The Road to Forgiveness for an NHL Native American Hero

Long before he played in the NHL, Henry Boucher was considered one of the best high school players in Minnesota hockey history, but his high school career ended suddenly in the 1969 state championship when he was seriously injured and had to be taken from the Met Center in Minnesota. Six years later, his NHL career would effectively end on the same Met Center ice when he was once again seriously injured in one of the most gruesome acts of violence ever seen in the sport of hockey, but between these disturbing events, Boucher He became a medalist. winning us as an olympian a popular and dynamic nhl player and a role model for

native

american

athletes and although his legacy will always be connected to that horrible night in january 1975. henry boucher's life story is a lesson of courage,

forgiveness

and the peace he found in the wisdom of his ancestors Henry Charles Boucher was born on June 1, 1951 on the Canada-United States border in War

road

, Minnesota.

He came from a family of nine with a strong Chippewa Indian heritage. Henry witnessed multiple family tragedies while he was growing up. He has lost his sister to heart disease. An other sister. to a fire and a brother died in a gun accident a skilled athlete who excelled in football baseball track in hockey Henry was often compared to the legendary Native American athlete Jim Thorpe played high school hockey for the high school war

road

and was considered to be one of the most electrifying players to ever play in the state of hockey. Boucher played in what is still remembered as the greatest game in Minnesota high school history, when the Cinderella War Road Warriors faced Edina in the 1969 state championship game.

Henry was the best . player on either team he logged 60 minutes of playing time in each game leading up to the finals and now to get to that championship game. Henry's legend grew in a semifinal game against Roseau High School, where his right eye swollen shut after taking a stick from Aaron mid-game. after being stitched, Boucher returned to the game and with seconds left in the tied game, he launched a shot from the right point that beat the buzzer and sent Warro into the final four minutes into the second period of the final game. Boucher who had already scored a goal ran along the ice and fired a shot, the goalie deflected it.

Boucher chased the puck to the corner where an Edina defenseman hit his head on the glass. Boucher collapsed, the crowd fell silent, the blow had crushed his eardrum, he was carried off the ice without his best player, warroad, he fought hard but fell 5-4 in overtime with his legendary high school career now over. Bouchet was a top hockey prospect in the country who signed to attend the University of Minnesota, Coach Glenn's Sonmoor, but after meeting his high school girlfriend. She was pregnant. Boucher married her and instead of starting college he joined the Winnipeg Jets of the rough-and-tumble Western Canadian Hockey League.

Boucher played well in Winnipeg and was lured to the US national team in hopes of being selected for the 1972 Olympics. There would be no shortage of motivation for Henry to make the US team in 1970, with the Vietnam War in full swing. . He began serving in the US Army and reported for duty at Fort Knox, Tennessee. If Henry was excluded from the American team, he would receive a full grade. -expenses paid trip to join the US armed forces in Saigon, but Henry stood out at the 1971 world championship in Switzerland, where he scored seven goals in 10 games for the US team and with that performance he earned a place on the US Olympic roster.

One of the biggest stars of that ragtag U.S. Olympic team that shocked the hockey world by winning a silver medal in Sapporo, Japan, with virtually no media coverage, the upstart No. 72 team has often forgotten history, this collection of high school

hero

es, American college kids, and the US Army. The soldiers were expected to finish fifth behind the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Sweden, and Finland. The Soviet and Czech teams were especially powerful since there was no distinction between amateurs and professionals and the communist countries. These teams were made up of experienced professionals who were ranked number one and number two.

In the world, the key match, the surprise of the tournament was when the United States beat Vaclav Dadamansky and the powerful Czech team five to one. This shocking result was almost as surprising as the American winds of the Soviets in the 1960s and 1980s, the young Americans continued. Finland defeated and then defeated Poland while the Soviets defeated the controls. These results propelled the United States from fourth to second place for an unexpected silver medal and Henry contributed six points in six tournament games, while Henry, who had been selected 16th overall by his favorite team in the NHL, the Detroit Red.

Wings in the 1971 draft were also selected first by the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the fledgling world hockey association. Both teams were eagerly seeking Boucher's services. Both franchises offered Henry a three-year contract for $60,000 per year, but he decided to continue his NHL career. Dreaming of the Red Wings after the American silver medal, the young center got a reprieve from the US Army and joined the Red Wings for the final 16 games of the 1971-72 season, as the Wings attempted to make the playoffs. Immediate impact by scoring a goal in his first game against Hall of Fame goalie Jacques Plant, however, Henry failed to score in any of the remaining 15 games, failing to score in the first 34 games of the 1972-73 season, that is, a goalless streak of 49 consecutive games.

