Ducks owners Henry and Susan Samueli back coach Bruce Boudreau

Boudreau

Ducks owners Henry and Susan Samueli sat down with the Los Angeles News Group for a 30-minute state-of-the-team interview Friday at their offices in Newport Beach. They spoke highly of Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau, praising his work in mentoring the organization’s prospects while producing results with its veterans. The Ducks have advanced one round in the playoffs in each of the last seasons. They also have won Pacific Division titles in each of his three full seasons with the Ducks and they are 162-79-29 during Boudreau’s tenure with the team. Here’s more, word-for-word, of what the Samuelis had to say about Boudreau:

Susan Samueli: “He really knows how to develop the young players. They just love him. They play so hard for him. They have such a great rapport.”

Henry Samueli: “He is a great coach. Look at what he’s done. He has a regular-season record that’s unbelievable, his winning percentage. I think he’s carrying this burden on his shoulder. It’s unfair, but it is what it is. I think he’s a great coach. He’s done a great job. In the end, Bob (Murray, the Ducks’ general manager,) is going to make the hockey decisions. If he feels there’s a need for a change down the road, he makes the change. That’s what he does. Every year, he changes the team a little bit to make it better. He brought in assistants this year. He improved the training staff. He changed some players. Every year he’s tinkering with the team.

“The success the team has on the ice is not only due to Bob but Bruce as well. He’s done a great job. We’re very supportive. You have to step back and look at the big picture. We got to the conference finals. Only four teams got to the conference finals out of 30, so that’s a big accomplishment. Every year you want to do better, and every year we have done better the last three years.”