Situations Vacant: Assistant Coach

If you some how missed the various items of news surrounding the Gulls coaching changes in the last few months let me catch you up.

• 28th Mary 2021 – David Urquhart accepts Head-Coaching position at McGill University
• 1st July 2021 – Sylvain Lefebvre takes Assistant Coach position with the Columbus Blue Jackets
• 1st July 2021 – Kevin Dineens’ two year contract with the Anaheim Ducks expires and is not renewed.
• 9th July 2021 – Joel Bouchard is named the new head coach of the San Diego Gulls.
• 9th July 2021 – Daniel Jacob is widely reported to be coming with Bouchard to San Diego but has yet to be confirmed as an assistant coach with the Gulls.

A lot of the “reading between the lines” discussion that centered around Bouchard coming to San Diego zeroed in on the fact that Dallas Eakins is in the final year of his contract this season and that the incoming Laval Rocket coach was his “replacement in waiting”.

Which is all very good and exciting for Ducks fans (sorry Dallas) but what does that mean for us Gulls fans? Who will replace Bouchard when he gets the potential mid-season call-up to the Ducks bench?

As mentioned in the time-line above, Daniel Jacob has been reported to be joining Bouchard in San Diego but who is Daniel Jacob? The St-Jean-sur-Richelieu native has been Bouchards right-hand man for seven years, three with Laval and four with Blainville-Broisbriand in the Q. Three years AHL assistant experience doesn’t seem like it may be enough to jump into a head-coaching role right away – particularly in his first year with a new team and organisation but he does have pedigree. He has been an assistant with the Canadian under-18s at the 2017-2018 Hlinka cup. Coincidentally he was an assistant coach at McGill for four years before joining the Armada – the Montreal/Quebec school of coaching appears to be a consistent scouting ground for Anaheim/San Diego.

All of that said – Anaheim must have plans to find another Assistant Coach for San Diego – one with head-coaching experience at the College or AHL level. At the same time, while they look to Montreal and Bouchard for how to properly develop players – why not attempt to emulate the Canadiens further? Bouchard came West because his path to an NHL position had been blocked by other coaches that Montreal had successfully developed. Shouldn’t Anaheim try deploy a similar coach-training-ground philosophy?

Looking back over the previous Canadiens coaching ranks and several names pop out.

Gerard Gallant – Assistant Coach – 2012-2014

Dan Lacroix – Assistant Coach – 2015-2017

Kirk Muller – Associate Coach – 2016-2021

Dominque Ducharme – Assistant Coach – 2017-2021

Luke Richardson – Assistant Coach – 2017-Present

New Canadiens Head-Coach Dominique Ducharme spent ten years coaching in the Q before joining the Canadiens as an Assistant Coach in 2018. Bouchard co-owns the Armada along with former Duck Jean-Sebastien Giguere and other former NHLers Daniel Briere and Ian Laperriere so he still has ties there. Would he look to poach one of the coaches from the Armada or perhaps one of the other teams in the league?

It does make a lot of sense that teams are starting to look to the Q for new coaching blood. Of the three major junior leagues that make up the CHL it is regarded as the most “run and gun” – embracing offence and transition over defence; a style the NHL has been trending more toward in recent times.

Patrick Williams tweeted a list of coaches from a wide range of leagues that currently-coach-less AHL teams might target for replacements and for the QMJHL he has the following.

Jake Grimes – Head Coach – Cape Breton Eagles (2019-Present), 2011-2018 OHL Assistant Coaching experience before that.

Steve Hartley – Head Coach – Drummondville Voltigeurs (2019-Present), 2011-2018 QMJHL Assistant Coaching experience before that.

Dan Lacroix – Head Coach – Moncton Wildcats (2019-Present), 2006-2018 NHL Assistant Coaching experience before that as well as at Moncton from 2002 to 2005.

Yanick Jean – GM/Head Coach – Chicoutimi Sagueneens (2015-Present), 2006-2014 Head Coaching in Q before that.

Bruce Richardson – Head Coach – Blainville-Broisbriand Armada (2018-Present), 2011-2017 Head Coaching in AAA with one role in the Q interspersed within that span.

Louis Robitaille – GM/Head Coach – Gatineau Olympiques (2020-Present), 2016-2019 Head Coaching and 2012-2015 Assistant Coaching in Q before that.

Of all of these choices only Dan Lacroix has coached a team to tops in regular season points in 2019-2020, tied with Stephane Julien and the Sherbrooke Phoenix.

Not mentioned here – Mario Pouliot of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies has the most success for QMJHL Head Coaches for the last seven or eight years, having lead the Huskies to back to back Presidents Cup Championship wins in 2018 and 2019.

Eric Veilleux has also coached two different table topping teams in 2014 and 2019, he was wisely snapped up by the Tampa Bay Lightning/Syracuse Crunch and has been an assistant to BO Groulx’s father since the 2019-2020 season, further proving my point that the Ducks are on the right track to pursue a Q based coach as we all know the success story that is the Tampa Bay Lightning player and coaching development program.

Lacroix does seem to be the most primed for a return to the AHL/NHL having had lengthy experience in both leagues in the past and given a few Ducks prospects seem to eventually making their way through the Wildcats before turning Pro provides another connection.

Of course, this is all just speculation but if I am the Ducks, I am targeting the Q for my next assistant coach for the Gulls. It seems the best way forward.