Minnesota Experience

(dynamic music) (electric buzzing) Is this a take?

(electric buzzing) (electric buzzing) (electric buzzing) - [David Marvin] When he would get the puck, the whole crowd would stand up.

- [Announcer] Boucha shoots and scores!

- [Darrell Shaugabay] Those of us who are involved with hockey dream and aspire to do the things that Henry got to do with, with his incredible talent.

- [Lou Nanne] Special players have that gift.

The game slows down for them.

- [Elaine Boucha] He was sufferi but he didn't want anybody to know.

- [Henry] It just took away my will.

- [Announcer] Here is a chance for Boucha!

He Scores!

- [Mike Marvin] They talk about the great ones.

You don't have to say Henry Boucha.

You can just start with Henry.

Humble, modest, but an electrifying hockey player.

Humble, modest, but an electrifying hockey player.

(crowd cheering) - [Murray Williamson] He was referred to as the Electric Indian because he was so explosi - [Murray Williamson] He was referred to as the Electric Indian because he was so explosi (rhythmic indigenous music) - Hoka!

- Whoo whoo whoo whoo!

- [Anncr] No bags are allowed inside Xcel Energy Center and walkthrough metal detectors are at all entrances to the arena.

Please purchase tickets at the box office at Gate One on Kellogg Boulevard.

- Come on in.

(metal detector beeping) Go ahead.

(laughing) (loud chattering) - That's why I bring my walker.

This place is so big.

Hello, hello.

- Hi, Henry.

I'm Molly.

- Hi.

- with the Minnesota Wild.

- Hi, nice to meet you.

- [Henry] How you doing there young man?

- This is my Jack McCartan stick.

- Okay.

- 1973.

- Oh nice.

- Thank you.

- [Henry] Yeah, you're welcome.

- Thank you very much, - Here you go.

- appreciate that.

- Yeah, nice jersey.

- Well, no headband?

- No hair left.

- Yeah, right.

- Hey, I'm with ya'.

- We had a 16 year old and two 19 year olds - We had a 16 year old and two 19 year olds on our Olympic team in '72 that won silver.

He was one of the 19 year olds.

And I see you're still a Warroad Warrior too.

- Well look at, they're ranked number one in women, girls.

- Okay.

- Ranked number one in boys.

- Yeah, yeah.

- Can't beat that.

You know, for a little town of 1700.

- Booch!

Come on back here.

- Electric Indian.

- Electric Indian.

- Gary Gambucci.

- Yes, indeed, yes.

- He's former mayor of Hibbing.

(chuckling) - This is my favorite player.

We were on the same team, but I could always stop him in practice, right?

(chuckling) - This is my granddaughter, Sky.

- Hi, Sky.

- Hi.

- I don't know whether you ever met Carl up in the alumni room.

- I don't think so.

- I don't think so.

- My other granddaughter.

- I met a few of the other guys, but... (distant echoing chattering) - I've got a grandson that's six-four 220.

[Sky] six-four and a half.

Playing hockey up there.

Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave O'er the land of the free (cheering) And the home of the brave (applauding) - [Crowd] Let's play hockey!

(winding sounds) (wind sounds) I think after you retire for a while you wish you'd have stayed in it.

And after you're out for a year or two and I'm going, God, I wish I would've did this or I wish I would've did that, you know.

Carry it on another year or two.

It's fun.

Being around the guys, you know, the laughs, practical jokes, the camaraderie of winning and losing and stuff, you know.

It's pretty cool.

So, be on our way up to Warroad to watch my grandson play in the Warroad Hockey Town Classic.

I'm looking forward to it.

It's fun seeing the grandkids, you know, and the typical northern Minnesota.

You know, 15 degrees is warm up there.

(wind rustling) So I brought everything except the kitchen sink.

(wind rustling) Aho miigwech Thank you for this day.

Thank you for each and every day.

Thank you for all your blessings.

Help us to have a good, successful trip up to Warroad with no problems.

(soothing harmonica music) Aho miigwech (eagle chirping) (door thuds) (singing in Ojibwe) Kah-Bay-Kay-Nong which means warroad in Ojibwe.

It's a place very respected.

During the, the wars with the Sioux, we would take the war trail, which is at the southwest corner of Lake of the Woods which is Warroad, which we used as Ojibwe's to go over there and skirmish with the Sioux.

And in turn, the Sioux used to use that trail to come over and skirmish with us.

That's how Warroad got its name is from the war trail.

(Powwow singing) (somber guitar music) There's not, you know, a whole lot to do.

