Former Canadiens defender Pierre Bouchard, nicknamed “Baby Butch”, was born in Longueuil. It was a great honor for him to follow in the footsteps of his father Émile Bouchard, former Habs captain and Hall of Famer whose number 3 was retired by the club.
When he was young, it was traditional for wealthy families to enroll their children as boarders at a private college. On Saturdays, Pierre attended Canadiens practice with his father.
His favorite sport is undoubtedly hockey, closely followed by baseball. His father was president of the Montreal Royals baseball team, affiliated with the Dodgers, in the 1950s.
One of the best moments of his youth was when he sat in the stands at Delorimier Stadium and watched the Royals play in the summer. He was 9 years old, with his Royals cap on his head and his baseball glove in hand, expecting to catch a foul ball.
After winning his first of five Stanley Cups, his tongue-in-cheek father, who won the trophy four times, told him, “Now you’ve got to win another one.”
You went to the ice rink on skates.
I was five years old and to get to the rink I wore my skates. When we got to the rink the skates weren’t that sharp anymore.
You attended your primary school at the Collège Durocher in Saint-Lambert.
I was registered as a boarder. I went home on Sunday morning and had to go back to university that same evening. My parents explained that they made sacrifices to enroll me in a private school so that I could get a good education. I was five years old and I didn’t like her decision.
Did you play hockey in college?
No, because the outer track was often not in good condition. For a year my father and some Canadiens players played a game on the school track. Jean-Pierre Léger from the Rôtisseries St-Hubert was my classmate.
Did you play musical instruments?
I didn’t like my piano lessons at Collège Durocher, but later at Collège Bourget I played saxophone and trumpet, but not for very long. However, I did enjoy skating in the family garden.
Bourget College in Rigaud.
My studies went well for the first month, but the college principals had signed me up for the Latin element, which was actually an 8th grade. So I skipped my seventh year.
Your father confiscated your skates.
After the first month, my performance deteriorated so much that I went back to 7th grade. My father then confiscated my skates.
What did you do ?
Then I borrowed one of my friends’ skates and skated at the college rink with a hood over my head to hide my face.
Her stay at the Collège Bourget did not last long.
I was undisciplined and didn’t take my studies seriously. To give you a better understanding of what the future holds for me at college, we went home for a few days in November, during the holiday season and at Easter.
The return home.
As happy as the Headmasters were that I had enrolled in September, they were just as happy when I left for Easter.
They played up to bantam level in Longueuil.
I played hockey and had success before I went to Collège Laval when I was a boarding school student. In college my coaches were Rolland Bleau and my assistant was Gerry Guy.
Collège Laval was a turning point for you.
If it wasn’t for my stint at Laval College, I would never have played for the Canadiens. At the age of 16, I was drafted in the first round by the Canadiens along with my teammate Marc Tardif, who was drafted a few years later. Pierre Jarry, who played for us, ended up with the Detroit Red Wings.
Did you do other sports?
Yes, baseball, tennis and fishing at Lac Raymond in Val-Morin. I used to water ski with Pierre Plouffe in the Estérel before he became world champion.
Your father wanted you to learn English.
At Lac Raymond most young people were Anglophones. When they first said to me, “Get on the boat, we’re going to cross the lake,” I didn’t understand. I had to row across the lake in a rowboat. The second time I got it.
Journalist Guy Émond gave you a lot of encouragement.
I played for the Canadian Juniors. He praised me so much that I became a popular player among the fans. The head coach Roger Bédard played a crucial role in my career.
What were your first jobs?
I was a chef at the Hôtel Estérel on behalf of the renowned chef Marcel Kretz. Then, for a summer, I worked on the Molson Brewery trucks with ace hockey players Claude Piché and Cléo Saint-Vincent. For the next two summers I worked as a sales representative at Labatt Brewery.
What influence did your parents have?
My father Émile told me that it was important to study and work. When I was younger, my mother was almost always pregnant, for almost five years, except for one year. The priest had reprimanded her and for the priest it was the beginning of the end, we changed parishes.
You have two wonderful children.
I get spoiled. My daughter Sophie is a chartered accountant while my son Emile is a financial advisor. I am a grandfather to five wonderful grandchildren.
There is always a good golfer in a family.
Back home, it is my wife of 20 years, Lynne Lévesque, who I want to end the rest of my life with.
