CHL Awards of the Decade: Past winners of the Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year presented by Janes
The Canadian Hockey League’s Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award, presented this season by Janes, is in honour of the Hockey Hall of Fame coach who was the first in CHL history to 1000 wins and holds the league’s all-time coaching record.
Presented annually since 1988 and renamed in 2003, this year’s award will go to either Brad Lauer of the Western Hockey League’s Edmonton Oil Kings, Andre Tourigny of the Ontario Hockey League’s Ottawa 67’s, or Stephane Julien of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Sherbrooke Phoenix. But before we find out who the newest recipient is, let’s take a closer look at the last decade of winners.
2018-19: Mario Pouliot (Rouyn-Noranda Huskies)
Pouliot led the Huskies to a franchise record 59-win season in his first year behind the bench with his new team a year after winning the Memorial Cup with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. He guided the club to a 25-win streak to tie a CHL record as part of a regular season title, QMJHL championship, and his second straight Memorial Cup.
2017-18: Drew Bannister (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds)
Bannister led the Greyhounds to an all-time franchise best record of 55-7-3-3 finishing first in the OHL’s regular season standings and topping the CHL Top-10 Rankings throughout much of the season. The team’s 116 points and .853 winning-percentage are both tied for second best all-time under the OHL’s 68-game schedule. Bannister earned a head coaching position with the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage where he’s been for the past two seasons.
2016-17: Ryan McGill (Owen Sound Attack)
McGill led the Attack to an all-time franchise best record of 49-15-2-2 for 102 points. He helped the team become the OHL’s most improved unit in just his second season in Owen Sound increasing their win total by 17 and point total by 27 while surrendering an OHL-low 177 goals against. McGill won the award after being a 2013 nominee while working for the WHL’s Kootenay Ice, and is now in his third season with the Vegas Golden Knights where he serves as an assistant.
2015-16: Gilles Bouchard (Rouyn-Noranda Huskies)
Bouchard led the Huskies to the top of the QMJHL standings with 113 points powered by an overall record of 54-9-3-2 in just his third season behind the bench. The club went on to capture their first President Cup and advanced to the Memorial Cup final. Bouchard spent two more seasons in Rouyn-Noranda before moving up to the AHL where he’s worked the past two years as an assistant with Benoit Groulx and the Syracuse Crunch.
2014-15: Sheldon Keefe (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds)
Keefe guided the Greyhounds to a 54-12-0-2 which at the time set a franchise record with 110 points in just his third OHL season behind the bench. The club’s .809 winning percentage and 342 goals scored were both top marks across the CHL. Following the season Keefe was hired by the AHL’s Toronto Marlies winning a Calder Cup in 2018 before his promotion to the Maple Leafs head coach position midway through the 2019-20 campaign.
2013-14: Eric Veilleux (Baie-Comeau Drakkar)
Veilleux led the Drakkar to a first place finish in the QMJHL standings in just his second season behind the team’s bench with 99 points and 47 wins. His tenure in Baie-Comeau was preceded by seven seasons in Shawinigan where he led the Cataractes to a 2012 Memorial Cup title. He spent the following four seasons in various AHL and ECHL positions before returning the QMJHL to coach the Halifax Mooseheads in 2018-19. This year Veilleux was an assistant coach with Bouchard in Syracuse.
2012-13: Dominique Ducharme (Halifax Mooseheads)
Ducharme led the Mooseheads to a CHL-best 58-win season finishing 2012-13 with 120 points which ranks second in all-time QMJHL history. The team would capture their first QMJHL title and Memorial Cup championship with Ducharme at the helm. He spent three more seasons in Halifax before joining the Drummondville Voltigeurs for two years while also winning gold as Canada’s National Junior Team head coach in 2018. He’s now two seasons into a pro career as an assistant with the Montreal Canadiens.
2011-12: Jim Hiller (Tri-City Americans)
Hiller helped the Americans win their fourth U.S. Division title in five years with a 50-18-2-2 record for 104 points. Among the team’s highlights was a differential of 91 goals for over the league’s top ranked defense. Hiller spent two more seasons in the WHL before NHL pursuits that have taken him to assistant roles in Detroit, then four seasons with Mike Babcock in Toronto, and this season with the New York Islanders.
2010-11: Gerard Gallant (Saint John Sea Dogs)
Gallant became just the second coach to win the award in back-to-back seasons following Bob Boughner who won the award in 2008 and 2009 with the Windsor Spitfires. The Sea Dogs finished first in the QMJHL standings with 58 wins and 119 points and would capture their first QMJHL title and Memorial Cup championship. He would win one more championship in Saint John before joining the Canadiens as an assistant for two years, followed by a head coaching role with the Florida Panthers for parts of three seasons, and the Vegas Golden Knights for parts of the last three.
2009-10: Gerard Gallant (Saint John Sea Dogs)
Gallant made his QMJHL debut by leading the Sea Dogs to their first QMJHL regular season title with a 53-12-1-2 record for 109 points. The Summerside, PEI, native was also named the NHL’s Coach of the Year in 2017-18.