When I was growing up, we just made our own fun.

We scraped off some rinks on the river, played outside a lot.

We did have an indoor arena, but it was all natural ice.

So if it was cold outside, it was just as cold inside.

(sounds of hockey) - We could skate down on the river and I remember vividly the, the sounds of skating on fresh ice.

You could hear the echoes of your blades on the ice and a lot of the stars at night shining and it was pretty awesome to be down there.

It was just a pleasure to be alive and to remember those times.

So much to win There had been hockey in Warroad since the early 1900s.

You know, it evolved over the years, but the handle for Hockey Town came, I think, sometime in the late '50s, early '60s when the Christian brothers played on the first gold medal team in 1960.

- [Announcer] An unexpected triumph came with a superb playing of Uncle Sam's hockey sextet, which beat highly favored Russia and finished a five game series undefeated.

Team of underdogs who topped the stiffest competition in the sport.

(crowd cheering) So much to win So much to lose So many dreams - So we grew up on that along with the high school hockey and that's what really gave us a lot of motivation.

We didn't have any TV, per se, so we made up our own fun.

And I, I don't know who started playing road hockey, but we started using my dad's Copenhagen cans and, and they were great for a while until they got all bent up, but the harder they got the, the more they hurt.

So it was basically boot hockey on a frozen road that cars went over it and made it icy.

(hot grease crackling) - [Shirley] Not done yet.

You know, we'd make a rink right on the middle of the road and yeah, that was a big thing and we'd make goalie nets up, so If a car came by, usually they'd go the other street if they seen us.

- [Doot] Looks good.

- [Shirley] We got lots of it, so eat lots.

- [Henry] You know, even the basketball players from a couple doors down would come out and play road hockey.

- But Joanne Pick and I were the only two girls in that neighborhood and the rest seemed like they were boys...

So she was a goalie on one side and I was a goalie on the other side.

Broke my arm a couple times, or wrist, I guess.

- And then we'd scrape off, in early fall, a rink on the river and play down there.

- Henry, he could take that puck, I mean, he would go all over the rink with it and nobody could touch him.

I mean, you know, it's just, that was how good he was.

But I don't know, I, I loved to watch him play just about anywhere.

We used to go to every game all over the place and mom and dad used to go pretty much to every game too.

Kept us all together sometimes, you know.

He's really good to mom and dad.

[Shirley] Boys, come on, eat!

Everything's ready.

- My name's Gaabi Boucha.

Henry's my grandfather, my mom is his oldest daughter.

Some, some big shoes to fill for sure.

I think I'm reminded that every time I step on the ice, try to be the best role model, best teammate, you know, best, best guy I can be, really, on the, on the ice.

- [Sky] I guess, I didn't really know about his legacy, 'cause your grandpa is your grandpa and you don't really think of anything differently.

So it wasn't until I got older that I understood kind of his impact on the hockey community.

Not only the hockey community, I guess, just the Warroad community in general and the Native community too.

- [Henry] How many times you get in the penalty box?

(snickering) - Just one today.

- Picking on those little kids again.

- Nah, whatever.

- Yes.

- Pick on up my teammates, so I had to pick on 'em right back.

- Yeah, you went up against that big guy, he knocked you down.

(chuckling) (rhythmic percussion) Well, growing up in Warroad is kind of a unique perspective.

Most people think it's a, a reservation community and it's not.

It's a primarily non-Native.

We assimilated into the non-Native ways of the time.

So, you know, there were subtleties as far as any type of racism and discrimination.

And I don't know one Indian person that grew up in Warroad that, you know, wanted to learn our culture and traditions.

It was illegal, actually, for us to practice our pipes and drums out in the open until after 1970 sometime.

You know, and I never wanted to be an Indian when we were playing cowboys and Indians.

(chuckling) (dramatic cinema music) The thing that I remember most is going to the movies and seeing John Wayne looking at the way the Indians were treated and, and feeling that animosity or embarrassment and sliding down on my seat to wait until the scene was over, you know, and then, then going home.

And I really didn't talk to my mother that much about our culture.

She wanted me to learn about our culture and our traditions and because of those depictions in the theater, I was embarrassed.

(somber Native American flute music) (distant train whistle blowing) (train rumbling) (soft crunching footsteps) (groans softly) (echoing distant chattering) Well hi, gentlemen, how you guys doing?

(chuckling) - Hi Henry.

- How are you?

- Welcome home.

- Hey, welcome home.

- Thank you.

Thanks, Mike.

Appreciate it.

- Good to see you, Henry.

