Georges Boucher

John Georges "Buck" Boucher (August 19, 1895 – October 17, 1960) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Maroons, and Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey Association (NHA) and National Hockey League (NHL) between 1915 and 1932. In 1921, he became the first defenceman to record a hat-trick in an NHL playoff game.

Personal life

Georges was born in Ottawa, Ontario, to Tom Boucher and Annie Carroll. His paternal grandfather, Antoine Boucher, was French while his other grandparents were of Irish descent. His father played rugby football for Ottawa College and for the Ottawa Rough Riders, winning the Canadian championship in 1894, 1896, 1897 and 1901.

His younger brothers Billy, Bob and Frank also became professional ice hockey players. There were two other brothers, Carroll and Joseph, and two sisters, Irene and Lily.

In October 1916, Boucher enlisted with the Canadian military, joining the 207th (Ottawa-Carleton) Battalion, though he was discharged in December that year for unclear reasons. He re-enlisted in May 1917, this time joining the Signal Training Department. He was again discharged, as a medical exam found him to have mitral regurgitation, making Boucher unfit to be a soldier.

His son, Frank Boucher, was the head coach of Canada's 1948 Olympic gold medal-winning ice hockey team – the Ottawa RCAF Flyers.

Hockey career Boucher started his professional athletic career in football as halfback for the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League. After three years of football, he switched to hockey.

He played as an amateur with the Ottawa Aberdeens, and the New Edinburghs and Royal Canadians of the Ottawa City Hockey League.

He started play with the Senators, then of the NHA, in 1915. At the time, he played as a forward. Boucher would soon switch to play as a defenceman where he would gain fame as an excellent stick handler. He would play with stars such as Eddie Gerard, Horrace Merrill, Sprague Cleghorn, Lionel Hitchman and King Clancy.

Boucher played against his brother Frank in the 1923 Stanley Cup playoffs, which also featured brothers Cy and Corbett Denneny playing against each other. It marked the first time two different sets of brothers faced each other in an NHL or Big Four championship series.

He suffered from throat cancer for six years and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1960, three weeks before he died.