Maddox Dagenais was not born when Pierre, his father, skated on the ice at the Bell Centre, for 82 games in two seasons with the Canadiens.
“He saw me play on video,” Pierre Dagenais said at the end of the screen. “He knows I was a scorer, he knows I liked that, scoring goals. Maddox tries to imitate me a little, but we don’t have the same style of play. He’s more complete…”
At the time of our conversation, Pierre Dagenais was preparing to jump on the ice at the World Elite Academy, a hockey academy located in Belleville, Ontario, where he lives and has worked for three years now as director of development.
If Dagenais went there, it was because he believed that it was in this part of the country that his son would have the best chance of success as a young hockey player.
“I moved here for Maddox when he was 14. I wanted him to play in Ontario, I thought it was more physical, and I found a hockey program that was more complete, both on and off the ice.
“Where he was before that, there was no off-ice training program, and I found it hard for him to start practices at 7 a.m. in the morning, come home at 5 p.m. and have to train in the evening. I found it a lot, so I preferred that he do all that at school.”
That gamble finally paid off in June, when the Quebec Remparts made the young forward the first overall pick in the QMJHL draft. Twenty-nine years earlier, in 1995, it was his father who had been the first overall pick in the same league, this time drafted by the Moncton Alpines.
PHOTO TAKEN FROM THE QMJHL X ACCOUNT
Maddox Dagenais during his draft last June by the Quebec Remparts
“I think he experienced it like I did at the time… when it happens, you don’t really realize it,” adds Pierre Dagenais. “I was playing hockey, I was scoring goals, I was with my buddies. It’s bigger for Maddox, because the Remparts are a big machine, and today, there’s social media… it’s not the same thing as in my time. It’s a different world.”
“Since he was 8 or 9 years old, I’ve made a lot of sacrifices with him. I’ve given time and love. I’m with him all the time, and my job is in the world of hockey, because I love doing it and I’m passionate about it. When he was drafted, it’s another story that was written with me, because we’ve always had a little competition between us. I didn’t think about it last Christmas, but Maddox had such a great season, and then the draft came around very quickly. It hit me in the face as a dad!”
Last season, the son collected 42 goals and 39 assists for a total of 81 points in only 35 games in a U16 AAA circuit in Belleville. At 16, he is preparing for the world of junior hockey, which is still a long way from the NHL, but his father, who played with the New Jersey Devils, the Florida Panthers and finally with the Canadiens – his NHL career ended in Montreal in 2006 – can’t help but think about the dream.
PHOTO CAROLINE GRÉGOIRE, LE SOLEIL ARCHIVES
Maddox Dagenais
“Everything is possible. That’s what I tell the kids I teach. You have to dream it, you have to believe in it, and then there are no limits. For Maddox, it’s already quite an achievement to be the first draft pick in the QMJHL.
“When you’re drafted in the first round like that, you have more opportunities, but after that, you’re a number. You have to excel, you have to progress, you have to prove yourself, you have to earn your place. That’s what I explained to him: it comes with pressure. He’s a 16-year-old player in the body of a 6’3”, 180 lb guy. He’s still a kid, and now he’s going into an adult world.
“It’s a little overwhelming. Before that, I did my homework, asked a lot of questions to find out what the best choice was for him. We wondered if he was going to play major junior in Quebec, Ontario, or in the USHL. I met with 15 OHL teams, universities, but my heart always came back to the QMJHL.”
It will be Quebec and the Remparts, then, and Pierre Dagenais has already planned everything: during the week, he will continue his teaching on the ice in Belleville – Andrew Shaw, another former Canadiens player, works with him – and then, every weekend, he will jump in the car to go see “his guy”, as he calls him.
“I’m no longer with him on a daily basis, it’s Simon Gagné and Éric Veilleux who take care of him with the Remparts. I’m going to try to just give him advice!”