- [Henry] So you got the old stick.

- Yeah.

- It even looks like it's bent lefty.

(chuckling) - Well I know everyone focuses on him as a hockey player, but growing up with him, Henry could play baseball with the best.

I remember in football he ran back for touchdowns, six kickoffs.

Henry could do anything and do it as well Henry could do anything and do it as well and better than most people in their respective sports.

and better than most people in their respective sports.

- When Henry was a senior in high school and you know, that was the famous state tournament.

(electric guitar music) Of course we heard stories.

When he would get the puck in the Met Center, When he would get the puck in the Met Center, the whole crowd would stand up.

And I can't quite imagine that 'cause that doesn't happen anymore, you know.

- You know something, I have a great Gordy Genz story for you.

- I know you do.

- I got a great Gordy Genz story for you.

(chuckling) - I made the All-Star team as a junior and then as a senior as well.

So, it was some recognition, you know, that, that you never expect.

But, you know, I think it gives you an incentive to work harder.

You know, playing in the Minnesota State Tournament is one of my highlights.

That game against Roseau, I think I had the the most energy during those three games.

You know, we're at the end of the overtime.

(crowd cheering) Two to two.

Crowd's going crazy.

Frank gets the puck in the corner passes it out to me and I wasn't sure what I was gonna do.

I was kind of indecisive at that point.

He said, "shoot it!"

(chuckling) I just shot it.

The damn thing went in.

We won the game.

- Right at the buzzer.

- Right at the buzzer.

- Yeah, yeah.

- No time left on clock.

- The shoot.

(chuckling) Shoot, shoot!

- [Announcer] And now out comes Boucha with one of his patented rushes down the right side, winding up a slap shot!

And the net minder, Doug Hastings clears it.

It comes right in front of the n Henry shoots!

It's blocked!

The rebound, a scramble!

It goes off to the far side and we have an injured player.

It looks like Boucha has been injured.

(crowd booing) Boucha crashed into the board back of the Edina net- (crowd booing) and is injured on the play.

And now there's a stoppage of play while the trainers come out to have a look at Henry Boucha.

- [Announcer] Henry Boucha, the fine defenseman for the Warroad, Warroad team, who plays virtually the entire game.

He's only taken out in spots of around 30 seconds so he can gain his breath and get back on the ice.

This could be very, very treacherous to Warroad as far as their chances in this game if Boucha would be injured and not be able to play, since he is the outstanding player, not only on the Warroad team, but as many of the coaches who are here scouting the game feel he is the outstanding player in the tournament and possibly in the state of Minnesota this year.

- [Reporter] Do you think Henry, looking back, that the game outcome could have been different had you been able to play?

- Well, I dunno.

I mean, I think we should have won.

I mean, the guys really played a tremendous game.

- [Reporter] It was a big disappointment not to be able to win it then.

- Right, yeah.

We waited all year for that and, you know, I was really, I really felt bad 'cause I couldn't play.

I mean, it's really a big thing, you know, playing in the state tournament championship game.

You gotta take a left here right by that bus to get to The Shed.

(engine idling loudly) How you doing, Robert?

- [Robert] Good enough, Henry and you?

- Ah, hanging in there, man.

- Well, good.

- Good to see you.

- Yeah, likewise.

- Good to see you.

- Yeah, likewise.

- Likewise.

Keeping busy, are ya'?

- Oh yeah.

- Good.

- So welcome to The Shed.

My home away from home.

- Yeah.

Were you down at the state tournament game?

- Yeah, the saying back there was one, well, the last one to leave Warroad, turn the lights off.

- Right, yeah.

- You know, 'cause there wasn't anybody left in town.

Everybody went south for that.

You know, the crowd kind of went into chant there that said, you know, we want Henry and we want Henry, we want Henry.

And my uncle kept saying, no, don't, don't do that 'cause you'll make the other players feel bad.

And I'm going, well, I still like to see him play, but... - Yeah.

Seemed like a lifetime ago.

- Yeah, yeah.

One or two, anyway.

- Yeah, at least.

(chuckling) - It's been a while.

- Yep.

- How you guys doing?

Henry Boucha.

- Nice to meet you.

- Good to meet you.

- Nice to meet you.

- Henry Boucha, good to meet you.

- Nice to meet you, Mr. Boucha.

- Yeah.

Good to meet you.

Do you care for a picture?

There's some nice old cars in here, isn't it?

(upbeat guitar music) - Thank you, sir.

- Thank you.

So good luck today boys.

What time do you play?

- Five.

