Montreal Canadiens: Three Potential Replacements for Joel Bouchard

The Montreal Canadiens had a terrific season, going on a surprising run to the Stanley Cup Final before falling short to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Their counterpart in the American Hockey League, the Laval Rocket, also had a phenomenal season. Though there was no playoff action in the AHL, the Rocket dominated the Canadian Division and were awarded the Frank S. Mathers Trophy as the top team in Canada.

The Rocket had a fantastic 2020-21 season, going 23-9-4 in their 36 game schedule and finishing nine points ahead of the Manitoba Moose for first in the division. It was just a five team division for the year, with the Belleville Senators, Toronto Marlies and Stockton Heat playing out of Calgary joining them. They didn’t play teams located outside of the country and did not play any postseason games.

Laval proved to be a very structured and defensively minded team that completely shut other teams down. It was rare for an opponent to have more than 20 shots on goal in the middle of the third period when facing the Rocket. They allowed just 87 goals, or 2.41 per game and a lot of that success from a structured game plan can be attributed to Joel Bouchard.

Bouchard was the head coach of the Rocket for the past three seasons. The team got progressively better under his watchful eye and young players really started to carry the team this season.

Ryan Poehling, Jesse Ylonen, Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Joel Teasdale were the team’s most dangerous forwards on an almost nightly basis and all of them suddenly appear to be on the cusp of becoming NHL regulars. Each of them took huge strides in their two-way games this season and again, a lot of that credit has to go to Bouchard.

That’s why it was surprising and unfortunate when it was announced yesterday that Bouchard will be heading west to be head coach of the San Diego Gulls. It is the same position he held with the Rocket, so it’s not really a promotion, but spending winters in San Diego instead of Laval is certainly a step in the right direction in terms of weather.

Also, with Dominique Ducharme performing so well and getting the head coaching duties for the Canadiens for the foreseeable future, Bouchard has a better chance of getting behind an NHL bench elsewhere in the near future.

He will be missed, and Jake Evans said as much in his press conference yesterday. Who can step into that role and take over as the head coach of the Rocket next season? Let’s take a look at three candidates.

Yanick Jean

The Montreal Canadiens organization can go a few different directions with their next coaching hire for their American Hockey League affiliate. One option is to try and find the next young guy from the Junior leagues that is ready to take the next step up that coaching ladder and make his mark in the pro ranks.

This is the route they took with Bouchard so why not try it again?

If they are looking at the Junior ranks, one name that could jump out at them is Yanick Jean. He has been the head coach and general manager of the Chicoutimi Sagueneens for the past six and a half seasons. Finding someone that can coach, but also has experience as a general manager is an attractive trait since a head coach of an AHL team often has to do some recruiting and some scouting of lower leagues to find players throughout the season.

Jean has plenty of experience in both roles, but especially as the bench boss. He has been in a coaching role at the QMJHL level since the 2002-03 season, but he is still just 45 years old. That is an unique mix of experience and youth that could serve him well at the AHL level.

The Alma, Quebec native has had stints as the head coach in Chicoutimi, Victoriaville, and Charlottetown with the PEI Rocket. He has been a head coach at the QMJHL level for 16 consecutive seasons and served three years as an assistant before that.

Jean was also chosen to be an assistant coach at the Ivan Hlinka World Under-18 tournament in 2012. He was coaching a star studded lineup that included Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Drouin, Sam Reinhart, Max Domi, Shea Theodore, Josh Morrissey and Darnell Nurse. He also twice coached the QMJHL Super Series games against Russia as a tune up for the World Juniors.

Jean has plenty of experience and looks to be an up and comer in the coaching world. If the Canadiens are looking for a younger coach that has earned his next step in the coaching ladder then Yanick Jean should get the job.

Alex Burrows

Hiring Alex Burrows to be the head coach of the Laval Rocket would be a little riskier than getting someone like Yanick Jean. Burrows had an impressive NHL career, and was just behind the bench of the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Final.

However, his actual coaching experience is very limited. It’s impressive, and not many coaches with little experience behind a bench can say they have coached in the Stanley Cup Final, but is Burrows actually ready to be a head coach of a pro team?

The native of Pincourt, Quebec has only three seasons of experience behind a bench at all. He just retired from playing following the 2017-18 season, and immediately joined Joel Bouchard’s staff with the Laval Rocket.

From all reports, Burrows role was mostly limited to running the power play with the Rocket, and he more or less continued that role when promoted to the Canadiens NHL team. Of course, there is much more to coaching than just drawing up power play ideas, such as building relationships with players and communicating positively with everyone.

Burrows has been great at that, and has shown a knack for being a good coach. Still, at the age of 40, and with just three years experience as a coach at any level, it might be a bit quick to hand over the reins of the AHL team to Burrows.

It is definitely an option, and Burrows has earned the right to throw his hat in the ring with his performance with the organization for the past three seasons.