Joël Bouchard is back in the American League. The Quebecer was named head coach of the Syracuse Crunch, training club of the Tampa Bay Lightning, on Monday.
Bouchard will be in a third term in the AHL. He coached the Laval Rocket for three years, before a one-season stint with Anaheim Ducks affiliate, the San Diego Gulls.
The Crunch also announced the hiring of Daniel Jacob as assistant coach. Jacob was Bouchard’s assistant in each of the two aforementioned terms, as well as with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, from 2014 to 2018.
PHOTO BERNARD BRAULT, PRESS ARCHIVES
Daniel Jacob
The announcement comes with some intrigue, however. Bouchard succeeds Benoît Groulx, but in the press release, the Crunch specifies that Groulx will be offered “another position in the organization”. Groulx had run the Crunch since 2016.
Éric Veilleux and Gilles Bouchard, Groulx’s assistants, are leaving the organization.