- Yeah, five.

- Thank you, Mr. Boucha, very much.

- [Henry] Good to meet you guys.

Why do I dream?

Dreams that I do Visions of you Visions I see Want to [Henry] We're going up to sit do Come true (distant chattering) (horn blaring) - Those of us who are involved with hockey, you know, dream and aspire to do some of the things that Henry got to do with, with his incredible talent.

He was from our local hometown here and he achieved the highest levels of hockey in his playing career.

Since the inception of hockey in Warroad, I think that one of the neat marriages is that the local community had a lot of Natives and so the Natives play and are welcomed and are encouraged and helped, and whatever you wanna call it.

And currently on the high school team there is five kids that have Native blood in 'em.

One of 'em is Henry's grandson, Gaabi, and I have a son and a grandson on the team.

So there's just always Natives and it's, it's very, very rare that there's not somebody that has native blood in 'em that's on one of our teams and it's been that way since the 1940s.

- Hey, Hockeytown!

Let's play some old fashioned northern Minnesota Hockey!!

(singing in Ojibwe) - [Henry] Shoot!

(whistle blowing) I've been driving in my Indian car The pound of the wheel drumming in my brain (shouting drowns out singing) - [Woman] Nice!

(cheering) Please Mr.

Officer Let me explain I've got to make it to this powwow tonight I'll be singing 49 down by the riverside Looking for a sugar Riding in my Indian car - Outta high school, I ended up marrying my high school sweetheart, foregoing my scholarships.

I went to Winnipeg, played in western Canada, but I was picked by Murray Williamson who was putting together a, a team for the '72 Olympics.

- The US team in, in the World championships in 1969 it was a disaster.

So I was in there to pick up the pieces.

That's when we plucked Henry out of the junior leagues in Canada to blend in with all his young teammates.

Was maybe the youngest Olympic team in the history of h of hockey.

He wasn't the youngest, but he was one of the best.

- We needed a team to go over to Bucharest, Romania, to win that tournament that year in order for us to qualify for the Olympics.

- [Announcer] Switzerland versus the United States.

- The first game we had to play a qualifying game against Switzerland, which was a very good team.

If you win that game, we move on to the medal round.

If you lose it, you go home.

- [Announcer] To score a five to three win over Switzerland and qualify for Group A in Olympic hockey.

- And it was a great experience for me being an 18 year old.

And it helped me as a player because they were older, smarter.

Playing International Hockey League was faster.

They played on the bigger rinks, the Olympic sized rinks.

- [Announcer] Final score was seven to two for Russia, but for the Americans, it's improvement.

- Henry Boucha was referred to as, in very affectionate terms, as the Electric Indian because he was so explosive, quick, agile, and could shoot and skate.

He did it all...special.

- So I finished the season in Winnipeg, went home, worked on Marvin Windows in the summertime, and was going back to Winnipeg that fall, and I got my draft notice to go in the Army.

And my lottery number was 32.

They were drawing up to 300 and some, so I knew I was gonna go.

So I volunteer draft in August and I got out November 1st.

I called my coach, Murray Williamson, and he said, "don't worry about it.

We have four or five players that are in the same situation.''

We can help them by continuing to provide them a place to play while they're in service.

- We, we had connections with the Pentagon and the US Army and the Marines felt that they would represent their country better being in the Olympic Games.

So we had Henry assigned to the team as part of the efforts to build an Olympic team.

- [Henry] And played another 50 games prior to the Olympics.

- [Announcer] It takes the United States only 15 seconds to score.

Ahearn on a pass to Boucha in the right side.

A slapshot... - [Henry] We played in in Sapporo, Japan, and ended up winning a silver medal over there.

- It was overwhelming to go through all those games and come out with a medal.

Was a great tribute to such a young squad.

Open heart, we all hear the dreams of our ancestors. - [Henry] You know, there hasn't been an Olympic team that won a medal without somebody from Warroad playing on it.

And luckily enough, I ended up getting a six month early out by the United States Army 'cause they were pulling troops out of Vietnam.

So then I signed with the Red Wings after that and played the last 16 games of the '71-'72 season.

A harrowing experience.

And I remember skating in the warmups and I couldn't stand on the blue line and I just had to keep moving so I wouldn't pass out of excitement.

- [Announcer] A tipped right out in front!

Here's a chance for Boucha!

He scores!

Henry Boucha on the rebound ties the game at two to two.

- Played with the likes of Alex Delvecchio, Mickey Redmond, Marcel Dionne.

A few other players that really shocked me.

