And 20 years ago, Facebook wasn't a thing.
Here's a great user comment on The Athletic
This guy is a poster child for failing up (and then failing down, then failing back up again, then down again...). His stint with the Moose was after he was an assistant for the Jets for years - as a tactical 'eye in the sky,' which lasted a very short time, then as the PP expert during the years of a sub 15% PP, then running the forwards during their lowest scoring season in franchise history... he was Awful. It's not clear that Cheveldayoff ever knew that he was allowed to make changes, but it's not an accident that the Jets got good AFTER Pascal was demoted.
I don't really understand this character - he just sticks around despite literally never having success with a team. The last trophy he won at any level was in 1992 playing as an over-ager in the Q. He has never won any trophy as a coach in all his 23 years (why does the article say 30?). At the professional level (13 years), he has seen the playoffs twice ever - the 4 game sweep of the Jets in 2015, and a second round loss in 2018 with the Moose.
Saying that 'he' graduated a bunch of NHL quality players for the Jets is also a fantasy.
Basu lists:
Cole Perfetti - 10th overall, played 32 games under Vincent
Kyle Connor - 17th overall, a year at college, 56 games under Vincent
Logan Stanley -18th overall, 2 seasons under Vincent, still trying to establish NHL career at 26
Jack Roslovic - 25th overall, year of college, 97 games under Vincent over two years
Dylan Samberg - 42nd overall, 3 years college, 32 games under Vincent
Jansen Harkins - 47th overall, 150 games under Vincent, back in the AHL at 27
Tucker Poolman - 5th round, 3 seasons of college, 60 games under Vincent over two years
Mason Appleton - 6th round pick, 2 years college, 120 games under Vincent
He also coached guys like Kristian Vesalainen (24th overall, 88 games with Vincent) and
Eric Comrie (2nd round, 152 games under Vincent) and many more who flamed out. Kostalek, Spacek, Lipon, De Leo and on and on - guys who were late picks with promise and never made the jump from Vincent's AHL team. No one is writing to say 'Is Pascal Vincent responsible for Nic Petan not becoming a star?' I don't know the answer, but we can't say he made Kyle Connor's career while pretending the long list of guys who didn't make it aren't his fault. Good and the bad.
As you can see, the Jets like to take guys headed to college. So Vincent gets them when they are a bit older and more mature, and then the only people I think we could reasonably assume he had the chance to develop from that list are Roslovic, Harkins and Appleton. That's from 5 seasons as the Head Coach of the Moose. And contrary to Basu's assertion - the Moose top 5 scorers from his years always included 3-5 players who were AHL veterans. They were not bit players on young teams.
ALSO! The Jets have had so many problems with their young players arriving too raw - such as Perfetti and Logan Stanley! Both are still trying to nail down full-time jobs with the Jets precisely because they lack the 'professional polish' to their game that an AHL development coach with NHL experience might offer. Other examples include Sami Niku, Ville Heinola, or David Gustafsson - guys who made the jump but can't make an impact at the NHL level. We can say it's talent, not coaching. Fine, but then he doesn't get credit for a handful of 1st round picks making it to the NHL.
I know it seems like I'm this guy's biographer, but seriously - how does he NEVER suffer any of the blame for his poor work outcomes??? CBJ was a mess, no doubt. But we're talking about a guy who was 52 years old with over 20 years coaching experience, who had been an Assistant Coach with that same CBJ team for two previous years and he gave a press conference comparing their top prospects wanting to get NHL experience (and paycheques) to his 13 year old daughter wanting a new phone.
How much more learning did he need to know that was infantilizing and demeaning toward these 20 year old ELITE ATHLETES who gave up their childhoods to pursue excellence in their dreams?? He'd known those young men since the day they started with the Blue Jackets, had been at the draft table, had been at the development camps and pre-seasons with them. If I mocked my newest, youngest, and most valued employees publicly - people I helped to on-board into the company - I'd be fired for creating a hostile working environment. When does PV get held accountable for his ridiculous behaviour??
The guy is a bad technical coach with a 'bro' attitude, no education, who shows no special appreciation of what it means to be an NHL prospect, who has never won anything ever as a coach. What is it about this guy that NHL teams don't run screaming from?
