Confirmed with Link: Jean-François Houle Parts Ways with Habs/Rocket to Coach at Clarkson University

[417]

That this is a member of the staff that has this development record. He's an assistant, he was part of it but he wasn't the one making all the decisions.

Including the most important factor - he wasn't responsible for drafting the players he was tasked with coaching/developing.

It's information for people who want some.

Misinformation.

He's as responsible for Mitch Moroz never making it to the NHL as he is responsible for Leon Draisaitl becoming one of the best players in the NHL.

He's not coming from a great development system, now we see if he was stymied in his position or if he was part of the reason why they managed to do very little over 6 years.

I would have preferred an AHL coach from an AHL program that has done a great job of churning out talent (Syracuse for example) or from CHL, USHL or Europe, where a lot of prospects have improved their games and gained momentum in the NHL draft because of it.

Or a great organization period - but there's only so much power an assistant AHL Head Coach, wields in any organization.

Like you said, we'll have a better idea in the coming years, because now as the head coach, he can apply his influence in a more fulsome way than he would as an assistant head coach.

 

[WinterLion]

But seriously... sounds like he has paid his dues. I wonder who else will be on the staff.

 

[dinodebino]

Might as well bring back Nick Carriere at this point.

Don't get this hire at all...so many other more highly touted coaches available.

Maybe the other highly touted coaches refused the job or were the Bouchard type : get exposure in Laval and try to get to the big show right away. Who knows?

 

[Adam Michaels]

So Joel leaves Quebec to go to California. Houle leaves California to come to Quebec.

 

[jackeymoon]

Rejean' spiritual son in MB hiring his actual son to run the AHL squad. The trend of Ethnocentrism over Talent continues

 

[417]

I don't see development as magic dust but a way to maximize the talent of who you draft in terms of preparation. It's not like it's some myth, there's literally a department within NHL organization dedicated to it.

Agreed - just not sure how much the assistant coach of the AHL team has any influence on that in any meaningful way.

I'd say in JF Houle's case...he's got a ton of professional experience, how players develop under him moving forward will have a lot to do with the players provided to him, but we'll be better positioned to judge him on his developmental track record as the HC of Laval vs the assistant HC of Bakersfield.

Some teams draft/develop well fairly consistently. Montreal has consistently been bad at it for 10+ years now. One thing that sticks out with Montreal vs other poor drafting/development teams is the prospects having success in junior and then failing once reaching pro.

I feel like you think wanting development improvements means I think Casey Staum/Will Bitten/Scott Walford/Jarret Tyszka would suddenly be NHL stars with right magic dust. I'm talking Victor Mete/Josh Brook/Cale Fleury/Ryan Poehling/Cayden Primeau. Guys that were really good in junior/pre pro hockey. There is a high percentage of these guys become nothing in Montreal.

The results speak for themselves, draft/development from 2008-preset has been bottom of the league. Don't think it's hating just to hate, there's just less giving benefit of the doubt.

I'd say the fact that all of these players have even played NHL games or are on the cusp of becoming every day NHL players or are already, is a testament to good drafting/development.

Let's take out Poehling from that equation since he's a 1st round pick and they're kind of expected to make it (and he's on the cusp).

Mete - 4th round pick
Brook - 2nd round pick
Fleury - 3rd round pick
Primeau - 7th round pick

Mete's in the NHL and has already played over 180 games that's a success story if you ask me...ditto with Primeau, whose already overcome huge odds as a 7th round pick to have played NHL games AND be considered the future of the franchise at that position.

Jury is still out on Brook & Fleury - but their development has been slow and steady so far, they should be able to carve a niche for themselves as NHL Dmen.

So we're a long way from the days of Staum/Bitten/Walford...

But thank you for clarifying your stance because too often, I do get the impression that people think every draft pick is destined to be an NHL player until they meet some terrible minor league coach who takes it all away from them.

 

[Belial]

I don't know - we heard this argument the entire time with Lefebvre and we finally got rid of him and suddenly we have improvements on guys like Poehling, Evans, Brook, etc. rather than see their careers suicided in 40 games.

I mean Evans is really the only one that could be called a good development story for the moment.

Let's not get crazy with all this Bouchard is the best coach since sliced bread was invented story that doesn't stop.

 

[Schooner Guy]

Now now, let's not go all biblical on the guy and put the sins of the father on his head. What Rejean Houle did as a GM has nothing to do with him. This narrative needs to stop right now.

I think people are just having fun with it.

At least our new AHL coach has been immersed in AHL hockey for a number of years. His Dad was completely out of hockey and had been a brewery rep for many years between his playing career and his appointment as GM of the storied Montreal Canadiens. Not to mention a lot of media folks at the time suggested Peanut was a nice guy but not very bright.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I mean Evans is really the only one that could be called a good development story for the moment.

Let's not get crazy with all this Bouchard is the best coach since sliced bread was invented story that doesn't stop.

I tend to agree. Bouchard was respected by our fan base and was crowned as this development god but how would we know the actual truth on that? I think popularity movement influences our herd more often than not. I rather not loose Bouchard but it's done now. Time to move on and give the new guy a shot. The biggest issue with sly was holding onto him too long. He didn't fail anybody in development, he was just a bad coach and Bergevin waited too long to fire him. So just monitor the new guy closely in terms of how he kids are developing and the winning culture we want in Laval. It's not that complicated

 

[1909]

Any info on this guy?

6 years as assistant coach for the Oilers AHL affiliate
2 years for the Maine Junior team in the Q back then
2 years for the Armada B&B in the Q

Loads of experience .

Good choice.

And the guy is very fluent in English and French.