And I remember sitting in a locker room just kinda staring at him when I first got there.

- [Announcer] Red Berenson finally gets the Red Wings moving.

- You know, I got into the routine and it was different because you play so many games and, you know, you're on flights, sitting around hotels and airports and getting down to the arena and, and playing and then hopping on a plane and flying to New York or something to play again the next night.

And it was a different life and but it was my goal, it was my dreams.

- [Announcer] Berenson feeds Henry Boucha on his left.

Boucha shoots and scores!

(crowd cheering) (somber guitar music) - [Announcer] Hockey fans stick around for more great Hockeytown Classic action here tonight - [Announcer] In addition, hockey fans, we'll have a special ceremony prior to that game, to honor Warroads own, Henry Boucha and his contributions to hockey and to the Native American community.

(somber Native American flute music) - [Henry] Sometimes you make the big circles and turn your back away from the puck.

Try to just turn so you're always facing the puck, so you're ready for that pass and get that stick on the ice.

And if you see two or three players around you, skate away from 'em, try to hit that hole.

You've got a great shot.

Anytime you can get that shot off quickly from the top of the circles in, you're gonna score.

So, you know, I don't expect anything less than, you know, a couple goals tonight.

You know, some big hits out there.

Just keep your elbows down.

That's all.

- All right.

- All these kids, you know, they, they look up to you guys so much and you're a big role model for 'em.

So go out there, be proud, play hard for grandpa.

Love you.

- Love you, too.

- Yeah, I remember the days I put my headband on years ago.

You know, you had long black hair and contact lenses in and putting that headband on for the first time, I wasn't sure.

I'd worn a helmet all the way through high school, junior hockey because it was required, but it wasn't required in the National Hockey League.

I had a friend that ran Dearborn Ice Arena and Tennis Pavilion and I was telling him about my long hair and he goes, well, why don't you try this headband on, tennis players wear it.

And I thought, God, you know, I'm an American Indian, if I put that on, people are gonna think I went rogue on 'em or something, you know?

(chuckling) So I finally just got up enough nerve and I sprayed mine down with some hairspray and I combed it and then I put that headband on And I thought it looked all right, you know?

So I walked out and then there was a big roar.

Oh Jesus!

You're not gonna wear that, are you?

Are you kidding me?

You know, and I was really getting razzed.

The coach came in and everybody's kind of giggling.

Sure enough he looked at me and he just said, "Geez, what's that there?

Are you some kind of chief or something?"

I didn't say anything, you know, and everybody was roaring.

And then I went out for the warmups and I was getting a lot of cat calls from the crowd, you know, calling me hippie and-- - [crowd] Who do you think you are, Chief Wahoo McDaniel?

Bugsy Watson, I worked with him at a Gordie Howe hockey school and he came up to me right away.

He goes, "you gotta take that off."

You know, he is an old style player.

"You can't be wearing that out here."

I said, "I'm keeping it on now."

It caught on.

And then actually they started selling headbands and you know, N B C had Leroy Neiman do a painting on, during one of our games on N B C, you know, and I, and it was during the, the takeover, Wounded Knee.

'Cause they actually called me.

It was explained later, you know, in the press, that I wore because of my contact lenses and my long hair and it just fit in with my heritage.

So I continued wearing it because of the fact that I was Indian.

I, I felt that I needed to play better and, and, you know, try harder because I didn't want to embarrass the Indian people.

I played two and a half years in Detroit and I got traded over to Minnesota, my home state, when I was 23.

And I, I thought it was a good fit.

I loved Detroit, but that's the way things happen.

And they wanted me to be one of the younger ones they built around.

Now they'd had a couple years experience in the league.

- I think it might've been the first game that he played he scored a goal in about seven seconds.

Henry's very, very gifted.

He was big, he was fast, he had tremendous hands and excellent vision.

He had a sense of where you are on the ice and who's trying to come to check him, you know.

Special players have that gift The game slows down for them.

And Henry was getting in that category where the game was a little slower to him.

In other words, he can see and understand what was happening quicker than many othe and understand what was happening quicker than many othe - Things were going pretty well, I thought, up until January and I was playing on a scoring line and I was being shadowed by Dave Forbes from the Boston Bruins in a game here at the Metropolitan Sports Center.

And he would give me a couple of shots, elbows, you know, just to...tried to keep me off my game.

We ended up getting into a scrap because he ran me in the corner in our end.

I went back in to pick my, the puck up and I could see him coming and I had enough by that time and I embarrassed him in the fight a little bit.

