The new interim head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, Martin St-Louis, believes he is up to the challenge that awaits him, despite his lack of experience behind the bench.
During his first press conference, Thursday morning at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard, St-Louis, who succeeds Dominique Ducharme, did not hide the fact that it will be his first experience behind an NHL bench. .
In particular, he corrected a journalist who questioned him about the fact that his experience as a coach is limited to “very very junior” levels.
“I think it was pee-wee,” said St-Louis, looking amused, alongside general manager Kent Hughes.
The new interim head coach of the Habs, however, recalled that he was placed in almost every imaginable situation for a hockey player, which will allow him to fully understand the morale of his troops.
“I’ve been a minors guy, a fourth (trio) guy, a third, a top-6 and an ‘All Star’. […] I have the pulse of what these guys are going through and I can help them,” said St-Louis.
The 46-year-old St. Louis enjoyed a stellar 16-year career in the NHL, amassing 391 goals and 642 assists in 1,134 games for the Calgary Flames, Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers.
St-Louis mentioned that, in his opinion, hockey remains the same sport, whether it is young players or more seasoned players. In any case, you have to manage “personalities and expectations, because everyone has expectations”.
He is therefore not afraid to make the jump directly behind the bench of the Canadian.
“I know I’m going to get better every day,” said St-Louis.
Regarding the issue of the interim, St-Louis did not say he was concerned about this situation. He said he wanted to take advantage of the opportunity presented to him.
For his part, Hughes explained that the team needed a quick change behind the bench.
“We didn’t want to wait two or three weeks,” he explained. We wanted to do it quickly, and Martin was ready to take over. »
For now, the status of assistant coaches Alexandre Burrows, Éric Gravel, Mario Leblanc, Trevor Letowski, Éric Raymond and Luke Richardson remains unchanged.