This is the fourth instalment in a monthly series of articles about Estevan Bruins alumni who have gone on to achieve success after hockey. These stories also appear in the Estevan Bruins Alumni monthly newsletter.
He spent six seasons in the NHL and is now a TV hockey analyst who lives in Dallas with his family, but on March 1, Alan May was simply a proud alumnus of the Estevan Bruins.
May, who played an integral role on the Bruins' 1984-85 SJHL championship team, was one of six men to be inducted into the SJHL Hall of Fame that evening.
May delivered an emotional speech and spoke about the thrill of being inducted.
"When I first found out, I was in shock, because I never thought I was a Hall of Fame type player. I'm just absolutely, incredibly fortunate and I'm just overwhelmed. It's a huge honour because when I think of these other guys, they were really good hockey players and I look at them as more deserving than myself," said the former Washington Capital.
May tallied 31 goals and 76 points, along with 1,348 penalty minutes, in 393 NHL games with Washington, Boston, Edmonton, Dallas and Calgary.
Before that, though, he starred with the Bruins under head coach Gerry James.
May played on a strong line with Serge Poulin and Wade Stubley, but the trio got off to a rocky start. James famously sold eight Yorkton players to the Bruins just days before joining Estevan, with Poulin and Stubley among them.
"The reason the team started out bad is because we hated each other so much from when we were Estevan and Yorkton. We were two teams when they first got here because there were the Bruins guys and there were the Terriers guys," said May.
"Wade Stubley was my toughest guy to fight every year and all of a sudden we're on the same line. We even had a rivalry every game, who was going to be better or tougher against the other team. We really didn't like each other.
"Then one night we were playing a game and he thought someone cross-checked me, and when he came up to stick up for me, and actually took a stick to a guy, that brought our team together. Our line, after that, was lights out," May reflected.
"Serge Poulin, to me, is one of the best players that ever played in this league. He wasn't as good of a skater as a lot of guys that size, but his passing he was vicious, he was a mean hockey player. He was a competitor and just a complete hockey player."
May said the chemistry between the three linemates was incredible once they began to get along.
"I wish I could've played on that line forever. If I could've taken that with me to the pros, I'd have been playing a lot longer and had different numbers."
As for the championship itself, the first in the New Bruins' history, May described it as "one of the greatest moments of my life."
May also had high praise for James, who is also in the SJHL Hall of Fame.
"I love the guy, but he was stubborn. But he was so meticulous and organized. He had X's and O's where I only had one NHL coach and one AHL coach that had that attention to detail. He could coach today's game because he was light years ahead," May said.
"I wish I would've gotten to see him coach in the National Hockey League."
After his playing days were through, May was out of hockey for a bit and he said it just didn't feel right. So he looked into TV work.
Today, May is an analyst on Comcast SportsNet Washington, breaking down Capitals games.
"There's no minor leagues for television. When you're an analyst, you get thrown right in the fire. I get to talk about hockey every single game. I'm the happiest guy in the world."
