Yanick Jean has been a privileged witness to the development of junior hockey in Canada for around thirty years.
• Also read: Julien BriseBois wrote to Yanick Jean to congratulate him on breaking the winning record by a QMJHL coach
Of course, the speed of the game has increased greatly since he patrolled the Chicoutimi Saguenéens' blue line alongside Alain Nasreddine, Marc Denis, André Roy and Éric Fichaud in the early 1990s before making the jump to the East Coast Hockey League Circuit where the Trois-Rivières Lions play.
But more than anything, it is the mental aspect of the sport that has evolved and allows you to enjoy a long career behind the bench.
“Fifty to 40 or 30 years ago, coaches said: ‘You are a player, you have to adapt.’ In the 2000s, young people have changed and I believe that it is the coach's job to adapt to young people and to communicate with a group of young people aged 16 to 20, changing from week to week, month to month. I think that's really the key,” Jean analyzed on Monday, three days after setting a new QMJHL record with his 590th win.
More help
“His success doesn’t surprise me,” Maxime Boisclair, a 70-goal scorer in the QMJHL who had Jean as an assistant coach with the Sags, told the Journal before leading the Island Rocket. from Prince Edward, the Victoriaville and Chicoutimi Tigers.
“He is a very hard-working, careful person and a very good teacher. I loved being around him,” Boisclair added.
What has also changed, according to Jean, is help for hockey players. It's no longer just about game and training systems.
“We focus much more on mental health, on how the players are doing in everyday life,” he explains. […] The teams increasingly have specialists, educational advisors, mental and physical coaches. A range of stakeholders who support the players and ensure that they are offered optimal conditions.”
Honor your contract
During his meeting with the media, Jean was calm and happy. He still has two years left on the 10-year contract he has in his pocket.
“At the moment I am extremely happy where I am. When I returned to Chicoutimi, I made family decisions, I wanted to stay here until my children finished their studies, he said. […] I work with great people. I'm in no hurry to leave here. […] At the Saguenéens, everyone leaves their ego at the door and that’s what makes us a family and ensures that everyone is well.”