Liberty University Club Sports Athletics
Former Flames coach now Quebec Junior Hockey team's GM
5/27/2021 12:00:00 AM | Men's D1 Hockey
After serving as head scout and assistant general manager for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's (QMJHL) Rouyn-Noranda Huskies over the past four seasons, former Liberty University ACHA Division I men's hockey Assistant Coach Marc-André Bourdon was recently promoted to head general manager of the Huskies, the reigning Canada Hockey League 2019 Memorial Cup champions.
"I didn't really have that in mind when I came back (in 2017)," said Bourdon, 31. "I was interested in the role, but not pursuing it. Sometimes, things happen as a part of God's plan and I am excited and thankful for the opportunity."
The former QMJHL Defenseman of the Year for Rouyn-Noranda in 2008, who had his NHL playing career with the Philadelphia Flyers cut short by concussion at age 25 in 2014, previously worked as director of player development for the Huskies. He joined the Flames' coaching staff from 2015-17 while completing his degree in interdisciplinary studies with concentrations in biology, exercise science, and psychology.
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| Bourdon (left) will oversee the entire Rouyn-Noranda staff, including new Head Coach Brad Yetman (right). |
In his new role, Bourdon replaces Mario Pouliot, who served as the Huskies' GM and head coach for the past three seasons before stepping down for health-related issues. Meanwhile, Brad Yetman will relieve Pouliot of his head coaching duties and Yannick Gaucher will take over Bourdon's role as assistant GM and head scout.
"I will be overseeing the whole operation and coaching staff, but not coaching," Bourdon said, noting that he will be in charge of the team's picks in the June 25-26 QMJHL Draft as well as the June 30 European Draft, from which the Huskies will add two players.
The Huskies are one of 18 teams in the QMJHL with another 22 in the Ontario (OMHJL) and 20 in the Western (WMJHL) leagues that comprise the 60-team Canada Hockey League, which Bourdon considers the highest-level Junior Hockey league in the world.
"Ontario is sometimes seen as the better league, but in the last 10 years, Quebec has won five Memorial Cups," he said. "The last two years, there hasn't been a Memorial Cup (due to COVID-19 restrictions), so we're still champions by default, though we have only played about .500 hockey. We're in a rebuilding process."
Bourdon will play a critical role in directing the future trajectory of the team. He plans to apply many of the principles and strategies he learned in his two years of experience working under longtime Liberty Head Coach Kirk Handy, Associate Head Coach Jeff Boettger, and Assistant Coach Daniel Berthiaume.
"Kirk taught me how to respect, love, support, and interact with the players and I don't think I would be where I am now without his influence," Bourdon said. "The biggest thing was the spiritual growth I had at Liberty, which helped me to focus on the person more than them as players and coaches."
Compared to Liberty, which recruits primarily Junior Hockey players, the QMJHL drafts players straight out of high school, many as young as 16.
"We need to provide more support on different levels in their growth because they're still teenagers figuring out how to be men," Bourdon said. "It is a big commitment for kids to come up here and leave their families, and we need to offer them parental advice and bring them up in the right way."
He has a vision for the program similar to that which Handy and his staff have implemented at Liberty.
"We will develop work ethic, hockey sense, and having guys that understand the game and can play it well, and respect one another," Bourdon said. "We want to be a tight-knit group, caring for others and making sure everybody's got everything they need … mentoring them and making sure they learn how to be professional."
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| Bourdon and his wife, Sibylle, hold the Memorial Cup on May 26, 2019, while Huskies carry the President's Cup after also winning the QMJHL championship that year. |
Working in a secular environment, as opposed to the spiritually encouraging atmosphere he became accustomed to at Liberty, makes it more difficult for Bourdon to challenge players to walk by faith.
The Huskies have had a solid team chapel program for the past 10 years, run through Hockey Ministries International (HMI) in Montreal. But aside from that, Bourdon's primary spiritual support comes from his wife, Sibylle, daughter of Lady Flames figure skating Head Coach Dawn Harter, her coach at Liberty. She graduated with a degree in nursing in 2018 and is now a night-shift nurse at the University of Vermont's Medical Center.
"There are not a lot of Christians around here, outside of me," Bourdon said. "I am trying to be an example on a daily basis and my wife, as a Christian, is a big help in the spiritual development of our team. It is definitely a challenge, but it is part of the mission, and we are trying to have an impact every way we can within the circumstances we are in."
By Ted Allen/Staff Writer
