For the better part of the last decade brothers Paul and Michael Boutoussov have enjoyed a common passion for hockey, but it wasn’t until this fall that they were able to share the same ice.
With a three-year age gap between them – Paul, 17, is a senior at Dana Hills High and Michael, 14, is a freshman – the narrowed age groupings of club ice hockey prevented the brothers from playing for the same team.
But with the arrival of the Capistrano United Coyotes, a first-year team made up of 24 players from six high schools in the Capistrano Unified and Saddleback Valley Unified school districts with no age restrictions, that barrier has been removed.
The benefits have been many, both for the Coyotes, who are 10-1 in the Ducks High School Hockey League’s Varsity 2-A Division, and the siblings.
“It’s definitely a new experience,” said Paul, who has totaled 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) in just six games with the Coyotes. “We’ve played roller hockey together, like, a few games, but nothing as consistent as this. It’s pretty cool, too, because he’s on my line and the second he touches the puck, I always see his head immediately go up and try to find me.”
Michael may be prone to deferring to his older brother, but when he does take a shot, more often than not it’s on target. In just seven games played, he has racked up 13 points (10 goals, three assists) and four multigoal performances, including two hat tricks.
The first three-goal game came in Michael’s Coyotes debut Oct. 5 in a 4-2 win over San Diego Union South.
“It felt amazing,” Michael said. “It was new because I didn’t know anyone, but once I got out there and started going I just picked it up really quickly.
“It’s been a lot of fun; it’s been a whole new experience. My brother is helping me a lot because right now I’m just getting more physical and going against bigger kids. It’s really fun to play with my brother because it’s the only opportunity I get to do that.”
Paul has shown an ability to rack up goals in clusters, too. He has three multigoal games, including a hat trick in a 12-2 win over Edison, and has at least one goal and one assist in every game he has played.
“Mikey is the future of the team. He’s got all the skill in the world, and Paul just leads by example,” Coyotes coach Darren Gardner said. “(Paul) plays at both ends of the ice and he’s skilled. What I like about Paul is his ability to involve others in the game.”
As the first generation of their family born outside of Russia, Paul and Michael, and before them their older brother Danny, were raised to be hockey players by their father, Dmitri, who fell in love with the sport while watching the National Hockey League on TV.
“They come from a great family and they’ve got that traditional Russian background with sports in their family,” Gardner said. “They’re just good kids on and off the ice.”
Hockey is relatively new to the family, one that has deep roots in the history of Russian soccer. Dmitri’s grandfather was Mikhail Butusov, who along with his six brothers, including 1912 Olympian Vasily Butusov, helped form the Soviet Union’s national program.
Soccer might be in the brothers’ blood, but with the Coyotes on pace for a high playoff seed, hockey is in their future. And as their heritage reveals, good things tend to happen when Boutoussov brothers collaborate.
Contact the writer: grizk@ocregister.com
