GM Marc Bergevin describes the 47-year-old Joliette native as a “new model of coach” who is a good communicator.
MONTREAL, QUE.: SEPTEMBER 14, 2018 — New Montreal Canadiens assistant coach Dominique Ducharme speaks to players during training camp practice at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard on Friday September 14, 2018. (John Mahoney} / MONTREAL GAZETTE) ORG XMIT: 61367 – 9188Photo by John Mahoney /Montreal Gazette
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Dominique Ducharme looked a bit nervous when he sat down for his first video conference Wednesday afternoon in Winnipeg as the Canadiens new head coach.
Thats totally understandable.
But it wasnt very long into the 35-minute session that the 47-year-old Joliette native started to look calm, cool and confident answering questions from the media.
I feel prepared, Ducharme said. When youre prepared, you sit down at school, you get your exam, you dont care what the questions are going to be. Youre ready to answer. Youre pretty nervous when youre not ready, when you didnt study. So I feel comfortable. I feel ready. Im confident in the group, Im confident in the guys Im working with and Im ready to go.
Ducharme takes over from Claude Julien, who was fired Wednesday morning after the Canadiens went 2-4-2 in their last eight games, dropping to fourth place in the North Division with a 9-5-4 record. Associate coach Kirk Muller was also fired.
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Ducharme has basically been the Canadiens head-coach-in-waiting since being hired as an assistant coach before the start of the 2018-19 season.
If I had written a script, maybe it would have been different today, he said. But Im losing two colleagues and two great people. Claude is a great man and I got to know Kirk. To see them leave, obviously, its a mixed feeling. Yes, Im proud to be here. It was a long road for me. I didnt take the highway I went on the side roads. But Im proud of that and I think it made me grow as a coach and today I feel ready for it.
Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin informed Ducharme he was the new head coach Wednesday morning in Ottawa, after the Canadiens lost 5-4 to the Senators in a shootout Tuesday night. The Canadiens flew to Winnipeg later in the day and will play the Jets Thursday night (8 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio, 98.5 FM).
Ducharme wont even get a full practice before taking over behind the bench. The Canadiens will have a morning skate Thursday.
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I want a team that plays the right way and plays fast, thats for sure, Ducharme said. I like offence. For sure, I like offence. But to create offence you need to have the puck, so you need to retrieve it. We want to spend less time in our zone, we want to create more turnovers, we want to counter quick, we want to have solutions when we have the puck. For sure, we want to be going on offence, but we need the puck.
One thing is creating an offence is not only with the puck carrier, he added. Right now we need a lot more support, we need a lot more cohesion on that side, working together and having options. Well work at giving the guy with the puck a lot more options.
Bergevin described Ducharme as a new model of coach who is a good communicator. The GM wanted to make it clear that doesnt mean Julien wasnt a good communicator, adding sometimes it can be the same message just delivered in a different way with a different voice that is needed. Bergevin said the Canadiens were looking like a team that was lost and missing a sense of direction, adding that happens in pro sports when the same coach has been delivering the message for a long time and it stops getting through. Julien was in his fourth season as head coach.
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Bergevin is 100 per cent confident Ducharme is the right man to get the players back on the same page, change the teams vibe and turn things around. While Ducharme was named interim head coach, Bergevin said the job is his to lose now and a decision will be made on his future at the end of the season.
Ducharme is also confident he can get the job done.
If you prepare for the game and you think tonight were going to win, maybe you forget something, he said. How are we going to win? Focus on the process. I think we need to go back to those little things and make sure were doing them right. For sure, theres going to be some little adjustments. But Im confident that we have a good team here. Well have success.
Ducharme was asked what his specific responsibilities were as one of Juliens assistant coaches up to this point.
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A lot had to do with the pre-scout, watching the other team, he said. Obviously, I had a lot of things to watch for five-on-five. Claude has always been open to my comments. I learned a lot. Talking about the power play with Kirk, with Luke (Richardson) about the PK, so I touched a lot of things and gained experience that way. I think that was great for me.
Ducharme was going to meet with the players for the first time as head coach Wednesday night.
What was his message going to be?
Ill keep that for them, he said. I think they deserve that. They care a lot. It was a big day for me, it was a big day for Kirk, for Claude. Theyre human and they care. So Ill talk to them tonight.
scowan@postmedia.com
twitter.com/StuCowan1
- Stu Cowan: Players forced Canadiens GM’s hand in firing of Julien
- Stu Cowan: Dominique Ducharme a head-coach-in-waiting with Canadiens
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