Sport Slices

Danny Bois will be celebrating his twenty-fourth birthday on the first of June. He will be in Ottawa for the event, as part of the Senators family preparing for the third and fourth games of the Stanley Cup Final.

Danny has been practising in Ottawa, as part of a taxi squad of Binghamton Senators. There are no current plans to have Danny suit up for the Sens in the Final; he will be participating in “inter squad” scrimmages. The Senators have a long layoff before the start of the Final. Coach Murray has been through this situation before, as the GM of the Ducks.

It is one of those “half full, half empty” scenarios. The team needs plenty of time for wounds to heal, to refresh themselves, to fill up their tanks. But experience has shown that a long layoff can leave a team rusty, slow to react, and a step behind the opposition.

Danny Bois arrived in Wellington as a Duke in 1999. He was sixteen, and had already established himself as a vigorous hockey player. Only once, since that time, has Danny NOT had at least 200 minutes in penalties per year. In 2002-2003 with the London Knights, he had 197 minutes. Danny Bois is a warrior, and has established himself as one of the toughest customers in the game.

This past year, he had his first taste of NHL experience. One game, mind you. But that is one game more than most of us. In fact, one game more than any native of Prince Edward County. Ever.

Danny was in Bridgeport, Connecticut, while with the Binghamton Senators, and got the call at 10:30pm. “I was thrilled with the call,” he told me. “I spent the next couple of hours on the phone, letting my friends and family know.”

When he got to the rink in Washington, all of his equipment, sticks, and skates were ready. “It’s really great. They took care of everything.” Even Donald Brasseur, the Capitals’ enforcer, was ready, as is usually the case. Danny and Donald got together briefly, and there are seven penalty minutes recorded on Danny’s NHL record from the game. Following the game, Danny returned to Binghamton to complete the season. He played under coach Dave Cameron, also known to Dukes’ fans as the father of former Duke Connor Cameron.

The Binghamton Senators season ended on the 14th of April. Bois ended the season with 14 goals and 13 assists. He did receive 153 minutes in the “sin bin”, well under his normal total.

Bois will return home to Thunder Bay, then head back to Ottawa for training. He hopes to get to Wellington for the Dukes Golf Tournament on July 14th. “I am playing a lot of golf. I usually play well on 8 out of the 18 holes,” he told me.

For the next couple of weeks, Bois will have the best seat in the house to watch the Stanley Cup final. He will be there to hear the crunching body checks, and the slap shots. He will pick up the aroma from “Motor City” Smitty’s Restaurant. He will see the spectacle as it unfolds, for better or for worse for the Senators.

I spoke with a season ticket holder yesterday about the price of tickets. One quote he had received was that ice level seats, four rows above the surface, were in the $ 3000 range. I’ll pass on that one.

And with the price of gas! And the parking! And the food costs!

I’ll watch it on TV. But it would be more fun to be there, with Danny Bois!

James Hurst