With his confidence in tatters he was demoted to the Virginia Red Wings of the American Hockey League for two weeks to get his game back on track when Henry returned to the Wings he made a decision to fashion that would become his trademark he decided. He stopped wearing a helmet, but to prevent sweat from getting into his eyes, he started wearing a headband. This was a radical move in the conservative NHL and when he put on the headband for the first time before a 73 game, his teammates greeted him with laughter and ridicule. He wore the headband in the game and would continue to do so for the rest of his career.

Henry was now a new man on the ice, scoring 14 goals in 39 games, playing left wing on a solid line with Red Berenson and Bill Collins Boucher and his trademark. diadem were popular figures in detroit in barons and they let one go through the golden crease here's the pile because he shoots it wide comey bergman will have the opportunity let one go he leaned right in front here's a chance where boucher scores henry boucher in the The rebound tied the game at two-two while the fullbacks were practicing shooting. Henry's most notable game came on January 28, 1973, when he set the NHL record for the fastest goal from the start of a game by scoring at the six-second mark of the first. period in a breakout game against the Montreal Canadiens in August 1973, the Red Wings, needing a high-scoring left wing to complement center, Marcel Dion sent Boucher back to Minnesota in exchange for Northstar winger Danny Grant , Henry was stunned by the exchange, but excited to be able to be.

Upon returning home, the North Stars were in deep decline, but Henry quickly established himself as the team's leading scorer with 15 goals in his first 29 games. At the age of 23, it seemed that Henry Boucher was destined for stardom. nhl, but henry boucher's career and life would be forever altered on january 4, 1975 when the north stars hosted the boston bruins before a sold out crowd at the met center. Boucher had never been wrecked by an opposing Ford in his entire career, but on this night Bruins coach Don Cherry assigned the fourth line. left wing dave forbes to closely control boucher the two started fighting from the first confrontation at the beginning of the first period forbes pushed boucher hard against the boards with a high elbow, I think he locked in the fight with boucher who fights For freeing his right arm and knocking Forbes to his knees with an overhead punch, Boston's Terry O'Reilly joined the fray and was ejected when a third man in Forbes and Boucher were sent to the penalty box for seven minutes.

Once in the penalty box, Forbes reportedly told Boucher that he would shove his hockey stick down his throat. A witness sitting near the penalty box heard Forbes shout at Boucher's quote, "I'm not going to get my hands dirty." hands henry im going to use my cane another stated that a wild-eyed broke veteran bobby schmotz demanded forbes quote: give him the first chance you get after the sanctions expired. Both players left the mid-range penalty box as play stopped at one end of the ice ball and headed to their bench with Forbes in tow. Forbes did everything he could to reach him.

Boucher and unexpectedly and without warning pushed his stick against Boucher's head with the butt end immediately after the stick hit Boucher in the area of ​​his right eye, blood began to flow, but Forbes' attack did not end at that point, but Boucher grabbed his eye, which he had thought he had lost, fell dazed and bleeding on the ice, then jumped on Boucher's back and began beating his head and body with his fists, then grabbed the Boucher's hair and began slamming his face into the ice as blood radiated from Boucher's head. Murray Oliver of the North Star took Forbes out of Boucher and later stated that he probably saved Henry's life.

Boucher was carted off the ice and at the time I had no idea how serious his injury was. The injury required 25 stitches and the swelling took 10 days. down so that his eye could open, it was then that Henry realized that he had significant double vision in his right eye and that the damage was likely permanent. His right orbital bone, the bone that holds the eye in place, was broken and doctors operated on him the next day to rebuild it. For his part, Forbes called Henry at the hospital to apologize, but then stated that if he had not retaliated against Boucher, that would have been telling him that he was afraid he might subpoena me.

Forbes was charged with aggravated assault in Minneapolis three weeks after the incident with trial scheduled for the summer of '75 if convicted he could have served three years in prison He was also suspended for ten games by NHL President Clarence Campbell The Four Bruins Bobby Orr Phil Esposito Carol Vadnay and Johnny Busick Threatened to Boycott 1975 NHL All-Star Game to Protest Length of Forbes' Suspension From Now Until Attack on Boucher, the five-foot-eight-inch Forbes had been Seen as a quiet underdog who rose from obscure Division II American International College to the big, bad Boston Bruins, the assault seemed out of place, but what most people don't know is that the attack on Boucher It was not Forbes' first act of on-ice mayhem in a 1970 game between American International and Northeastern University Forbes swung his stick toward Northeastern player Ralph Morrison as he skated behind him, Forbes Stix smashed Morrison in the mouth, He broke her jaw and knocked out four of her teeth after getting up.