 

[Tyson]

Seems qualified and we should not have a negative view about him because of who is dad is. He may come in and do great. Good luck

 

[eklund the clown]

But seriously... sounds like he has paid his dues. I wonder who else will be on the staff.

Mario Tremblay and Patrick Roy

 

[sandviper]

I need someone to tell me how bad he is!

Haven’t you trashed tank teams like Edmonton in the past? This guy coached their affiliate.

 

[Karma Police]

Can you imagine velifying someone because he's the son of someone

 

[Schwang]

He was a coach for them for 7 years. I imagine a large number.

Let's be fair here. Haven't the Oilers been drafting rather high over that time?

 

[Belial]

I tend to agree. Bouchard was respected by our fan base and was crowned as this development god but how would we know the actual truth on that? I think popularity movement influences our herd more often than not. I rather not loose Bouchard but it's done now. Time to move on and give the new guy a shot. The biggest issue with sly was holding onto him too long. He didn't fail anybody in development, he was just a bad coach and Bergevin waited too long to fire him. So just monitor the new guy closely in terms of how he kids are developing and the winning culture we want in Laval. It's not that complicated

People believed that Sly was so terrible that anyone replacing him felt like a god of development.

Herd symptom for sure.

I mean Sly keeps getting hired and rehired and even promoted around the league...

 

[JJ68]

I bet you this guy is a better coach than Gretzky.

 

[eklund the clown]

Can you imagine velifying someone because he's the son of someone

I am sure this guy is the top qualified person for the job. As per usual

 

[1909]

He looks like he wants to kill a player.

Judging a guy from one picture... OMG ! get a life !

 

[Schwang]

I mean Evans is really the only one that could be called a good development story for the moment.

Let's not get crazy with all this Bouchard is the best coach since sliced bread was invented story that doesn't stop.

Totally agree. I said the same thing. The only guy who's graduated is Evans. No one else has cracked the lineup as,a regular.

 

[Wats]

Agreed - just not sure how much the assistant coach of the AHL team has any influence on that in any meaningful way.

I'd say in JF Houle's case...he's got a ton of professional experience, how players develop under him moving forward will have a lot to do with the players provided to him, but we'll be better positioned to judge him on his developmental track record as the HC of Laval vs the assistant HC of Bakersfield.


I'd say the fact that all of these players have even played NHL games or are on the cusp of becoming every day NHL players or are already, is a testament to good drafting/development.

Let's take out Poehling from that equation since he's a 1st round pick and they're kind of expected to make it (and he's on the cusp).

Mete - 4th round pick
Brook - 2nd round pick
Fleury - 3rd round pick
Primeau - 7th round pick

Mete's in the NHL and has already played over 180 games that's a success story if you ask me...ditto with Primeau, whose already overcome huge odds as a 7th round pick to have played NHL games AND be considered the future of the franchise at that position.

Jury is still out on Brook & Fleury - but their development has been slow and steady so far, they should be able to carve a niche for themselves as NHL Dmen.

So we're a long way from the days of Staum/Bitten/Walford...

But thank you for clarifying your stance because too often, I do get the impression that people think every draft pick is destined to be an NHL player until they meet some terrible minor league coach who takes it all away from them.

All the guys I listed were from the 2016/2017 drafts.

Guys coming out of junior good enough to play in NHL to me is good drafting. This being the case is rare enough. My problem is how so many of these guys end up not becoming more than fringe/depth/waiver fodder. To me it's development staff job to help at least a couple of these guys become actual NHL regulars. Perhaps Sens can save Mete's career, we will see.

Since 2008 we have had a lot of guys who joined AHL/NHL after having a lot of junior/college success but not many NHL success stories compared to rest of NHL. Can't just look at luck, after a certain point we need to actually fix something when it's so consistently poor. AHL has access to majority of these guys so their coaching staff is a point of interest.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Let's be fair here. Haven't the Oilers been drafting rather high over that time?

I think drafting is more valuable than developing. You got to draft the right guy and facilitate the right environment for them to develop. Expecting coaches to develop players is part of the overall formula but I think we have pumped up that card way too much!

Development is mostly hunger to improve and listening to what coaches and your support team tell you. The will to work hard at it is where it's at. Sometimes a hard nose coach sends the right message that triggers the right buttons

 

[dinodebino]

Judging a guy from one picture... OMG ! get a life !

I was just kidding, bud. Come on. Should have used the appropriate emoticon. Of course they took a very bad photo, IMHO. The one used by the Rocket was better.

I think the Habs wanted to go the safe AHL route. Good. And Houle will probably buck heads less with the GM on the usage of youth.

But you gotta admit that he looks pissed.

 

[WeThreeKings]

I mean Evans is really the only one that could be called a good development story for the moment.

Let's not get crazy with all this Bouchard is the best coach since sliced bread was invented story that doesn't stop.

Never said that he was.. just that getting someone competent instead of a prospect killer, was a big boost for the organization.. to go back out and get another guy from an organization who failed to develop anyone of note and an organization which is much maligned for their ability to bring homegrown talent onto the team that is desperate for it.. it's not exactly the news any reasonable person would want to hear.

That doesn't mean he can't be good, as no one is saying that - but we have every reason to not be excited by the hire the same way we were when we got Bouchard and Ducharme in the same year.

 

[Whitesnake]

I am wrong or I remember WS liking him?
@Whitesnake

Big fan of him when he was with the Armada. When Bouchard came in, he didn't invent hockey. He went in continuity of JF Houle. I like him. Saw him up close and personal. The guy is as fair as you can find with everybody. Insanely respected and respect his players. He is a great mix between being technical and vocal. I didn't follow him up once he left, so I don't know how all of this changed....but based on what I know, it's a great hire.