Martin Dagenais walked the difficult road with OJS, 67’s, before reaching Rouyn-Noranda

Martin Dagenais has never shied away from a challenge.

Recently, Dagenais, known as Marty around the locker room, was hired by the QMJHL’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, being named the 11th Head Coach in team history.

Bittersweet is the best descriptor. Dagenais has spent the past two seasons as the 67’s Assistant Coach, helping the blossoming defence corps, and pitching in wherever else Dave Cameron needed a hand. He built relationships with all of the players and staff, and his presence was always a positive one, but it’s yet another success story that the walls inside The Arena at TD Place have seen.

His journey to major-junior hockey was unlikely in and of itself. He never played the game professionally, meaning he did it the hard way. He coached minor hockey, before a winding road found him at the doorstep of the Ottawa Jr. Senators. It was there he found his start, becoming the team’s Head Coach in 2014, where he would remain until being hired by the Barber Poles in 2021.

“The only way to move up is to do things the right way, and hope someone notices your success,” Dagenais said. “I had a great relationship with James Boyd after players like Ranvir Gill-Shane and Alec Belanger played with OJS, which helped me get the job. This can be a Toronto-based league, and I was fortunate there was a team close to me who gave me a shot.”

Dagenais hadn’t yet had a cup of coffee in the CCHL before learning what it took to build a championship culture. Through the years of Pembroke Lumber Kings and Carleton Place Canadians, he found himself learning from the best, and before long, he cracked the code, building the Jr. Senators to where they are today – champions in four consecutive seasons.

“It starts with hard work, and surrounding yourself with good people who push you,” Dagenais said. “When I started, Sheldon Keefe was in Pembroke and they had won five in a row, and then Carleton Place took over, and we knew we needed to match that.”

As the Head Coach at OJS, Dagenais had won the Bogart Cup in back-to-back seasons before the pandemic hit. He didn’t know it at the time, but his life was about to change, but not because of COVID-19

When André Tourigny and Mario Duhamel left the 67’s organization for the NHL’s Arizona Coyotes, Boyd was left picking up the pieces, making the call to Cameron, a close contact after their time in Mississauga together. The 67’s General Manager looked to Dagenais to fill the Assistant Coach role, completing the staff with an Ottawa flavour.

He joined the club unsure of exactly what to expect, but quickly, learned that the CCHL and OHL are very different places. Suddenly, he was working full time, handling his duties with the 67’s, while also chipping in with OJS, where he still had part ownership.

“It doesn’t matter what you’re looking at, there’s a meeting every morning where you’re going through clips, or sometimes, it’s even just talking about life,” Dagenais said. “It’s a full-time job in major junior hockey, the schedule is crazy busy.”

With the 67’s, Dagenais got his first taste of what coaching at the next level is like, thanks in large to Cameron. With time in the NHL and other professional leagues around the world, Cameron shared all of the knowledge he could with Dagenais, who took hold of everything like a sponge, and set himself up for the best possible development.

“Coaching with Dave was eye-opening,” Dagenais said. “I realized there is so much more I can learn as a coach. There’s not one person that can tell me Dave isn’t one of the top coaches in the CHL. His attention to detail is unreal, and that’s my biggest takeaway. He sees everything.”

Two years of seasoning was all it took for Dagenais to get noticed around the CHL. After the Huskies underwent a reorganization of the front office, they set their sights on the young coach, and made their move.

With the relationships Dagenais built in Ottawa, saying goodbye was a challenge.

“Making the move wasn’t an easy decision,” Dagenais revealed. “You always want to move up in the hockey world, and I knew the timing and the fit were great, but I still feel like there’s unfinished business in Ottawa. The choice was difficult, and I will miss the staff and the players.”

Soon, his eyes will be completely forward, where he’s inheriting a group with plenty of potential.

“They look much like we did this year in Ottawa,” Dagenais said excitedly. “It’s a young team with a lot of depth, and if we play the right way, we’ll win a lot of hockey games. I like that, they have built this team the way I liked to build my teams with OJS. It’s the perfect team for me to start with.”

He won’t have the chance to coach against the Barber Poles during the regular season, but hopes the stars align and the two clubs meet one another at the Memorial Cup in Saginaw, next season.