QMJHL announces finalists for Ron-Lapointe Trophy
The QMJHL continues its virtual presentation of the Golden Pucks with the finalists for the Ron-Lapointe Trophy, awarded to the Head Coach of the Year.
The finalists are:
Gilles Bouchard, Sherbrooke Phoenix
After five seasons in the AHL as assistant coach of the Syracuse Crunch, he led the young Sherbrooke Phoenix squad to fourth place in the Western Conference (and home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs) with a record of 32-30-1-5 for 70 points. All of this despite using 11 rookies for a minimum of 30 games each.
Jean-François Grégoire, Baie-Comeau Drakkar
In his fourth season behind the Baie-Comeau bench, Grégoire led the Drakkar to team records of 53 wins and 109 points, the 11th highest total in QMJHL history. His squad finished first in the league in defense (163 goals against), third on offence (290 goals) and on the penalty kill (81.2%), and fourth on the power play (25.7%). We knew the Drakkar had a good lineup, but we didn’t expect such a dominant season.
Sylvain Favreau, Drummondville Voltigeurs
After two seasons at the helm in Halifax and an appearance in the 2023 Gilles-Courteau Trophy Final, Favreau continued his winning ways in Drummondville, leading the Voltigeurs to the Western Conference championship with a record of 48-14-5-1 for 102 points, the fourth highest total in their history. Drummondville was solid on all fronts: first in offence (306 goals), second in defense (183 goals against) and on the power-play (26.6%), and third in shorthanded play (81.2%).
