OTTAWA - The Ottawa Senators announced Sunday the appointment of McGill University graduate Guy Boucher as head coach. Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said that Boucher has agreed to terms on a three-year agreement.

Boucher, who guided Canada to gold at the Spengler Cup tournament in Switzerland last December, is a 44-year-old native of Notre-Dame-du-Lac, Que., who was raised in Montreal's West Island suburb of Roxboro, Que.

He served for parts of the past three seasons as head coach of SC Bern of the National League A in Switzerland, posting a 44-29-5 record.

Prior to that, he spent two-plus seasons as the head coach of the National Hockey League's Tampa Bay Lightning, posting a 97-78-20 record in 195 games. Boucher led the Lightning to the Eastern Conference Final in 2010-11. Before his stint with the Lightning from 2010 to 2013, he guided AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs in 2009-10.

"Over the past three weeks, Pierre Dorion and our hockey operations staff have undertaken a thorough and comprehensive search for our next head coach. Following a detailed evaluation of all coaching candidates, there was overwhelming consensus that Guy was our top candidate," said Senators owner Eugene Melnyk in a press release issued by the Senators. "We wanted a great coach and this process yielded our top pick. I couldn't be happier. On behalf of the entire Senators organization, the great city of Ottawa and our fans, I want to welcome Guy, his wife Marsha and their three children, Vincent, Mila and Naomi."

During his playing days, he was a centre with the McGill Redmen, under head coach Jean Pronovost from 1991 to 1995. Boucher, who served as captain in his final season at McGill, recorded 71 goals and 183 points in 141 career games overall. He graduated in 1995 with his first of three degrees, a bachelor of arts, majoring in history and environmental biology. In 1995-96, Boucher played pro in France for Viry-Essonne where he scored 16 goals and 38 points in 28 games.

He then returned to Canada in 1996 to complete a science degree in agricultural engineering at McGill and begin a master's in sports psychology at the University of Montreal, which he eventually finished in 2014 under the tutelage of McGill grad Dr. Wayne Halliwell (MA '72). During that time, Boucher cut his teeth as an assistant at McGill under head coach Martin Raymond for one season (1996-97) before moving on to serve as an assistant to Jean Pronovost with the QMJHL's Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (1997-2000).

Boucher then took over as head coach with the Lac St. Louis Lions of the Quebec Midget AAA hockey league. Three seasons later, he returned to the QMJHL, where he was an assistant coach with the Rimouski Océanic from 2003 to 2006. He was appointed bench boss of the QMJHL's Drummondville Voltigeurs in 2006 and won the Paul Dumont Trophy in 2008-09, awarded to QMJHL's personality of the year. He coached the Voltigeurs for three seasons, leading them to the QMJHL regular season and playoff championships and a berth in the Memorial Cup in 2008-09.

In 2009, Boucher took over the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs, the Montreal Canadiens' top minor league affiliate. He led Hamilton to an impressive 52-17-11 record for 115 points and won the Louis A. R. Pieri Memorial Award as coach of the year in 2009-10 ater leading them to the North Division championship.

In 2010, he was appointed bench boss of the Lightning, leading the team to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals in his first year. He was dismissed by the team on March 24, 2013 after the Lightning struggled in the lockout-shortened season with a 13-18-1 record.

Boucher has also worked with Team Canada and was an assistant to Pat Quinn at the 2009 IIHF world junior championship at which Canada won gold. He also was an assistant three times for Canada's under-18 national team in 2006, 2007 and 2008, winning gold in his last appearance.

Both Boucher and Senators general manager Pierre Dorion will be available on Monday afternoon for a formal announcement.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Earl Zukerman
Communications Officer
Athletics & Recreation
McGill University
514-398-7012
MOBILE SITE:http://mcgillathletics.ca/mobile/index.aspx
WEBSITE:www.mcgillathletics.ca
E-MAIL:earl.zukerman@mcgill.ca