I posted this in the previous article. But in case anyone missed it and might want to check out the article and podcast I’ll post it again. Sorry Craig, if I’m cluttering up the comments.
Anyone who is interested in what Tourigny is all about should listen to this fantastic interview. Very in-depth:
Tourigny: “There is no team in the world I can coach, without it being a hardworking team. Because when I’m the coach and they don’t work it will drive me crazy. I won’t play you. I don’t care how good you are. You cheat yourself and your team. That is who The Bear is.” (Note: His nickname is Big Bear due to his size and disposition).
This is a excellent article on Tourigny with some fantastic quotes:
“A day off for Andre is like a regular workday for most people,” said 67’s general manager James Boyd. “That’s just the way he’s wired. He’s a workhorse.”
“You’d go early in the next morning and he would be there,” said Desbiens, a former NHLer who now coaches at St. Louis Park HS in Minnesota. “And we’d ask, ‘Did you actually sleep in your office?’ He was very, very committed. The amount of hours he would put in at the office was incredible.”
Another interesting note in the above article is that he didn’t learn to speak English even conversationally until 2006. Very impressive.
Some things I’ve dug up from Google:
Interesting tidbits on Tourigny:
Has been QMJHL coach of the year twice and OHL coach of the year twice and CHL coach of the year once. In 14 years as a CHL head coach, he’s missed the playoffs only once. In his last 130 games coaching the Ottawa 67s he’s won 100 of those games. 100 wins, 30 losses. The last time his team was in the playoffs they set a record with 14 straight wins to begin the playoffs.
Team Canada noticed his success.
He’s been the head coach for Team Canada at the U18s, an associate coach at the U20s, has been named head coach for the next U20s, has been an associate coach at the Men’s World Championships and has been named an associate coach for the next Olympic Games.
He has three seasons as an NHL assistant coach under his belt, as well. Coached guys like Iginla, Stone, E.Karlsson, O’Reilly, MacKinnon, Zibanejad, Barrie, Ryan, Duchene, Landeskog, Stastny, etc.
The guy has a lot of junior accolades, but I'm a bit nervous about his lack of NHL experience. It's not like he served under Barry Trotz during his brief tenure in the show. But at least he's an upgrade nonetheless. Good luck Tourigny!
Growing up bilingual and actually speaking Frenglish I can possibly tutor you some lol.
Which leads to a question or two, as a professional, how do you handle players/coaches etx with accents if/when you have difficulty understanding them? Hockey is such an international sport and you have covered players from all over the world here. Who was the most challenging?
I’m very excited about this hire. We need a coach who can work with and motivate young players.
I wonder if his ability to “read the room” and get the most out of players was discussed in interviews. I’m curious how he would handle the team this last season, if it would be significantly different than Toc or not. Who knows, idle thoughts.
I’m also curious about a francophone in a Spanish language market! Maybe it will bring more broad attention to the AZ market?
I was hoping for Lambert, but I think this is a good option. More of a leader than Tocchet so we should take a step forward….unless GMBA guys the roster further.
I posted this in the previous article. But in case anyone missed it and might want to check out the article and podcast I’ll post it again. Sorry Craig, if I’m cluttering up the comments.
Anyone who is interested in what Tourigny is all about should listen to this fantastic interview. Very in-depth:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-hockey-masterclass/id1533693349?i=1000518191609
Tourigny: “There is no team in the world I can coach, without it being a hardworking team. Because when I’m the coach and they don’t work it will drive me crazy. I won’t play you. I don’t care how good you are. You cheat yourself and your team. That is who The Bear is.” (Note: His nickname is Big Bear due to his size and disposition).
This is a excellent article on Tourigny with some fantastic quotes:
https://theathletic.com/2194727/2020/12/22/andre-tourigny-canada-world-juniors/
“A day off for Andre is like a regular workday for most people,” said 67’s general manager James Boyd. “That’s just the way he’s wired. He’s a workhorse.”
“You’d go early in the next morning and he would be there,” said Desbiens, a former NHLer who now coaches at St. Louis Park HS in Minnesota. “And we’d ask, ‘Did you actually sleep in your office?’ He was very, very committed. The amount of hours he would put in at the office was incredible.”
Another interesting note in the above article is that he didn’t learn to speak English even conversationally until 2006. Very impressive.
Some things I’ve dug up from Google:
Interesting tidbits on Tourigny:
Has been QMJHL coach of the year twice and OHL coach of the year twice and CHL coach of the year once. In 14 years as a CHL head coach, he’s missed the playoffs only once. In his last 130 games coaching the Ottawa 67s he’s won 100 of those games. 100 wins, 30 losses. The last time his team was in the playoffs they set a record with 14 straight wins to begin the playoffs.
Team Canada noticed his success.
He’s been the head coach for Team Canada at the U18s, an associate coach at the U20s, has been named head coach for the next U20s, has been an associate coach at the Men’s World Championships and has been named an associate coach for the next Olympic Games.
He has three seasons as an NHL assistant coach under his belt, as well. Coached guys like Iginla, Stone, E.Karlsson, O’Reilly, MacKinnon, Zibanejad, Barrie, Ryan, Duchene, Landeskog, Stastny, etc.
He’s only 47 years old.
So who gets the rights to Bear? Tourigny or Lyubushkin?
The guy has a lot of junior accolades, but I'm a bit nervous about his lack of NHL experience. It's not like he served under Barry Trotz during his brief tenure in the show. But at least he's an upgrade nonetheless. Good luck Tourigny!
Nice job, Craig. You were on him early. I think Luke Richardson is going to be a helluva good NHL coach one day, but I guess it won't be here.
So, how's your Frenglish?🤔
Growing up bilingual and actually speaking Frenglish I can possibly tutor you some lol.
Which leads to a question or two, as a professional, how do you handle players/coaches etx with accents if/when you have difficulty understanding them? Hockey is such an international sport and you have covered players from all over the world here. Who was the most challenging?
I’m very excited about this hire. We need a coach who can work with and motivate young players.
I wonder if his ability to “read the room” and get the most out of players was discussed in interviews. I’m curious how he would handle the team this last season, if it would be significantly different than Toc or not. Who knows, idle thoughts.
I’m also curious about a francophone in a Spanish language market! Maybe it will bring more broad attention to the AZ market?
I was hoping for Lambert, but I think this is a good option. More of a leader than Tocchet so we should take a step forward….unless GMBA guys the roster further.
Craig, is there a link to watch the presser tomorrow??