Philippe Sauvé and Gilles Bouchard have taken over the helm of Sherbrooke Phoenix from Stéphane Julien and serve as general manager and coach, respectively, of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) team.
The newcomers were presented at a press conference on Monday afternoon.
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Sauvé, a players agent and former goaltender in the National Hockey League (NHL), will be the architect of the Estrie team’s rebuilding.
The club’s owners took the gamble of separating the duties of general manager and head coach, which had been held by Stéphane Julien until his departure last June.
“In 2023, we believe the challenge is enormous and that separating the two responsibilities will allow for a smoother transition and progression,” said the organization’s president, Denis Bourque.
Sauvé’s role as an agent has brought him to mentoring young people at a younger age, an experience that will undoubtedly come in handy in his new role.
The Phoenix and he also shared the same opinion on the candidate to lead the team behind the bench.
Bouchard spent the last five seasons in the AHL at Syracuse as an assistant coach. At 52, the man who no longer dreams of a career in the NHL was looking for an exciting challenge.
In 2016 he won the President’s Cup with the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies.
Phoenix shareholder Jocelyn Thibault believes that marrying the two roles is difficult and the team couldn’t find a better duo.
“It’s a job that stretches out over 11 months a year and is very demanding. And it’s not necessarily a bad thing when two people work together and challenge each other with ideas,” he said.
The two men are aware of the work that awaits them, but also of the patience they will need to begin a new cycle of reconstruction.
The Sherbrooke Phoenix season begins August 17 with a preseason game against the Victoriaville Tigres.
-With information from Jean-François Desbiens, TVA Nouvelles