head coach Dan Bylsma. The following year Boughner was drafted by the OHL's S.S. Marie Greyhounds with the 6th overall selection.

Boughner was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2nd round (32nd overall) of the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, after a successful junior career with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. With the additions of Vladimir Konstantinov and Nicklas Lidström, who were drafted that same year, to the Detroit blueline in the early 1990s, Boughner received little opportunity to move beyond the organization's AHL farm team in Adirondack. Boughner signed as a free agent with the Florida Panthers in 1994 but was relegated to the minors until a trade brought him to the Buffalo Sabres in 1996. With the Sabres, he was given the opportunity to play regularly, and he was a solid physical component on the Buffalo blueline for two and a half years until he was claimed by the expansion Nashville Predators in the 1998 NHL Expansion Draft. He later played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, and Colorado Avalanche before retiring in 2006.

He served as captain of the Calgary Flames in 2001–2002, and assistant captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2000–2001, in addition to serving as the Executive Vice-President of the NHLPA from 2003–2006. Though somewhat small for an NHL enforcer, Boughner was given the nickname 'The Boogieman' for his fearless style of play, and he became one of the NHL's most respected 'tough guys' of his era, registering 1,449 penalty minutes in 630 career NHL games.

Coaching career

Boughner headed a new ownership group in purchasing the then-struggling Windsor Spitfires in February 2006. He has as head coach of the team, as well as President & C.E.O., except during the 2010-11 season when Boughner served as an assistant coach with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

In 2007–2008, he coached the Spitfires to the second best regular season finish in their history with 94 points, and was honored as OHL and CHL Coach of the Year. On April 15, 2009, Boughner was named the OHL's coach of the year for the second year in a row.

On May 8, 2009, he coached the Windsor Spitfires to their first OHL championship in 21 years after finishing the regular season with a league best 115 points. Also, that same year went on to win Windsor's first Memorial Cup, becoming the first team to lose the first two games of the tournament and still win the Cup. Bougher's Spitfires successfully defended their Memorial Cup championship in 2010.

On June 24, 2009, he was selected by Hockey Canada to coach the National Under-18 hockey team at the Memorial of Ivan Hlinka Tournament. The team went on to dominate by going undefeated and won gold at the tournament.

Personal

Boughner currently resides in Tecumseh, Ontario, with his wife, Jen. They have four children: Brady, Molly, Emma and Lola.

Career statistics

Playing career

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1988–89	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	OHL		64	6	15	21	182		—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds	OHL		49	7	23	30	122		—	—	—	—	—
1990–91	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	OHL		64	13	33	46	156		14	2	9	11	35
1991–92	Toledo Storm	ECHL		28	3	10	13	79		5	2	0	2	15
1991–92	Adirondack Red Wings	AHL		1	0	0	0	7		—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	Adirondack Red Wings	AHL		69	1	16	17	190		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Adirondack Red Wings	AHL		72	8	14	22	292		10	1	1	2	18
1994–95	Cincinnati Cyclones	IHL		81	2	14	16	192		10	0	0	0	18
1995–96	Carolina Monarchs	AHL		46	2	15	17	127		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		31	0	1	1	104		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		77	1	7	8	225		11	0	1	1	9
1997–98	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		69	1	3	4	165		14	0	4	4	15
1998–99	Nashville Predators	NHL		79	3	10	13	137		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Nashville Predators	NHL		62	2	4	6	97		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		11	1	0	1	69		11	0	2	2	15
2000–01	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		58	1	3	4	147		18	0	1	1	22
2001–02	Calgary Flames	NHL		79	2	4	6	170		—	—	—	—	—
2002–03	Calgary Flames	NHL		69	3	14	17	126		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		43	0	5	5	80		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Colorado Avalanche	NHL		11	0	0	0	8		11	0	4	4	6
2005–06	Colorado Avalanche	NHL		41	1	6	7	54		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				630	15	57	72	1382		65	0	12	12	67

Coaching career

Team	Year	Regular season							Post season
		G	W	L	SL	OTL	Pts	Finish	Result
WSR	2006–07	68	18	43	-	7	43	5th in West	Missed playoffs
WSR	2007–08	68	41	15	-	12	94	2nd in West	Lost in first round
WSR	2008–09	68	57	10	-	1	115	1st in West	Won OHL Championship and Memorial Cup
WSR	2009–10	68	50	12	5	1	106	1st in West	Won OHL Championship and Memorial Cup

2007–08 Matt Leyden Trophy winner (OHL Coach of the Year)

2007–08 Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award winner (CHL Coach of the Year)

2008–09 Matt Leyden Trophy winner (OHL Coach of the Year)

2008–09 Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award winner (CHL Coach of the Year)

External links

• Bob Boughner's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Bob Boughner's biography at Legends of Hockey

Preceded by Dave Lowry

Calgary Flames captain 2002 with Craig Conroy

Succeeded by Craig Conroy

Note: Boughner and Conroy shared the captaincy in the later half of the 2001–02 NHL season, after Lowry was stripped of the role. Conroy was then named sole captain for the 2002–03 NHL season.