Five Questions with Ray Bourque

NHL.com's Q&A feature called "Five Questions With …" will run every Tuesday through the 2017-18 regular season. We talk to key figures in the game and ask them questions to gain insight into their lives, careers and the latest news.
The latest edition features Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque.

It took until he was 57 years old, but Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque played in his first American Hockey League game.
Bourque suited up with alumni of the Hershey Bears to face Philadelphia Flyers alums in the Capitals Blue Outdoor Classic at Hersheypark Stadium on Jan. 19 and had an assist in Hershey's 9-5 win.
The event was held the night before an outdoor game between Hershey and Lehigh Valley, the Flyers' AHL team, on Saturday.
"My son Chris plays for Hershey and I would have been here watching the game tomorrow night," he said. "I was asked if I'd be willing to play in the game and said sure, it'll be a lot of fun."
Bourque plays in Boston Bruins alumni games and is often on the ice because of his physical condition.
"I really can't believe how I feel after playing 22 years, playing the type of game I did, I didn't shy away from contact," he said. "I don't have any artificial hips or knees, no surgeries on my knees, no surgeries on my shoulders."
Bourque talked about how much playing in Hershey meant to him, watching his former teams and going to the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics as a father.
Here are Five Questions With … Ray Bourque:
You're best known for wearing No. 77 during your NHL career. But what did it mean to wear the same No. 17 your son Chris wears with Hershey?
"I hope I don't disappoint him. I didn't know what number I was going to wear, but I saw 17 [Friday] morning, thought that was pretty cool. I'll just try to make him proud.
"Chris has had quite a career in the American league, certainly. He's played a certain amount of games in the NHL, but in this league he's been very productive, lot of special things have happened here in Hershey, won three Calder Cups, MVP of the playoffs, scoring title in the league. His oldest son Kingston was born here in Hershey. It's really been a special place for Chris and his family as well as for us, watching him have success here. He's really grown up here in Hershey."

Living in the Boston area, you get to watch the Bruins a lot. What's impressed you about their young defensemen, Brandon Carlo and Charlie McAvoy?
"Carlo came in last year and you could see right away he had poise, good player, solid. Just seeing him play you know that he's going to be around for a while. You heard about him before he got [to the NHL], and same thing with Charlie McAvoy. This kid, I didn't really know him until about a month ago when we did something with the current Bruins where I spent a couple hours with them. I was so impressed with how he is. Never met me but he was so comfortable. You could see the kid is ultra-confident, really feels good in his skin. And you could see it on the ice. He takes charge, he's fearless, he's responsible, and he's got all the tools. For me, to see a young guy come in like that, it just brings me back to when I came in and right off the bat things went really well. When you have a kid coming in like that, that you see that could really be a special player, fans, management, everybody involved, it's pretty good to see."
You're also closely associated with the Colorado Avalanche, even though you played there two seasons. How much have you kept up with them this season as they've climbed into the Stanley Cup Playoff race?
"I lived there an incredible 15 months. The ultimate was hoisting the (Stanley) Cup (in 2001). It was a special time, special place. I played with some really special players. I was really, really impressed with that organization, starting with (former general manager) Pierre Lacroix and all the way down. They went after it back then. They wanted to win, they were involved, they were one of the teams fighting for Stanley Cup contention for a solid seven or eight or nine years, and that's really hard to do. To see what they went through a couple years after I left, the team was more or less broke apart, a few guys retiring, some changes, and it was sad to see. To see them rebound this year and have a good year and really surprise a lot of people, nobody really expected them to do all that much and they're in the playoff hunt. For them, that would be quite an accomplishment and seeing them back on the right track. That's a great sports town and certainly lived an incredible year and a half in Denver."

You coached for a few years at Cushing Academy near Boston when Chris and your younger son Ryan were students there. Any interest in getting back into it?
"I helped out a lot at Cushing after I retired for probably six years or so. I'm 57. I've been away (from the NHL) for 17 years now, so I think it would be hard. One year (2005), I was consulting in terms of (Bruins) home practices, home games, but I figured out that's something you have to be in 100 percent. You've got to be in it 24/7, and if you're not, you can't do it halfway. I don't want to travel that much anymore, I don't want to be that busy anymore. It's one thing being a player where you just prepare yourself and make sure you're ready to go. As a coach, it's crazy."
You played in the 1998 Nagano Olympics for Canada. Will it be even more fun watching Chris play for the United States at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics?
"Oh yeah. It's great watching your kids be part of something like this. You grew up watching the Olympics as a kid, you never think you'll be part of them. I lived it in 1998, was a great experience even though we didn't win a medal. Chris is super excited. He was hoping to be part of this team with the NHL situation. He played hard, got picked and he's really looking forward to going out there and coming back with a medal."