(Columbus) Zero goals. Zero points. In 48 matches. No, “it’s not an anomaly” on HockeyDB, confirms Pascal Vincent. “It was my first year. I could have given up, gone and played elsewhere. And I said to myself no, I’m going to stay. »
It was during the 1988-1989 season, in the QMJHL. Pascal Vincent, now head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, was playing his first year as a player with the Saint-Jean Castors. He was 17 years old.
He smiles when The Press evokes this distant memory with him. Our fifteen-minute interview takes place in the Jackets’ conference room, in the bowels of Nationwide Arena in downtown Columbus, on Friday.
It’s been 35 years, but “Pazzy” – that’s his nickname here – surprises us by remembering this season in the smallest details.
“I was drafted in 16e round at the time, says the former center player. I didn’t think I would make the team. I got to camp, and at that point I was 5-foot-8, I think. I weighed 140 pounds. There were a lot of matches that I didn’t play. I was in the stands for seven, eight games in a row. And the matches that I played, I didn’t play. »
But this “funny year” shaped who he is today, he believes.
“You look back and say, ‘What did I learn that year? Well, I learned something about myself.” »
He says he discovered his “strength of character”, which pushed him to “continue working”, because it was a “difficult year”.
“No hard feelings”
Perhaps that’s what helped him get through another “rough” moment when Mike Babcock was hired as head coach of the Blue Jackets last summer. Pascal Vincent felt he deserved the position, having worked as an assistant in Columbus since 2021.
“It took me about a week to deal with these emotions,” he explains frankly. After that, I’m a team guy. I was all in. I’m going to be the best deputy I can be with Mike. »
The rest of the story has been well documented: Babcock resigned after revelations that he asked players to look through photos on their cell phones.
PHOTO ADAM CAIRNS, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Pascal Vincent
I met with management. They said, “Look, something’s happening here. We need a head coach, you’re our guy. Do you want the job?” “OK perfect.”
Pascal Vincent
Vincent said he felt “no hard feelings” when asked if he would have preferred the position to have been offered to him before the Babcock saga arose.
“To me, it’s wasted energy. »
“No need to throw trash”
Pascal Vincent didn’t take long to make his mark on his team. From the first week of the season, he made gestures that caused people to talk. Damon Severson, acquired at a high price last summer, was benched after an error in the second period against the Red Wings. Top prospect Kent Johnson as well as mainstay defenseman Andrew Peeke were left out. Winger Eric Robinson, an important player the last four seasons, was placed on waivers and joined the American League.
PHOTO JAY LAPRETE, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Defenseman Damon Severson during a game against the Philadelphia Flyers in Columbus
Vincent justifies these decisions by saying he wants to “improve the team culture”. “We want to develop a tangent that is based on accountability. We will grow into this until these things, which are non-negotiable, become habits. »
For a rookie head coach, it’s still a sensational debut, right?
“I know I’m a rookie coach, but I don’t feel like a rookie coach,” he says. I have been around professional hockey for several years. »
Taking a look at his background, one can hardly argue with him. Pascal Vincent was head coach in the QMJHL from 2000 to 2011. He joined the Winnipeg Jets as an assistant (2011-2016), took the reins of the Manitoba Moose in the AHL (2016-2021 ), then returned to the NHL as an assistant in Columbus (2021-2023).
It would have been “more complicated” to make these gestures if he had not already been with the organization in recent years, he said.
The advantage I have is that I know the team. […] I have a relationship with all the players, I have an understanding of what they can do.
Pascal Vincent, about his experience in Columbus
Yes, Vincent played the hard line towards players who perhaps did not put in the effort expected of them. “But they are not caught off guard,” he emphasizes.
“We don’t need to shout, no need to throw trash cans in the room,” illustrates Vincent. But [ce que je demande à mes joueurs] it’s white, or it’s black. »
He prefers the honest discussion approach to getting his point across, which can only set him apart from the previous generation of coaches.
“Ultimately, what is best for the player? Get yelled at when he makes a mistake, or make him responsible and explain it to him? »