“My goal is not to be the best ice hockey player at 18. But when I’m ready and everyone has the same physical maturity, i.e. 26 or 27 years old, then I’ll strive to be the best player in the 2024 draft.
Better than Macklin Celebrini? Sacha Boisvert is not afraid to say it.
Even at a young age, the Trois-Rivières native had clear ideas about his ambitions and how he could realize them. He never needed a career counselor.
At the age of 11, he knew that his development would take place in the United States; A tour of the Providence College facilities was enough to convince him. At 14, he left his hometown to attend Mount Saint Charles Academy in Rhode Island. Next year he will be the first Quebecer in history to wear the North Dakota University jersey.
“Since I was a teenager, I haven’t had any desire to do anything other than become an ice hockey player,” the main person on the phone puts it bluntly.
Boisvert currently plays in the American Major Junior Circuit (USHL) with the Muskegon Lumberjacks. Why did you choose Muskegon? Because he quickly hit it off with general manager Steve Lowe, but also for the simple reason that he had access to the rink 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“The first thing I noticed about him was his desire to be the best. I noticed it immediately. You have a hard time getting him off the ice,” Lumberjacks head coach Parker Burgess said.
“I had to stay with him to get him out,” recalls one of his former trainers at the Séminaire Saint-Joseph, Sébastien Lemay. The Zamboni came out and he continued. In my opinion you have to lock the doors and even then he will try to find the keys somewhere.”
And why North Dakota in the NCAA? The answer should no longer surprise you.
“I liked the fact that the largest building in the city was the amphitheater. Everything revolves around hockey there. There are no distractions. It’s just hockey,” emphasizes Boisvert.
A development laboratory like no other
With Boisvert going into exile in the United States, the striker’s prowess undoubtedly did not make headlines in Quebec. However, that’s how it should be. He is one of Quebec’s most promising candidates to emerge in the last decade.
At 17 years old and 1.80 m tall, Boisvert distinguished himself in the USHL with 12 goals in 18 games. And the limits of its potential are difficult to define.
“He really has a package that is rare for a hockey player,” describes Denis Francoeur, who oversaw his development at Saint-Joseph Seminary. Some have incredible hands and incredible skating. Others are sturdier and have sandpaper. Sacha combines all these elements. He’s hyper-explosive in a sport built around explosiveness. He has very flexible hands and can score goals in different ways.
“He has a good vision of the game. He also has sandpaper. Having that rough side and talent at 6-foot-2 is rare. At the moment he has not yet reached his full physical strength. He will likely play over 200 pounds. It may be in the Tkachuk line.”
“A big, intelligent man who skates and can argue. In short, exactly the kind of center Montreal is missing,” notes Lemay.
But what made Boisvert the specimen he is today is just as interesting, if not more interesting, than the specimen itself.
During his third year of elementary school, Boisvert visited an absolutely fascinating development laboratory, the Denis Francoeur Academy at Saint Joseph Seminary.
The recommended approach is in contrast to other hockey programs: the focus is almost entirely on developing individual skills.
“The ideas I implemented in the program emerged in my head during my years at the QMJHL [à titre d’entraîneur-chef des Cataractes de Shawinigan, notamment], explains Denis Francoeur. I wanted to go much further in early development.
“The Novice, Atomic and Pee Wee years are crucial years in development. It needs volume. Among other things, I was inspired by what is being done in Sweden and Finland, where we are in no hurry to isolate the elite. It is important that young people receive the same support.”
The training to game ratio had dropped to five to two.
“You practice your skills every day of the week and there are workshops before every session,” explains Sacha Boisvert. I’m still doing the exercises today.”
More specifically, there are five workshops centered around basic hockey skills. First workshop: skating. Second: hands. Third and fourth workshop: Exercises for coordination of the feet and hands (through simultaneous movement). Fifth workshop: Pass or throw. The exercises varied, but the topics of each workshop remained the same.
“It’s less about team play and systems,” notes Boisvert. Team play is easier to learn than skills.”
Another special feature of the academy: The young people improved their ice hockey IQ by constantly changing positions during a game, from left winger to center player, to right winger and even from attacker to defender.
