A Quebec hockey coach established in Switzerland for 11 years finds himself in turmoil after the newspaper Morning Sunday had published a long report accusing him of having built a reputation on a false identity, which he completely denies.
Quebecer Steve Huard was born in Gaspésie, but grew up in Lachine. For 11 years, he left for Switzerland after meeting his wife.
He then quickly rose through the ranks in hockey in Switzerland, notably becoming, in 2017 and 2018, the head coach of the Swiss national women’s under-18 team. During the Pyeongchang Olympics in 2018, he was also an assistant coach with the Swiss women’s team.
But according to what advances Morning Sunday, Huard allegedly lied about his past and his qualifications. The Swiss Sunday newspaper suggests that the Quebecer would have used the identity of another Steve Huard, whose profile is available on the Elite Prospects site, and who played with the Gouverneurs de Sainte-Foy midget AAA in 1989-1990.
The error has been corrected on Elite Prospects and the Steve Huard established in Switzerland no longer has a player’s past on his profile.
Photo taken from Twitter
The Bomo Thun team in the first women’s division in Switzerland in October 2017, club coached by Steve Huard.
FAUX DOCUMENTS ?
The newspaper also reports that Mr. Huard would have presented false documents to the Swiss Hockey Federation in order to make believe that he had the necessary qualifications to be a coach.
Huard would have presented a High Performance 1 certification, which he would have acquired on September 1, 2009, as well as four documents attesting to his skills.
However, the services Jeunesses+Sports, a sports promotion program for children and young people in Switzerland, concluded in June 2021: “According to the latest information collected and after verification, I can certify that Mr. Steve Huard ( born August 8, 1978) whose HCR number (Editor’s note: Canadian Hockey Registry) is 82360000367 has no skills or level of coach registered in his profile. Also, the Coaching Association of Canada (NCCP) number CC116889 does not belong to him. »
Several stakeholders who have worked with Huard over the past eleven years have spoken to journalist Jean Ammann, some saying they are surprised by the allegations, extolling his qualities as a coach, others not.
He DENIES EVERYTHING
Joined by The newspaper Monday morning, Steve Huard denied all the allegations.
“It’s a report filled with assumptions, hearsay and half-truths,” he lamented in a telephone interview.
“I am discouraged and I will defend my reputation tooth and nail. I’ve been spending a lot of time with my lawyers lately and I intend to settle this in court. However, I know that it will take two years and that, win or lose, the damage is done. Their goal was to ruin my life and they succeeded. »
Mr. Huard persists and signs: the documents he provided to the Swiss Hockey Federation have not been falsified and the Elite Prospects profile is just an imbroglio.
He says he did his minor hockey in the Lac Saint-Louis region, but did not want to give more details about his past, following the advice of his lawyers.
” IT BOTHERS “
Steve Huard has not played in the hockey world for four years. He tendered his resignation after leading the Swiss women’s team at the 2019 World Under-18 Championship.
“I was tired of directing. It means a lot of sacrifices and travels. »
The 43-year-old man still continues to gravitate in this world in Switzerland since he hosts a podcast entitled MecMatch in which he discusses hockey and receives Swiss hockey personalities.
“I am independent and I do what I want, as I want. I’ve been tough on some journalists and some players, and apparently it bothers me more than I thought. »
Huard acts as advisor in Europe for the captain of the Quebec Remparts, Théo Rochette. He would not comment on the report from the Morning Sunday.