QMJHL | Mario Cecchini confirmed as Commissioner

Mario Cecchini is officially the new commissioner of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. His appointment was approved by the league members’ office on Tuesday.

Posted at 3:34 p.m.

He thus succeeds Gilles Courteau, who resigned on Sunday following 37 years in office, following a disputed testimony in parliamentary committee in connection with the cases of violent initiations in junior hockey.

Cecchini is currently the interim president of the Montreal Alouettes during the process of selling the club, which was placed under the supervision of the CFL last month. Due to Cecchini’s files with the Montreal Alouettes, the QMJHL will announce the date of a press conference to present him to the media at a later date.

“Following an exhaustive search, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Members’ Office is very proud to confirm the hiring of Mario Cecchini as Commissioner,” said the President of the Members’ Office of the QMJHL, Richard Létourneau.

“Mr. Cecchini has extensive experience as a manager in the business world, both in sports and in the media. He has acted as president of several reputable organizations. He will be an important asset for the League and we are very happy to welcome him. »

“The QMJHL is more than fifty years of developing elite players, including some of the biggest stars in the history of the National Hockey League,” added Cecchini. But above all, it’s an incredible school of life that offers players all the tools to develop sportingly, academically and socially. Several excellent mentoring programs have been established. Over the next few years, we will have the chance with the resources in place to see how we can improve them and better communicate them. »

Acting Commissioner Martin Lavallée will continue in this role until Cecchini’s effective date of May 8, 2023.

Replacing Gilles Courteau

Gilles Courteau was to leave his post as commissioner in the spring of 2024, but he was swept away on Sunday by the turmoil surrounding his appearance before a parliamentary committee.

A radio station manager, Mario Cecchini set up CKAC Sports in the mid-2000s, when he held the position of executive vice-president at Corus, where he worked from 2006 to 2011, then from 2013 to 2016. It is in this role that he participated in the relaunch of the 98.5 FM station, still one of the most listened to in Canada. He was then appointed president of RNC Médias, when the station 91.9 Sports was launched.

Well known in the business world, he was named president of the Montreal Alouettes in 2020, a position he held for three years, at the height of the pandemic. On December 22, 2022, Cecchini confirms that his contract as president will not be renewed. This announcement, which raised eyebrows for many in the Quebec sports ecosystem, was short-lived, however, since he resumed his role barely two months later, when the Canadian Football League (CFL) announced that the team is placed under guardianship as a new sales process begins. Last week, the daily Montreal Gazette revealed that the Montreal conglomerate Quebecor was in a favorable position to acquire the club.

In a letter posted on his social networks, Mr. Courteau announced on Sunday that his resignation was “effective immediately”. “Although it is not an easy decision to make, it is necessary, wrote the 65-year-old man. In addition, recent events have taken on such proportions that my family members have suffered. To persist would have been stubbornness.

“I would like my withdrawal to be understood by all the actors concerned, parents, players, coaches, owners, amateurs, as the beginning of a turn, another turn. Because we have come a long way in 37 years. Of that I am proud. »

Originally from Trois-Rivières, Mr. Courteau was appointed administrative director of the QMJHL in 1985. He then took over from Guy Morissette, who resigned as president of the circuit in the middle of the 1985-1986 season. . Under Mr. Courteau’s leadership, the QMJHL has completed a number of expansions to increase the number of teams from 10 to 18. Off the ice, Mr. Courteau has implemented numerous programs for the players and he made sure that the QMJHL might supervise them during their junior internship so that they would become professionals and good citizens. “Many things have changed in the supervision of players, in support for studies, in regulations, in values, in the training of coaches and staff. The League I am leaving today is very different from the one I discovered when I arrived in the 80s, ”he recalled in his letter announcing his resignation on Sunday.

With The Soleil, The news writerThe Canadian Press and Vincent Larin, The Press