Kicking off the 20s is a Canucks legend who was here for the first season in the team’s history. André Boudrias was born in Montreal and began his junior hockey career with the Montreal Junior Canadiens.

His junior career saw tremendous success, with scoring well over a point per game in each of his three seasons. During Boudrias’s last season with the Junior Canadiens in 1963-64, he earned the call-up to the NHL for his first taste of professional hockey. His first stint with the Montreal Canadiens was a success, as he registered five points through four games, showing considerable promise for what was to come in the future.

Despite his initial success, Boudrias only saw three games in the NHL over the next three seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, struggling to crack the roster on a team littered with talent. In 1967, Boudrias was given a new opportunity and a fresh start after being dealt to the Minnesota North Stars, the latest expansion team.

Boudrias’s first season with the North Stars looked to be the beginning of a breakout, scoring 18 goals and notching 53 points through 74 games in his first full NHL season. However, the following season, he struggled once again and was later traded to the Chicago Blackhawks during the 1968-69 season.

Once he became a member of the Blackhawks, Boudrias started to pick up his play, registering 14 points through 20 games. Although he had success during his short stint in Chicago, he was lost to the St. Louis Blues during the offseason due to the intra-league draft, which allowed teams to select players from Original Six rosters to keep the league more competitive.

Boudrias would only spend one season with the Blues and struggled to make an impact with the NHL squad. This led to him being sent down to the Blues’ minor league team. However, he did get the call back up to the NHL and was a part of the Blues’ Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to Bobby Orr and the Boston Bruins.

All of this jumping around the league led to Boudrias finally finding a home in Vancouver, being dealt to the new expansion franchise, the Vancouver Canucks, in 1970 after just one season in St. Louis.

Right away, Boudrias saw a ton of success with the Canucks. In his first season, he led the team in points, notching a new career high of 66 points through 77 games. In fact, Boudrais would lead the Canucks in points in four of his six seasons in Vancouver.

During his time in Vancouver, he quickly earned the nickname “Super pest” because of his high-end skating and forechecking abilities. An immediate fan favourite, Boudrias would also be the only member of the Canucks from the team’s inaugural season to remain there for their first-ever trip to the playoffs in 1975.

That season was the best of Boudrias’s career, registering 78 points, including a record 62 assists, which took over three decades to break by Henrik Sedin.

In his final year in Vancouver, Boudrias was named captain of the team. The Montreal native struggled to put up the points Canucks fans had gotten used to seeing from him; however, he became more of a shutdown player for the team before retiring as a member of the Canucks in 1976.

It may have taken some time and patience for Boudrias to reach the level he was initially expected to following his successful junior career. However, after bouncing around from team to team, he did reach the heights he had hoped for as a member of the Vancouver Canucks. Becoming one of the best players in franchise history.

Our previously ranked top 50 Canucks of all time:

#50 – Curt Fraser
#49 – Dave Babych
#48 – Martin Gelinas
#47 – Chris Oddleifson
#46 – Jannik Hansen
#45 – Ivan Boldirev
#44 – Gary Smith
#43 – Jacob Markstrom
#42 – Orland Kurtenbach
#41 – Harold Snepsts
#40 – Darcy Rota
#39 – Thatcher Demko
#38 – Geoff Courtnall
#37 – Dennis Ververgaert
#36 – Petri Skriko
#35 – Dan Hamhuis
#34 – Doug Lidster
#33 – Patrik Sundstrom
#32 – Brendan Morrison
#31 – Richard Brodeur
#30 – Sami Salo

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