BONNYVILLE - In a shocking move, the Bonnyville Pontiacs’ head coach, Mario Pouliot, has left Bonnyville to coach professionally in Switzerland for HC Sierre, as of Jan. 10.
“From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank all the board members, Pontiacs staff, and all the players I had the chance to meet and work with,” said Mario Pouliot, when the announcement was made.
“The first time I put my foot in the door I was given a warm welcome by everyone. I will miss all the front office staff, my coaching staff, players, and C2 staff as well. The RJ Arena was home away from home,” he said.
“It was a big surprise for us,” admitted the associate general manager of the Pontiacs, Neil Langridge. According to Langridge, the team was aware Pouliot was eventually planning on heading to Europe for coaching opportunities.
“I've known Mario before, when I was playing as a player, he was the coach in my area of the major AAA team,” said assistant coach Darick Ste-Marie, who is originally from Quebec. “Mario's got a really good work ethic. He pays attention to details. I learned a lot from him about how he does things and the way he sees the game too. So, I will keep a lot from him for sure.”
Pouliot’s daughter lives in Switzerland as well as his son-in-law, which leaves an opportunity for the coach to be closer to family.
“He's definitely a player's coach. He leaves a legacy of winning, but also treating the players the right way,” said Langridge.
Last year, Pouliot brought the Pontiacs to the third round of Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) playoffs for only the second time in 32 years. He is a two-time Memorial Cup champion and leaves Bonnyville with a coaching record of 56-38-6 in the AJHL.
Many of the players were very disappointed to see him leave.
“The first game on Friday, there was a lot of emotions, you could see frustration on the ice,” said Langridge, referring to the Pontiac’s 6-3 loss to Okotoks on Jan. 12.
As for when Pouliot will be replaced, Langridge says the team is waiting to see how things play out with less than 20 games remaining in the regular season, but that a decision would likely be made sometime soon.
For now, Ste-Marie and fellow assistant coach Ryan Blocha have assumed coaching responsibilities.