Morrison dropped his stick and gloves and chased after Forbes. Forbes defended himself by repeatedly hitting Morrison in the face with his club, cutting him from underneath. left eye and between his eyebrows, in addition to a broken jaw, Morrison suffered a concussion that required 35 stitches, it was the worst bleeding I have ever seen, said Gideon Fernald, a Northeastern player who witnessed the incident. I have never seen a player dismembered. Forbes' hockey career declined so badly after the Bouchet incident that he was acquired in the 1977 intraleague draft by the Washington Capitals and released the following season after returning to play 13 games with the North Star's double vision and all.

Boucher had a lot of trouble on the ice. His impaired vision made it difficult for him to accept passes and handle the puck. He became deeply depressed and began drinking heavily. He was late to several team practices and repeatedly missed curfew. Eventually, the North Stars had enough and suspended him for the rest of the season. To make matters worse, his lawyer never finished the paperwork on his four-year contract offer which, of course, the North Star has now rescinded. Fortunately for Henry, the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the World Hockey Association are back on the scene. and they were happy to sign him for the 1975-76 season.

Thisseason, the Fighting Saints were the most talented team Henry had ever played on and featured high-profile stars like Mike Walton, Dave Keon, John Mckenzie, and tough guys like Paul Holmgren and Jack Carlson Boucher. Jack Carlson Boucher's contract was supposedly guaranteed while the Forbes trial dragged on through the summer of 1975. It received worldwide publicity as it was highly unusual for an athlete to face criminal charges for assault during the game. The trial ended with a hung jury. Of the 12 jurors voting to convict the charges were not returned during this process, at least it seemed in the hockey community, Forbes had become the victim, as many felt that the courts had no business interfering in the sports issue.

By contrast, in the world of hockey, Henry Boucher became an outcast despite his challenges with his eyesight. Henry had a career resurgence in which in 75-76 he scored 35 points in 36 games, but at that time the Saints were basically a Ponzi scheme and were wasting money to make things worse. Henry's lackadaisical lawyer never verified that his contract was guaranteed, and of course it wasn't like the Fighting Saints were. About to retire, Boucher declared himself a free agent and signed with the NHL's Kansas City scouts for the latter part of the 75-76 season and remained with the miserable franchise.

He would have moved to Colorado in 76-77. Bouchette rarely played. in colorado as coach johnny wilson was told to keep him out of the lineup in retaliation for the pending lawsuit over the dave forbes incident after playing only nine games with colorado boucher's contract was purchased for two-thirds of its value at the age of 25 henry boucher The professional career was already over according to Henry. The eye injury left me breathless. I lost my momentum. The league and the players association did not return my calls because of the way the league was treating me. I knew they wanted me out.

Henry added. going through hell i hated hockey it hurt a lot inside i kept to myself after retiring bouche i lived in spokane detroit war road idaho and alaska bouche had become a lost soul who turned to alcohol and drugs in a failed attempt to alleviate his depression was divorced twice moved across the country went bankrupt from failed businesses in the meat industry in the music industry in 1980 finally settled a civil suit first against Forbes in the Boston Bruins, but the court victory did little to stop his depressive and drunken thoughts, but Henry Boucher reached a turning point in 1984 when, while hiking in Alaska, he found the body of a golden eagle in a snowbank because eagle feathers are important in Native American culture. .

Bouchet took it as a signal quote. He knew something important was going to happen. He says that at his daughter's request, he returned to War Road. He became a licensed real estate agent in 1987. He coached youth hockey in the years since and emerged as a leader in promoting Native American pride and public awareness of the contributions of indigenous people to broader society. my passion boucher has said quote after hockey I found myself in my culture my traditions my spirituality I want young Native Americans to find the strength that we have all received but that we do not always recognize. 1995 Boucher was reintroduced to the wider hockey world when he was inducted into the USA Hockey Hall of Fame.

Since then, he has embraced his professional hockey past and enjoys reuniting with former teammates. Boucher is a big fan of His second cousin, NHL star TJ Oshie, refers to Henry as quoting Uncle Henry. In 2014, Boucher published his autobiography and created a film company that is producing a documentary celebrating Native Americans at the US Olympics. in recent years. years bouche has battled health issues suffered a stroke in 2018. in 2019 he underwent hip surgery then suffered a heart attack and underwent heart surgery in august facing these and other challenges throughout his life Henry has found comfort in helping others, he has also learned to Forgive the man who changed the course of his life through time and through self-healing and return to my roots as a Native American and find my spirituality, certainly part of that It's forgiving, so over the years I have forgiven him, but I have never spoken to him and he has never contacted me or our paths have never crossed.

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