Bryan Watson
The Whole Story

Bryan Watson had a long and colorful career in theNational Hockey League that started when there were only 6 teams and 1 division in 1962, until his retirement in 1979 when there were 16 teams and 2 divisions.

A Canadian like 99% of all NHL'ers of his era, Bryan was born in Bancroft Ontario and was recruited by the great Montreal Canadians at the age of 13, to play in their renowned Junior system with the Peterboro Petes. When he made the Junior A team at the age of 16, Scotty Bowman was his coach and Bryan ended up team captain and won Most Valuable Player in his final year.

While coming up through the Montreal system was the best possible training for the young athlete, there was no permanent place for Watson on the big team for the next year. Bryan played the better part of the season with the Quebec Aces, where he had the true fortune to be the line mate of Doug Harvey, to this day still considered the greatest defenseman other than Bobby Orr to play the game.

1968 saw Watson do a brief stint with the Oakland Seals and from there he was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1969, where he played for 5 1/2 seasons. Watson, along with players such as Syl Apps, Glen Sather, Rene Robert and Coach Red Kelly helped put the Penguins on the map at the same time Roberto Clemente and Willy Stargell were anchoring the great Pirates and the new look Steelers with Franco Harris, Terry Bradshaw and Roy Gerella were making their marks in baseball and football history.

From Pittsburgh, it was back to the Detroit Red Wings where he was warmly welcomed and Bryan was sure it was the last step in his long career.

A true shock to the player came when he was traded to the Washington Capitals for Greg Jolie. The older veteran for the 1st round pick who had failed to shine with the low ranking Washington. For the worst team in the league, Watson one more time gave his all but the team simply did not have the players.

The Washington trade turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Bryan despite his initial disappointment. He and his wife Lindy quickly fell in love with the nation's capital and decide to settle there permanently, where they happily reside today.

In 1983, after hockey, Bryan and Lindy began their enjoyable and successful career in the restaurant business in neighboring historic and beautiful Old Town Alexandria as owner's of Bugsy's Restaurant & Sports Bar