[Announcer] Forbes with a right and a big pile up And what happened is we go in the penalty box for two and a five minute penalty where we're sitting out about 15 minutes and then we step on the ice after the whistle had blown, play had stopped.

- [Announcer] There's a break in the action with the score of Boston one and Minnesota nothing.

Let's pause for this message.

- And I can't even remember what the, the situation was other than Murray Oliver was skating in front of me He said, "look out!"

And as I turned my head towards Dave Forbes, Forbes came up behind me with a butt of his stick sticking out and threw a punch.

- [Announcer] Came out of the penalty box-- - And as I turned around the, the the butt of the stick popped me over the eye here and cut me for 30 stitches and I immediately went down to cover up.

I don't know whether I was totally out or, or what happened at that point.

- The great Warroad star, Henry Boucha felled by the stick of Boston's Dave Forbes.

The vicious attack by Forbes bordered on criminal in fact, a Hennepin County prose said it was just that.

in fact, a Hennepin County prose said it was just that.

A jury disagreed, but the tragic verdict was already in.

Boucha's promising pro career was over.

- When something like that happens to anybody, it's tragic, it's terrible.

You, you feel sick about it.

You can't believe that something like this happened or someone would do something like that to him.

And, and it was a tragedy.

Not only because he was a great player, but because he's a hockey player and, and nobody should have their career cut short like his was.

He was a very gifted, talented player that you would expect to play for a number of years more.

And to have it cut short, essentially, by something was a tragic, terrible, and uncalled for act.

- [Announcer] There's Forbes hitting Boucha and watch this right, bang.

There's the best right of the year so far.

Boucha on Forbes.

- The initial part is what goes on in hockey all the time and gone on for a hundred years and continues to do so today.

But what happened after is something that should never happen and Forbes is penalized for it not only on the ice but off the ice and David Forbes, it's something you should never do.

That's as bad a thing as I, I saw happen in hockey.

[Reporter] Our guest tonight is Henry Boucha, who I guess needs no introduction.

He's been through quite an experience the past week and Henry, we don't have much time, so we'll get to the heavy stuff right away.

Clarence Campbell suspended Dave Forbes, Dave Forbes as you know, for 10 games today.

And the Boston Management came out today and said that they thought that Forbes shouldn't have been suspended at all.

What are your feelings on that?

- I respect Clarence Campbell's decision to a certain point because of the, because of the indictment of, of Mr. Forbes, you know, from Hennepin County.

[Reporter] How's your eye right now?

- Well, I, I, I seen the doctor today and it's gonna, it's a matter of weeks.

I still have, I still have double vision.

I had surgery Saturday and it's gonna be a matter of two, maybe three, maybe four weeks.

And they still don't know if it's all right.

(somber Native American flute music) We're out of town on the other side going west towards Roseau, which is a bitter rival for Warroad, where towns as close and that successful that we, we fight hard on the ice, but yet we can shake hands.

- Hi.

- Hello.

Welcome to the Roseau County Museum.

- We're here to see Henry Boucha's collection.

- Yeah, right over there in the research room.

- Okay.

There it is.

Very nice.

- This is my high school jersey from 1969.

It's one of the original-- - Is that the one they cut off you and nurses took pieces home?

- Yeah.

Well I had this one cut off and I had my North Star jersey cut off.

the second time I was in, 'cause they just cut all your equipment up.

They don't waste any time.

We didn't know what else was wrong at that time 'cause the swelling was too, too much and they cut, you know, they stitched me with, like, 30 stitches and I was there a couple of days and they really couldn't do anything until after the swelling went down.

Then they went in and realized that I, my cheek bone had been shattered.

They couldn't really make it right and they realized that the muscles around the eye were all damaged.

So really caused a lot of, a lot of problems.

It's still that way today.

(soothing guitar music) We ended up filing a civil suit and we sued the National Hockey League, the Boston Bruins and Dave Forbes.

I ain't got no home But I got many joys If I could only count them all They'd lead me up to Montreal You got many worries Feelings in a hurry Emotional capsize Spillin' the thoughts inside Whoa to be within and be without It was a time of searching for something else to do.

I was 23 when it happened.

25 when I finally retired.

25 when I finally retired and I was bitter.

I was bitter at the league.

I was bitter at the Players' Association.

I was bitter at the way my career ended.

You know, it just took away my will and competitiveness to the game.

And it made me mad about the way I was treated by the league.

Failed dreams Of Mom and Dad The emptiness they never had I bounced around, I ended up getting divorced.

