Paul Boutilier, Stanley Cup champ and former curling executive, remembered for his humility

A Nova Scotian who won a Stanley Cup and a World Junior Hockey Championship — and later worked as a university professor and curling executive — is being remembered for his humility.

Paul (Boots) Boutilier's death was announced Thursday by the NHL Alumni Association. No cause of death was given for the 63-year-old.

Born in Sydney, N.S., the defenceman was a first-round NHL draft pick of the New York Islanders in 1981. At the time, the team was in the midst of a dynasty that saw them win four straight Stanley Cups, making it an incredibly tough roster to crack — a reality Boutilier understood.

"I've no control over it, anyway," he told the New York Times in 1981. "You don't know what they're thinking, so you keep going, keep working, gain the experience and show them the kind of attitude you have. You never know."

While he played one game for the Islanders in the 1981-82 season, he split the following year between his junior team, the Saint-Jean Castors of the QMJHL, and New York, earning a Stanley Cup ring during the final championship of the Islanders' run.

"You had to really pry to get info and stories out of him," said Bruce Rainnie, president and CEO of the Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame.

"But he was one of those guys that when he came into a room, you always got your back slapped and you felt better leaving the room than you did when you came in and that was because of Paul's gregarious nature."

Boutilier played nearly 300 NHL games, including time with the Boston Bruins in the 1986-87 season.

After a morning skate at the Montreal Forum one day that season, Craig Seward met Boutilier. Seward's father knew Boutilier through Cape Breton hockey circles.

As Boutilier left the ice, he greeted the pair with a handshake