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Boudreau: “I admire Dale Hunter for following the beat of his own drum”

Boudreau Ovechkin

Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau is writing the occasional blog for the Los Angeles Times during the playoffs, and today’s post included an interesting take on the way Washington coach Dale Hunter has been deploying Alex Ovechkin this postseason:

A lot has been made about Ovechkin and his ice time. I admire Dale Hunter for following the beat of his own drum. He is looking at the game and saying, “This is how we are going to win.” He’s staying true to himself and doing exactly what he thinks is the right thing in order to be successful.

Others have said the same thing with regards to Hunter’s philosophy. However, Boudreau’s take was especially noteworthy given what he told the Washington Post in January, not long after being fired as coach of the Capitals.

“You’ve got to be true to yourself,” he said. “I found that I was getting away from that this year. People were saying, ‘Do this’ and ‘Do that.’ I wasn’t doing what I believed was the right thing.”

Boudreau isn’t necessarily saying he should’ve coached the way Hunter’s coaching now, but it’s pretty obvious he still thinks about his time with the Capitals and how it might’ve ended differently if he’d stuck to trusting his instincts.

Video: Dale Hunter on his gutsy coaching decisions