Joël Bouchard’s first steps as head coach of the San Diego Gulls, a subsidiary of the Anaheim Ducks, have not been easy, he who boasts a record of 14-20-2 since his arrival in California .
First of all, the former pilot of the Rocket de Laval saw the one who hired him, the general manager of the Ducks, Bob Murray to be replaced by Pat Verbeek in addition to having to deal with the COVID-19 which raged within his troop.
“The reality is that we have been very affected by COVID-19. We were on the sidelines for a period of three weeks. Subsequently, we played games with an extremely reduced line-up. During the last meeting, we had three defenders who were playing on the attack”, expressed the Quebecer passing through the show. JiCMonday evening.
“That being said, the guys reacted very well. I’m very happy with that! Now we have a second half of the season ahead of us. There has been a lot of hubbub, a lot of uncertainty and a lot of staff turnover, but we will all grow from that,” added the colorful hockey man.
Development in the foreground
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a circuit where there are a lot of imponderables. Many player recalls and roster changes are on the agenda and coaches must, despite everything, deal with what they have on hand, regardless of the scenarios.
“As a coach in the AHL, my mandate is to develop players like Jacob Perreault, Benoit-Olivier Groulx and company. We have a job to do with our young hopefuls. We gave them a leading role and they performed well,” according to Bouchard.
The approach is everything
“It’s the only thing we can really manage. Me, my job is not to get angry at the situation, but to find solutions. We beat the best teams in our division, and this, with reduced alignments, ”he concluded.
Watch the full interview in the video above.