Henry Boucha

Henry Boucha
Date of birth	June 1, 1951
place of birth	Warroad , Minnesota , USA
size	183 cm
Weight	84 kg
position	Defender / Center
Shot hand	Right
Draft
NHL Amateur Draft	1971 , 2nd round, 16th position Detroit Red Wings
Career stations
1969-1970	Winnipeg Jets
1970-1972	USA hockey
1972-1974	Detroit Red Wings
1974-1975	Minnesota North Stars
1975-1976	Minnesota Fighting Saints
1975-1976	Kansas City Scouts
1976	Colorado Rockies

Henry Charles Boucha (born June 1, 1951 in Warroad , Minnesota ) is a retired American ice hockey player . He won the silver medal with the US national team at the 1972 Winter Olympics . He then played in the National Hockey League before he had to end his career early in 1976 due to an eye injury.

Career

Boucha is an Ojibwe Indian. He played on the Warroad High School ice hockey team . There he was used both as a defender and as a center. In 1969 he led his team into the final of the State Tournament , but had to retire injured during the 4-5 final defeat. After graduating from high school, he played for the Winnipeg Jets in the Western Canada Hockey League for a year . He was called up to the US national team and played the B World Championship in 1970 and A World Championship in 1971 . In 1972 he won the silver medal with the US team at the Olympic Games in Sapporo .

He then signed a contract with the Detroit Red Wings and completed his first NHL assignment on February 22, 1972. For the next two years he mostly formed a line with Red Berenson and Bill Collins . In August 1974 he moved to the Minnesota North Stars in exchange with Danny Grant . During the season, he was injured in the eye by Dave Forbes following an expired bank penalty from both players and was sidelined for an extended period. Forbes was banned from playing ten games and later charged with assault in court, but was never convicted.

For the 1975/76 season Boucha moved to the Minnesota Fighting Saints in the World Hockey Association . At the end of the season his contract was canceled and he went back to the NHL with the Kansas City Scouts . He moved the team to Denver , but played his last game in November 1976 and declared his career end. Boucha had sustained permanent damage to his eye in the incident with Forbes in January 1975 and was never able to build on his previous performance. In the NHL he scored 53 goals and 49 assists in 247 games, in the WHA he came to 36 games with 15 goals and 20 assists.

Boucha was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1995.

literature

• Mary Halverson Schofield: Henry Boucha: Star of the North . Snowshoe Press, 1999, ISBN 0-9670246-1-7 .

Web links

• Henry Boucha at vintageminnesotahockey.com (English)
• Henry Boucha at legendsofhockey.net (English)
• Henry Boucha at hockeydraftcentral.com