Joël Bouchard made his first appearance on Tuesday in the segment “Les pendules l’heure”, on the show JiCon TVA Sports, the day before the start of the Montreal Canadiens training camp.
Knowing that Day 1 will focus on physical exams, how important are the results to decision makers? According to the ex-pilot of the Laval Rocket, the data reflects “the level of commitment” of the players, for both hopes and veterans.
“It’s important to gain muscle mass, gain weight and be physically stronger. You just don’t want to get out of your physical development. This mistake I have seen often on both sides.
“A youngster who comes in and definitely hasn’t done his homework or definitely hasn’t worked hard enough. I was a lot tougher than the members of the Canadiens on this, sometimes, because they said to me “he didn’t know” or “he’s young”. Me, I’ll tell you, I had the leash a little shorter on that.
“It’s his ‘job’. He is 18 or 19 years old. We might give him a pair of running shoes and a playpen, and then he would be fit if he really wanted to!”
St-Louis : «message clair»
Asked to comment on the challenges of head coach Martin St-Louis, who will lead his first NHL camp this week, Bouchard believes that he must first and foremost be a unifier so that the 74 players grow in the same direction.
“Obviously the message has to be clear. No gray area. The importance to him of getting everyone on board, even American League players, he said.
“The reality is that he has to get his message across, be very clear, and have time to take video sessions with a certain group of players and then work on his special teams.”
There will also be on the side of the instructors a “logistics” to respect with the players, according to Joël Bouchard. The reason? Collective convention.
“There is an agreement between the National League and the Players Association where you cannot keep players (on the ice) for more than three hours. You try to stretch the sauce a little to be able to teach, but when it starts to check the clock…
“Usually the guys are cool and they know it’s part of the process. I know Martin will be able to sell his project.”
Above, listen to Joël Bouchard’s first intervention at “JiC”.
