After just one season as head coach of the NHL coaching San Diego Joel, Joel Bouchard was fired as head coach on Wednesday.
It’s also the end for former Laval Rocket co-pilots Maxime Talbot and Daniel Jacob, who have also been thanked by the team, TVA Sports hockey expert Renaud Lavoie confirmed.
The Gulls’ campaign ended last Thursday when Ontario Reign took the lead in the first-round series, played in best of three form. Seventh in the Pacific Division and 28th across the MLS, California narrowly qualified for the Spring Bowl thanks to its 28-33-7 record.
“When I got here, I knew almost no one,” Bouchard mentioned during Friday’s team report. It was different. It’s a good relationship-building challenge. […] I learned something different [cette année]. Start a new group. Obviously last year I was with the same team for three years and we had a great season and it was easy.
In February, after a disappointing first half of the season, Bouchard stated that COVID-19 had significantly affected his team’s performance. While passing on TVA Sports at the time, he then said that many defenders had been forced to play in attack due to multiple absences.
The Ducks also changed general managers in February when Pat Verbeek replaced Bob Murray.
Bouchard was at the helm of Team Rocket for three campaigns between 2018 and 2021. He also led Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, in the Major League Hockey League in Quebec.
