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“We learn in the good, and we learn in the bad. We all know that, and I think that we have to stay true to our principles, to ourselves, to what we believe is right for the group but also every person.”Īs Bouchard spends this summer planning to lead the Crunch next season, he will again face the task of learning a new team and building an environment that both prepares players for Tampa Bay and wins games in Syracuse. Your worst enemy is the mirror every morning. “If I’m going to ask the players to be a better version of themselves, I have to ask myself to be a better version of myself. “You always can learn something and push yourself,” he continued. “Coaching is all about finding solutions, thinking outside the box, and not looking for excuses. “I learned to find solutions,” Bouchard recounted of his time in San Diego. He lasted only one season in San Diego, but he took away lessons from a team that had its highs and lows, and a roster that he had to learn coming in as the new face behind the bench after leaving a familiar and comfortable set-up with the Rocket. I respect the player because I know how hard it is to be a player, and I want the best for them.”īouchard spent three seasons with Laval, the last two shortened by the pandemic. “I put the bar very high, but if they want to play in the NHL, we have to put the bar very high, because it’s not going to get easier when you get there. “I like to think that I’m demanding,” he said. So I want to connect with the player.”īouchard, who played 364 games in the NHL for eight different teams, describes his style as “what you see is what you get.” I had to invent myself to make sure I was able to go back to the NHL. “There’s not one player that’s sitting in front of me in the office and saying, ‘Well, he doesn’t know how I feel.’ Because I’ve lived it all as a player. “The most important thing from my end,” Bouchard said, “is to make sure that I give everything I can with the coaching staff to the players so they become the best version of themselves.

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He was a sixth-round pick by the Calgary Flames in 1992 who went through 15 pro seasons as a defenseman on the NHL-AHL bubble, someone who went through the recalls and AHL assignments, played for winning and losing teams, and experienced all that the hockey industry can throw at a player. “With everything that comes with it.”īut he will also be himself.

“Well, I’m me,” Bouchard said with a laugh. To go back behind the bench - but most importantly beyond the ice with the players and to help them be the best version of themselves, to see them grow in the American League - it’s quite exciting for me.”īouchard will bring some of Groulx’s same characteristics to the Syracuse dressing room. He takes over for Groulx, the Crunch’s all-time leader in coaching wins (256) who will be offered another position within the Lightning organization. But from my end it’s an opportunity to work with a great organization that’s proven time and time again in the NHL and the AHL that they’re competitive and they have the will to win.”įor the 49-year-old Bouchard, Syracuse will be his third AHL coaching stop after posts with the Laval Rocket and San Diego Gulls. Ben is a close friend of mine and did such a tremendous job in Syracuse the last seven years. “It’s a great challenge,” said Bouchard, who was named the 10th head coach in Crunch franchise history on Monday, “but it’s a bit of mixed emotions.

But the chance to head up the Tampa Bay Lightning’s top development team is one he’s looking forward to. It had to be the right fit for Joel Bouchard.Ī friend of Benoit Groulx’s from their days in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Bouchard is well aware of who he is replacing as head coach of the Syracuse Crunch.