You know, I was drinking a lot, doing drugs and basically in that state of depression, self pity and the hurt.

You know, I, I hated hockey.

Hide the shame from alcohol The thunder of a distant fire The chillin' of a heart's desire Where I should have been grateful for all of the things that hockey gave me, the silver medal, reaching my goal at 23, playing with the Red Wings and the North Stars.

Failed dreams of Mom and Dad I was in Idaho and it was really I guess at the end of the line there where, you know, I've pissed everybody off by then by getting, you know, drunk and crazy.

And I was just walking in the foothills one spring and I found a whole golden eagle in a snowbank.

And I knew at that point that something significant might happen.

I had been thinking alot about my spirituality and I knew enough about this culture at that point to, to actually realize it was a messenger from the Great Spirit to the people.

So, I was patient or tried to be Work it out - Well, Henry used to own a bar uptown in Warroad and we kind of met through there and then it just kind of.. blossomed after that.

(chuckling) Henry's eye injury was before I met him.

Right after that is when we got together.

It affected him greatly 'cause he lost his career in hockey and then he was, like, rebounding afterwards, just bouncing from here to there.

Kind of lost didn't know where he was going, what he was doing.

He was suffering but he didn't want anybody to know.

He was very humble and didn't wanna say anything, didn't wanna admit to it.

(jazzy music) We were living in Idaho at the time and you know, he'd go off on his drinking binges and just be lost for three days at a time.

I would have no idea where he was at, what he was up to.

Avoid the work Just wanna cruise Everyone wants to win And no one wants to lose You sack of seeds are trying to lose Kokopelli has the blues And then he'd come home and it's like nothing happened.

He's like, why are you mad?

(chuckling) - Elaine and I went back to Warroad to visit my mom and dad and her mom and dad and my oldest daughter called me out of the clear blue sky.

She was living in International Falls with her mother at the time and I had not seen her very much over the years and asked me if she could come and live with me.

But she didn't wanna move back to Idaho.

She wanted me to move home.

- We made the decision that we would move back to Warroad.

Then we had the other two kids that he had from previous marriage.

They both came and lived with us.

- And that was significant to me as an Indian person.

And thinking back to that eagle, it was a sign, you know, it was a pull.

So I had to make a home for her, and it gave me that responsibility as a parent.

- [Elaine] And got Henry involved in sports, back into the community and that kind of really helped him.

Like, I think it boosted his spirit, you know, that brought him up.

[Henry] And then it gave me an opportunity to serve on the Indian Parent Committee.

So you see, it just kind of brought me back into life.

At that time I was driving a 1966 Chevy pickup.

(laughing) Give Tara a ride to school and she had me drop her off a couple blocks away 'cause she was embarrassed.

[Tara] That is an exaggeration.

It was across the street, not a couple blocks.

[Henry] Dad, I'll get out here.

[Henry] It was all new to me, you know, as a young parent.

And I told Tara how proud I was of her keeping everybody in line.

Tara's the first one in my family that actually, you know, went to college.

Now that's where it all started it was Tara's phone call and through the years just enjoyed being with the grandkids and it's been good memories.

Everything works out for the best.

Hear the drum - [Presenter] Inductee Henry Boucha, born 1951, hometown, Warroad, Minnesota.

Many call Boucha the most electrifying and colorful player in Minnesota hockey history.

A tall, powerfully built Ojibwe Indian, Boucha led Warroad to the 1969 state tournament where he was injured in an emotionally charged five to four overtime final loss to a Edina.

After playing for the1972 Olympic Silver Medal US Olympic team at the age of 19, he signed with the Detroit Red Wings where he scored in his first National Hockey League game and later broke a 41 year old National Hockey League record with a goal six seconds into the game at Montreal.

Boucha came home when the Minnesota North Stars acquired him, but his career was tragically curtailed in his third National Hockey League season when he suffered an eye injury on January 4th at the Met Center.

- [Presenter] And I think it is fair to say that this is one of the greatest hockey players that Northern Minnesota has ever produced.

- [Announcer] Let's welcome Henry to the ice.

(crowd applauding) [Announcer] As a 12 year old, Henry and his teammates won the 1964 State Bantam Championship.

- On behalf of the Board of Directors of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame and all of your friends, I'm proud and honored to present you with this plaque commemorating your induction into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, congratulations.

(applauding) - When he came back in the '80s and, and spent a lot of time here, he was very involved with the, of time here, he was very involved with the, the Native American Indian Parent Committee, making sure the cultural things were still getting done through the school and through the community.

