After 12 years of service perched above the bench at Collins-Moylan, Adam Bouchard will step down as the coach of the Greenfield hockey team.
Emotions were certainly high after Greenfield’s state tournament loss on Saturday in Tewksbury. Bouchard hugged his assistant coaches tightly on the ice just after the conclusion of the game before heading to the locker room with his team. When players and coaches exited the locker room, the weight of the moment was clear. The decision to leave Greenfield occurred before the season.
“I’ve had a bit of a runway to prepare myself,” Bouchard said. “Obviously you want to win the last game. Like everything else in life, a chapter ends and a new journey begins. The student athletes in that room gave so much to this program. I’ve known almost every single one of them since they were three years old. They worked and worked to play on this team. It’s amazing when you can see the journey coming to an end.”
Senior Luca Siano played his final game for the Greenfield hockey program and for coach Bouchard.
“He grew me as a player and a person,” Siano said. “More as a person. He helped me mature. He always believed in me. That’s something I always liked about him. He believed in us. He believed in all the players… I wouldn’t have wanted any other coach.”
Bouchard will take over the Boston Hockey Academy 18-U squad. The Dukes are a top-tier development program focused on advancing players to the NCAA and junior hockey levels. The team is based in Tewksbury, but Bouchard will commute to continue the ascent of his coaching career. Bouchard’s son, Asa Bouchard, plays for the Boston Hockey Academy’s 14-U team.
Bouchard coached at Framingham State as an assistant prior to Greenfield. Coaching at the high school level was always a goal of Bouchard’s since childhood. During his tenure, Bouchard went 137-92-16. Greenfield has won 10 or more games since 2017.
“Looking at my history prior to coming to the Green Wave,” Bouchard said. “I was coaching at the Division 3 college hockey level before leaving to coach here in high school. But coaching high school hockey was always a dream of mine as a young boy growing up. I had the opportunity here, and it was a great opportunity. It was a great way to get engaged to the community when I moved to town.”
Bouchard has connections hockey people all over the state, through those connections the opportunity at Boston Hockey Academy presented itself.
“The hockey world is a small world,” Bouchard said. “There’s a lot of people out east that I’ve grown with and known. Boston Hockey Academy started planting seeds in my mind for taking over the 18-U team next season. It took a good two months of having conversations with Boston Hockey Academy to bring me in. It’s a great opportunity for myself now that my kids are a little older, to continue my coaching path and continue on to the college and junior college coaching ranks.”
The Green Wave won one game in Bouchard’s first season in 2014-2015. The team went 1-19 that season and most of the games were extremely lopsided.
“We grew that to a four-win season,” Bouchard said. “Then we grew that to an eight-win season. Then ever since then we’ve had 10 or more wins. Some of the best memories I have are that transition phase. We built a program. More than just a high school team. Everyone in the community rallied around what we were trying to build.”
As the program grew the success came with it over the years of his tenure. Greenfield won eight league titles, three sectional championships and a state championship during the last 12 years. In the season post-covid, the Green Wave had the best record in the league but did not have the opportunity to play a postseason. Before taking the position as head coach, Bouchard served as an assistant for the Green Wave for three seasons.
“There’s been so many great memories,” Bouchard said. “First and foremost, I’ve been surrounded by a great group of men that are involved with the Green Wave program. Many of them. This program wouldn’t be what it is without the men that sacrifice a lot of their time for the love of the sport and more importantly the love for the student athlete. I am going to miss a lot of the times that not anybody gets to see outside of the coaching staff. Trips after games. Meals after games. That’s going to be missed.”
The 2020 team won the Division 3A title before bringing home a state championship banner to Collins-Moylan. Bryan Baumann played for the 2020 team, scoring game-winning goals in both championship games.
“He pushed us and didn’t let us give up,” Baumann said. “He wanted us to enjoy it, but he made it very clear it’s a lot more fun when you win. But he didn’t put a lot of pressure on us to win. It just gave us the tools to succeed.”
Bouchard played Division 1 hockey for Iona from 1997 to 2001. With that experience, he brings a knowledge of the game unique to high school coaches.
“He played at such a high level,” Baumann said. “He knew the ins and outs. He set up plays. His knowledge of the game is definitely next level for a public-school hockey coach. The in-depth awareness of the game that he has made a huge difference for us.”
Baumann lives in Boston and works for the Massachusetts State Police. Baumann is still in contact with Bouchard and used him as reference for his job.
“He’s still in my life, most high school coaches probably don’t do that,” Baumann said. “I still chat with him here and there. He’s such a good guy. He lets people play in a way that works for them. He understands everyone plays differently.”
After the end of the season in 2015, Bouchard sat with assistant coaches and discussed a five-year plan for the team. The plan came to fruition with astonishing success as the Green Wave delivered the only state championship in school history in 2020.
“We went on a magical run,” Bouchard said. “Really special group of student athletes, coaching staff and the community.
