Jocelyn Thibault was “very emotional” when he met with the heads of the various regional associations on Thursday evening to break the news of his departure, according to Denis Dumaresq, chief executive of Hockey Québec Chaudière-Appalaches.
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“It was bad for him to leave,” he said. In a way, he went there for the young people. He has three daughters who played and he always wanted to give the best to the young people. When he changed his mentality, he realized it wasn’t as easy as he thought.”
“The faces were long,” added Hockey Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean general manager Pascal Bouchard. There were many surprised and disappointed people. We didn’t see it coming.”
For his part, Hockey Quebec chief executive Claude Fortin felt the same as he listened to Thibault speak Thursday night.
“Disappointment, shock and anger,” he listed to illustrate the climate that prevailed during that meeting.
In addition, according to Claude Fortin, Mr. Dumaresq was one of those who spoke and whose speech was well received.
“He spoke and it was very emotional. We felt the anger.”
Other members subsequently wrote privately to Fortin to express their frustration with the situation and the various organizations that resisted the changes that ultimately led to Jocelyn Thibault's departure.
“We are really disappointed”
Hockey Québec Chaudière-Appalaches is not one of the problematic organizations, confirmed Claude Fortin, who even believes that it is one of the “exemplary” branches of the province.
For its president, Mr. Dumaresq, Thibault's departure is a hard blow.
“We are really disappointed. We expected him to be around for a long time, so it's a big part we're losing. Jocelyn was the ideal person to lead this and it was a shock to learn of her departure.”
Mr. Dumaresq has only been in office for two years as president, after four years as vice president, but he can already tell that something needs to change among some of his counterparts.
“In some regions, people have been there for a long time and have their own way of working. Therefore, it is very difficult to make changes. Things haven't progressed the way he wanted, but I feel like changes are happening. We are on the right path.”
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