Published: November 23, 2007 11:54 pm      

Pair of ex-Johnstown players ascend coaching ladder

The Washington Capitals’ coaching shakeup involved two former Johnstown hockey players.

Bruce Boudreau was promoted to interim head coach of the Caps on Thursday after Washington fired Glen Hanlon, whose Alex Ovechkin-led team struggled to the franchise’s slowest start in 26 years.

Once Boudreau’s position as an AHL head coach in Hershey opened, his assistant coach there, Bob Woods, was elevated to interim head coach of the Bears on Thursday.

Boudreau played his first professional season with the 1975-76 Johnstown Jets in the former North American Hockey League. Woods spent four seasons as a defenseman with the ECHL’s Johnstown Chiefs from 1990-94.

“We expected something to happen. We didn’t know exactly what was going to happen,” said Woods, a former captain and alternate captain of the Chiefs. “I’m probably more excited for Bruce. I haven’t thought about myself yet. I guess I better start (thinking about myself) pretty soon.”

Woods was reached by telephone in Philadelphia, where Hershey is playing the AHL’s Philadelphia Phantoms. Coincidentally, Boudreau joined the Caps in Philadelphia for a Friday game against the Flyers.

Washington won the first contest under Boudreau 4-3 in overtime.

“I haven’t really had a lot of time to focus on too much except that it’s unfortunate because Glen was a good friend of mine,” said Boudreau, who oversaw Washington’s practice Thursday at the team’s training facility after driving three hours from Hershey. “But at the same time, I’ve sort of waited 32 years for this opportunity.”

Boudreau began a 17-year professional career in Johnstown, scoring 25 goals and 60 regular-season points for a talented Jets team trying to defend the Lockhart Cup championship. He had six goals and 11 points in nine postseason games.

The World Hockey Association’s Minnesota Fighting Saints, a Jets’ affiliate, had drafted Boudreau in the first round in 1974, and the Toronto Maple Leafs picked him in the third round of the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft.

He played 30 career WHA games and 141 NHL contests with Toronto, scoring 28 goals and 70 points.

Boudreau has coached in the original International League, former Colonial League and the AHL as well as in the ECHL with Mississippi. He won the 1999 Kelly Cup with the Sea Wolves as Woods served as a player-assistant coach.

Woods followed Boudreau as the Sea Wolves’ head coach from 2001 until he rejoined Boudreau as an assistant in Hershey in 2005-06.

“Bruce is a great coach. He coaches with passion,” Woods said. “He has a great feel for players and respect for them. He knows systems, and he knows how to adapt. In this game today you’ve got to be able to change things on the fly, and Bruce does that.”

Woods played 190 games for the Chiefs and still ranks third in assists (141) and sixth in points (200). Johnstown advanced to the playoffs in all four of his seasons, winning series against Erie in 1991 and 1992 as well as a dramatic one-game overtime playoff against Richmond in 1993.

“Johnstown is just a great hockey town. It’s got a lot of history,” Woods said. “That’s where I played a lot of my hockey at the start of my career. It helped me get back on track and get me to where I wanted to be. My wife and I have often said our years in Johnstown were some of our best years. The whole environment there made it a great experience.”

His coaching experience in Hershey has helped Woods prepare for his debut as an AHL head coach.

“I think it makes the transition a lot easier. I’m in an environment I’ve been familiar with the last 21⁄2 years,” he said. “The systems are in place. The guys know you and respect you.

“I feel pretty calm. I guess it will probably sink in once we get closer to game time. Again, I’m looking forward to it. The guys are excited. We want to see how it all plays out. We’re jumping in with both feet. We play Philadelphia, the first-place team, back-to-back, and then we play our archrival the (Wilkes-Barre) Penguins at home on Sunday. We’ll see what we’re made of right away.”