RinkWise podcast: Eric Boguniecki on development and life in hockey

Eric Boguniecki played 178 NHL games. (Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

Eric Boguniecki has done it all in hockey.

After playing prep school hockey at Westminster, the New Haven, Conn., native played four years of college hockey at the University of New Hampshire. He captained the Wildcats as a senior in 1996-97 before embarking on a 13-year professional career that included 178 games in the NHL between the Florida Panthers, St. Louis Blues, Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders.

Boguniecki was also a three-time All-Star in the AHL. He led the league in goals and was named MVP in 2002 after posting 38 goals and 84 points in 63 games for the Worcester IceCats.

After his playing days, Boguniecki was an assistant coach with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, the Islanders’ AHL affiliate, from 2011 to 2021 before joining the Utah Mammoth (then the Arizona Coyotes) as a scout in 2022.

Boguniecki’s son, Jake (Orange, Con..), recently made the USNTDP after standing out on the blue line with the Mid Fairfield 15Os.

Eric joined New England Hockey Journal editor Evan Marinofsky and writer Patrick Donnelly on the latest RinkWise podcast to discuss various topics. They touched on Boguniecki’s life in hockey, his son’s journey, player development, finding a balance in youth sports, changes in prep hockey and more.

RinkWise podcast: Eric Boguniecki

What does he watch when scouting players?

Boguniecki: “It varies from scout to scout, obviously, but for me, the most important thing is character and compete. Without that, it’s hard. You watch these [NHL] playoffs, and you see how hard the game is and the way they play. If you don’t have that ability to elevate, it’s gonna be real hard for you when you get to these levels. I also look for hockey sense. It’s extremely important. If you don’t have it, it’s tough to play at the higher levels. For me, hockey sense is one of the most important things. Everyone thinks it’s skating or this and that. Obviously, that’s a factor, but without a brain, you can’t accomplish much in a game.”

On the rise in specialization and finding a balance:

Boguniecki: “I’m gonna piss people off, and that’s OK. I’m used to that. But you have people making salaries off this stuff now, so they’re gonna tell you something differently. To me, you need the breaks. Mentally, physically, no matter what angle you look at it, you need those breaks. What baseball’s done for Jake’s hand-to-eye and everything, it’s been incredible. The pressure of pitching in important games or situations has been incredible for him mentally. With hockey, I didn’t do tournaments with Jake growing up. We didn’t do any of that. … My message would be, all those tournaments you’re running to, you could take half of that money and put it into skill development. You’ll get more out of that than going to some weekend in Minnesota and playing five games in three days. Save your money and put it towards something better and useful.”