Éric Houde may have played in the NHL, but like all of us, he is fascinated by excellence. “I have always been fascinated by the best. Tiger Woods, Sidney Crosby… They are hard workers. They could sit on their laurels and be right,” he says.
Houde will be able to observe top performances up close this fall. In fact, the former Canadian was hired by the future Montreal team in the Professional Women’s Hockey League (LPHF) as an assistant coach to Kori Cheverie.
“It’s the chance to work with the best in the world. Marie-Philip Poulin is the best in the world, he remembers. Top athletes are often special; they always want to be the best. I will also be able to walk hand in hand with Poulin and Ann-Renée Desbiens. And I will learn from these athletes. I hope you will appreciate my work! »
When these lines were written, Houde did not yet know the scope of his tasks. In addition, the future Montreal team, which does not yet have a name like the food products, has not yet made the news official. It was Houde himself who revealed it on social networks.
What he does know is that there will be “quite a lot of staff” and that something clicked at Cheverie. In short, the work environment seemed interesting enough for him to give up his two main jobs: coaching at the French College of Longueuil, in the Junior AAA Hockey League and at the Juillet Academy.
“It’s a day job, it’s professional, so it’s full-time,” he remembers. In other words, the desire to professionalize the league is also good for the coaches, not just the players.
The opportunity was too good to ignore. It’s professional ice hockey, the best in the world, it’s the everyday life of a professional as I experienced it as a player.
Eric Houde
“The schedule is for 24 games this year and 32 next year, so it’s not an 82-game schedule. I wasn’t ready to upset the family, but they’re playing in Verdun and I’m in Candiac, so it’s fine. The train doesn’t always pass. When it’s over, you have to step in! »
The “move” here is a call from Danièle Sauvageau, general director of the team. Houde says he “stamped her shoulders” here and there, nothing more. Sauvageau could not be reached for this article. Still, he was the first to be surprised when his phone rang, having never worked in women’s hockey before.
“But I played professionally for 14 years and trained for 12 years. That’s why I feel like I’m ready to help the professionals. I completed all coaching categories, from MAHG to Junior. Sometimes you start at a certain level and burn out. But I started from the bottom, I did community work, school work and integrated structure work. I have experience with the future generation. And I received information from other coaches who have coached women’s soccer. »
Diverse environment
The gender issue remains sensitive in public. Indeed, given an NHL where hockey operations departments are still predominantly male, it would be logical for the LPHF to push to train female managers as well.
“It takes a good mix. We saw it with Kori in Pittsburgh,” Houde said, referring to Cheverie’s presence as a guest coach at Penguins camp.
“Slowly, not quickly, it will be messed up. Competent women will switch to the male side and competent men will switch to the female side. I don’t think of it as a boy/girl or Franco/Anglo issue. It’s like spag sauce, it takes everything to make a good sauce! »
The fact is that for the first time in his professional life, Houde finds himself in the same position as Cheverie in the Penguins camp or Poulin when she cheers on the Canadian.
“Of course it will be different being the underdog,” he admits. But I think I can easily adapt to my character. I look at it positively, but I will certainly be a better coach, a better person.
“It’s still hockey. The dynamics, the pedagogy might be different, I don’t know, I’ll learn. But they are still players who want to improve and ultimately win the big trophy. That doesn’t change. »
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