And of course I also think of Henry as the guy that, that saved the, the Warrior name and logo that we still currently use.

With his name and recognition and things that he's accomplished, he was able to, to talk to the people that needed to be talked to and said, no, this is why it will stay Warroad Warriors.

He educated them on it and, and why it should be that way.

And it stayed, and now is educated and taught to the visitors and to the local community people on, on why we are who we are, the Warroad Warriors.

(rhythmic Native American music) (Native American flute music) - Thank you, Jayson appreciate it very much.

- [Announcer] Thank you very much.

(applauding) These old dreams Yesterday's gone by Different way of life Different way - [Henry] When I left Warroad Public School, I started a non-profit and came up with the name of Kah-Bay-Kah-Nong which means Warroad in Ojibwe.

I use that as a non-profit to umbrella the Warroad traditional powwow, Warroad youth, Indian hockey, anything to do with sports, recreation and education and advocacy, mentorships (Native American singing) - [Announcer] You are here live for the first Annual Traditional Powwow being held in Warroad, Minnesota.

- [Roger] This is here, I'm going to give an honor to Henry Boucha.

The eagle bonnet that he will carry as a leader of his time.

(applauding) - [Roger] So I gave Henry an Indian name, a famous Indian name, O' Git' Chi' Dah' That means the Brave one, warrior, leader.

(applauding) - [Henry] Bringing our culture into the community to have better understanding, because I think that it's important for communities to understand each other's culture.

And it's all about education and it's all about community development.

It's all about, you know, hockey's for everyone.

At least give 'em the taste and if they really like it, then they'll, they'll continue.

So learning the culture and the traditions from the 28 bands around Lake of the Woods, all of that is umbrella'd under Kah-Bay-Kah-Nong.

Are you guys all hockey players?

Cool.

(loud chattering) It's been a long road, but it's unbelievable the way things happen.

(somber music) (cheering) Said of you to the world's strongest man I flew around the world holdin on the cape of superman the cape of superman (cheering) life is hard my friends Without you How can you sail a ship without the wind How can you row a boat without the oar How can you speak without any words - [Man] All right what is your name?

- Henry Boucha.

- All right.

(chuckling) You have access to the building.

- All right.

He's royalty.

(chuckling) - That name rings a bell to me.

- We're here to watch the championship game, single A and a Warroad's in it.

The girls won it earlier, two weeks ago, state tournament.

And now the boys have an opportunity to match 'em.

Everybody from Warroad's down here.

We're havin' a good time cheerin' on the Warriors.

- [Shalese] Once we're outside of the little - Warroad community, - he's still a really large public figure - within the state.

To the fact that complete strangers would come up to him and ask for his autograph and things like that.

Then hear from those people, oh my gosh you're grampa's such an amazing hockey player.

You know, he's the most electrifying hockey player in the state of Minnesota.

You know, best hockey player to come out of the state of Minnesota Those different types of stories.

Once I got a little bit older, it became very surreal about how of an influence he had within hockey and within Minnesota at that time.

And still today.

- Thank you very much.

- Thank you.

Oh my gosh, this is so exciting.

- You know, whenever I talk about my hockey career, I always talk about playing in the state tournament and how amazing it is to be one of the top eight teams to represent your family, your community.

You just play your hearts out, so... you know, it's really, really special.

- [Announcer] Good afternoon everyone.

Welcome to Xcel Energy Center and Championship Saturday here at the 79th Annual State Boys High School Hockey Tournament.

(crowd applauding) Now let's meet Warroad!

(crowd cheering) Senior forward, number 11, Gaabi Boucha!

(crowd cheering) (announcer speaking indistinctly) (Native American drumming) (Native American singing) - [Announcer] Gaabi Deon Boucha.

(crowd cheering) (upbeat music) Got to make it to this powwow tonight So 49 down by the riverside Lookin' for a sugar Ridin' in my Indian car - [Henry] Basically, if you're going through hell, just keep going.

You know, try to persevere the negatives because the positives will come.

You know, you have to have something to believe in and the Great Spirit in the Ojibwe realm is very important.

The culture, the traditions, the, you know, the loving, caring of, of the family unit and you know, those virtues of being honest and being true to yourself and have some type of integrity, you know, that, that you can move forward with.

Car is dented Radiator steams Headlight don't work Radio screams Got a sticker Indian Power On my bumper holds my car together We're on a circuit of an Indian dream Don't get old Just get younger Flyin' down a highway Ridin' in our Indian car - [Announcer] Funding for "The Electric Indian" is provided by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and by...