Dogs coach promises ‘relentless’ attack
‘We’re going for the hard play, everything that is not a shortcut’

Garry McKay
The Hamilton Spectator

If Guy Boucher has his way the Hamilton Bulldogs will offer up a concert level performance every night.

“If you have a band and you put on a show, the song has to be perfect, just like it is on the CD,” says the Dogs’ new bench boss. “It has to be worthwhile to come and see the show, and for us it is a show, especially at home. On the road it’s a chance to put on a show for their fans and it’s an opportunity for us to play well and win. But at home, it’s much more than that.

“I know this is a hard-working city and they pay to see something that is worthwhile, and if it’s not, the players are going to find out about it really quick from me.”

Boucher and his assistants Martin Raymond and Daniel Lacroix have big shoes to fill. They replace the popular Don Lever and Ron Wilson whose contracts, for no apparent reason, weren’t renewed this past summer by the Montreal Canadiens.

Boucher isn’t approaching the task hesitantly, however. That just isn’t his style. A successful coach in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Boucher has brought a breath of fresh air and youthful enthusiasm to the Dogs dressing room.

Whether his approach will work and whether the players will buy into it at the professional level remains to be seen. If they do, Bulldogs fans could be in for an interesting season.

The Bulldogs play their home opener tonight at 7:30 at Copps Coliseum, when they entertain the Rockford IceHogs. It’s the first chance most Dogs fans will have to see what kind of style the team will play.

The word most often out of Boucher’s mouth at training camp has been “relentless.”

“There should be no seconds in the game that should be wasted where we’re floating, gliding or stretching for an easy play,” says Boucher. “We’re going for the hard play, everything that is not a shortcut.”

On the surface, the team appears to be very strong in goal on defence and up front. They have several players including two prominent ones, defenceman Alex Henry and forward David Desharnais, out for another month or so with injuries. Once the team gets healthy, however, the lineup is strong.

In net, the Canadiens did not resign Marc Denis for Hamilton, but have come up with a more than suitable replacement in Curtis Sanford, who has extensive NHL experience.

There is a school of thought, however, that says Cedrick Desjardins could end up as the number one guy in Hamilton, with Sanford up in Montreal before the season is over — if the Habs could get the right deal for either Jaroslav Halak or Carey Price.

On the blueline, the Dogs have lost veteran Dan Jancevski, have Henry out with an injury, and second year player Yannick Weber up in Montreal because of injuries there. They do have Mathieu Carle, Chad Anderson, and Shawn Belle back from last year, however. And highly touted newcomer P.K. Subban will be a defenceman worth watching.

The Bulldogs also have veteran Marc-Andre Bergeron for tonight’s opener, but he’s just here on a conditioning stint.

Up front the Dogs lost their leading scorer when Montreal opted not to resign Yanick Lehoux. Their next five forwards, David Desharnais, Ben Maxwell, Mike Glumac, Brock Trotter and Ryan Russell are back although Desharnais is out for another month with a broken bone in his foot. A key off-season pickup is left winger Mathieu Darche, who had 31 goals and 35 assists last year with Portland.