“You understand the needs of the other players on the ice better,” argues Francoeur. Just that, it develops your feel for the game. In today’s hockey it is very useful for them because you will hear more and more in the coming years what we call “positionless hockey”, the positionless hockey.
“The offensive game is a five-man game and the defensemen are so involved in the attack that they can have control of the puck at the bottom of the zone. We have been teaching positionless ice hockey for 12 years. Sometimes we monitor our players too much and put them in a straitjacket. They find it difficult to express themselves.”
Boisvert can therefore run backwards as well as forwards with the same ease, which is not possible for all players.
“Even on defense, he could be drafted in the first two rounds,” argues Sébastien Lemay.
The academy is named after Denis Francoeur, but Boisvert worked most closely with Lemay. Francoeur also entrusted Lemay with the keys to the program when he retired last year. Lemay runs the academy alongside former Canadiens forward Michaël Bournival.
“I was his head coach for three years,” Lemay said. I also do a lot of the power skating aspect of development. Each team has 30 minutes of power skating each week. I worked more intensively with Sacha, especially during the holidays, for example during the summer and spring holidays.”
“I worked more closely with him in small groups. Sacha, he’s a great guy. At a young age, skating is often more difficult for a player of his size who has to tame his body, but Sacha has worked a lot, a lot on his skating.
“He will be a very agile and explosive player, despite his height of 1.80 m and soon his height of 1.80 m, because he has always taken care of his skating. If I came to training and told him, “No puck, we’re just practicing crosses and single-leg rotations,” he wouldn’t complain. He was on the ice and was happy.”
We asked Sébastien Lemay about Sacha’s weaknesses, knowing full well that all the speakers interviewed were selling him as the seventh wonder of the world. There must be something there.
If something’s wrong, it’s not Lemay who put his finger on it. However, he took the time to think about it.
“Honestly, I don’t see any gaps in his game,” he replies sincerely. I’d say he needs to be 15-20 pounds to play pro, but… he spends his days in the gym. I’m not worried.”
Muskegon Lumberjacks
Son of a boxing trainer
Boisvert’s military discipline in the gym was instilled in him by his father, Jimmy Boisvert. Yes, yes, the boxer’s ex-trainer Simon Kean.
“It was really him who showed me what it was like to be an athlete,” admits Sacha. I started training with him early. I was already in the gym with my dad three or four years before people my age.
“I really believe in development. This is one of the reasons I chose the American route. I have until 24 to develop further and reach the next level. I’m tall and thin, I know I have to put a lot of weight on my body. “I’m in no hurry to get to the National League.”
Boisvert really liked boxing. In fact, he still likes this discipline. But there comes a time when an athlete makes decisions.
“I really liked it. I still go to my dad’s gym in the summer and put the gloves on. I like the technique and the competitive aspect. It’s mentally and physically hard. When I was younger, my mom didn’t like it when I fought. My dad liked it a little better. Ultimately, I thought ice hockey was a nicer sport and most importantly, my dad told me that I could fight in ice hockey…that I could do both in one sport!
A few games ago, Sacha was able to put his father’s teachings to good use for the first time in the USHL.
“My teammate, a smaller guy, was attacked at the back. We didn’t get the referee’s call. I’m a leader on the team and I had to step up.
“It went very well.”
We understood that he won…
In large amounts…
Successful former students of the Académie Denis Francoeur
Zachary Bolduc, first-round pick of the St. Louis Blues (17th overall) in 2021
Guillaume Richard, Columbus Blue Jackets, fourth-round pick (101st overall) in 2021
Joaquim Lemay, Washington Capitals fourth-round pick (119th overall) in 2021
Jacob Guévin, undrafted defenseman who enjoyed success in the NCAA with the University of Omaha-Nebraska
The comparison game
“I like watching Anze Kopitar. He can do anything on the ice. That’s the label I want. I also like Aleksander Barkov” – Sacha Boisvert
“Anze Kopitar is the first name that comes to mind. He is tall and his limbs are long. He is able to retreat first even if he is the first attacker to pre-check. Like Kopitar, he is versatile and can play multiple roles” – Parker Burgess, Boisvert head coach in the NCAA