Note: the following letter was penned by Hershey Bears Senior Manager of Communications and radio play-by-play voice John Walton on the day that Bruce Boudreau was named head coach of the Washington Capitals last November.

AN OPEN LETTER TO CAPITALS NATION

11/22/2007 - To: Capitals Fans far and wide

From: Humble Bears Radio guy

Re: Bruce Boudreau

Caps Nation:

I know it's been a trying few weeks watching your team slide in the standings, and I know a lot of you have been frustrated with what you've seen. I also know that some of you in discussion boards have wondered what Bruce Boudreau will do for your team, with some of you thinking "here we go again" with another AHL coach being called up instead of some "name" coach for big bucks. I just wanted to let you know, as a humble servant of your minor league affiliate, I believe Bruce is the guy you need. Bruce Boudreau is one of the greatest people I've ever been around, a great leader of men with just enough grit to go with his compassion for his players to get the job done for you. I've ridden the buses with him, I've seen him one-on-one with players, I've seen him when times are good, and I've seen him when times are bad. Know this first and foremost: He's a winner. He's won more games than anyone in the last ten years in the AHL, and twice with two different teams has won at least 50 games in a season. In 2005-06, he took a group of Washington farmhands that missed the playoffs the year before in Portland, shaped them along with some Hershey guys that also missed the playoffs the season before and made them into Calder Cup Champions. To prove it wasn't a fluke, the BEARS the next season won a franchise record 51 games (and we've been around for 70 years now, not a shabby record to have) and went all the way back to the Finals again. We'd have gone back-to-back except we ran into goaltender Carey Price, who now tends goal for the Montreal Canadiens. That's 29 wins in the playoffs the last two years. When Hershey won the Cup in 2006, they had to beat the Portland Pirates, who featured NHLers Dustin Penner, Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf. Yes, that would be the Penner that signed for big bucks in Edmonton this past summer, and yes, that would be the same Getzlaf who just this week signed a five-year deal with Anaheim. Suffice it to say that Bruce has a pretty good handle on guys who play at the National Hockey League level. All big name coaches in the NHL had to come from somewhere and get their chance before they became "name" coaches. I refer you to none other than your own Bryan Murray from back in the day. He was Hershey's coach too before he came to D.C., and I'd say as the franchise leader in wins down there, that worked out pretty well.

We're pulling for you guys to turn it around. We really are. So many players on your team started here and got their feet under them in Hershey, and we wish them nothing but the best. If Bruce remains for the long term in Washington, we'll miss him terribly here, but you'll love him like we do. Honest. For what it's worth, we have seen the magic here. We're more than willing to share.

Sincerely,
Humble Bears Radio Guy