It came as a shock on Tuesday morning when the Lions de Trois-Rivières announced that general manager and head coach Pascal Rhéaume had left the Lions to pursue a thus-far unnamed opportunity in the AHL. Rhéaume had occupied the double role since the end of June, replacing Marc-André Bergeron, and previously held the role of assistant coach.
Taking over the dual role is Ron Choules, who joined the organization in mid-July as assistant coach. Eyes On The Prize spoke with Choules on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the realities of the ECHL, the Lions roster for 2023-24, the affiliation with the Montreal Canadiens, and the road that lies ahead.
“First of all, congratulations to Pascal,” Choules said to start the interview. “I’m so happy for him. A great guy. We really clicked well, so I thought he was calling me to look at our power-play video because I’m running the power play. I was all excited, but now I have no one to show the power play to but myself right now.”
About a week ago, Rhéaume called Choules to let him know of the potential situation. It’s a topic they had talked about in the past, seeing what Choules long-term plans might be, but Choules certainly did not expect things to happen as fast as they did.
“I’ve been around so long that I know that until it’s signed, it’s not done. I’ve had things fall apart at the last second, too.”
Choules met again with Rhéaume on Monday, this time in person. “It was totally unexpected. He started talking about if I’d be interested down the road. I’ve been around for a while. ‘So when are you going?’ I asked. He says, ‘Well I’m going to the A. Do you want the job?’ I almost fell over.”
The rapid succession of changes in the organization raised a lot questions as to what is happening, and whether this continued instability can be sustainable. However the departure of Rhéaume feels completely different than that of Eric Bélanger and of Bergeron. “When an AHL team comes knocking for a member of our organization, it indicates that we did a good job in recruiting him,” said team owner Dean MacDonald as part of the team’s press release.
The ECHL is a proving ground, and if the cream doesn’t rise, then there is an issue. The Lions have seen some players graduate – Pierrick Dubé and Arturs Silovs for instance – or earn European deals following a strong season. But this applies to hockey operations staff as well. They have seen their equipment manager, Jean Huynh, promoted to the Laval Rocket.
The mark of a healthy organization in such an environment of high turnover as the ECHL is its ability to have an operational backfill ready, and Rhéaume’s departure is not an organizational failure, but a success. It was met with a lot of positivity, and was followed with a concrete succession plan. After all, the Lions’ slogan “Forgé au Québec” (forged in Quebec) evokes their mission statement of pride in strong development, which infers successful turnover.
The roster that has been put together for the 2023-24 season was mainly the product of Rhéaume’s determined work to turn around the franchise along with Alex Cousineau. Cousineau is a young rising star in the organization, quickly accumulating responsibilities from goaltending and video coach to director of hockey operations to now taking on the role of Assistant General Manager of Hockey Operations (and also those coaching roles).
“This team has Pascal’s fingerprints are all over it, with Alex as well. They did a heck of a job, which makes my job easier. And it’s funny: today I’m here, I am the GM and I have nothing to do. That’s because it’s like everything has been done. I just walked into it and we had maybe one more guy to sign. So it’s like, ‘hey, we’ll see how it goes.'”
Joining the coaching staff is former player Mathieu Brodeur who retired last season after a 13-year pro career for family reasons. His return to the organization behind the bench was planned already for this season prior to Choules’s nomination, but it was to be in a temporary capacity to gradually bring him in. Now he benefits the most from this opportunity and will be behind the bench for home and away games.
“He’s a link between the coaching staff and the room and he knows all the rules of the league, so he’ll be a lot of help. I think it’s just natural progression for him. I followed Mathieu since I’ve been in midget. I used to scout and he was one of my players on my list back in the day, and I ended up following his entire career. So when he’s in the American League, when he’s in Fort Wayne, and last year, when he decided to retire, I was watching the game. It was pretty emotional for everybody.
“I had a good talk with him, too. I told him if you need any help, don’t be overwhelmed, you know? We’ve all been through it. It’s not that intimidating. You know what you’re doing. Any questions, I’m here to help you. And I stress to him, looking him right in the eyes, I said it’s family first. If you need anything any time, don’t be shy.”
One of the constants in all the social media videos that the players have been issuing after signing is saying how they’re looking forward to playing for Pascal. Naturally, Choules will have to bridge the gap in order to get these players on board after the sudden change.
“They’ve known Pascal for a few years. Pascal is a great guy. I mean, I wanted to work for him. I get a head job and I still wish I could work for him, you know? So I think it’s going to be a feeling-out process. I’ll have to earn the players’ trust, and create a partnership with them. Over the next few days, I’ll be reaching out to them. The new term now is ‘a player’s coach.’ I feel that I’ve been a player’s coach for 15 to 20 years now. I always have players have an opinion on what they think, because when I played we weren’t allowed to have one. I think it’s important to have the guys involved, to have the leadership group involved.
“The end goal is what’s best for the Lions. I’m sure that they’re a bit surprised that Pascal left, but now it’s like a new step for them. It’s a whole new set of eyes and the counter starts back at zero. Go out there and impress us and then let’s see how we do.”
Choules is familiar with some of the players already, having been asked his thoughts on some of the recent signings by Pascal, but he generally has a good idea of what the roster will be, and what kind of team he would expect.
“I think we would be a a good skating team. It looks like we have a lot of offensive players. I’m the kind of coach who wants to play fast. Good second effort in all three zones and heavy and smart. So if we if we could do that and bring the entertainment package to the rink, I think we’ll have some success.”
As to whether anyone from the Canadiens organization reached out to him today, he mentioned that Laval Rocket head coach Jean-Francois Houle contacted him
“J.-F. texted me today. Great guy. I’ve known him for years. We’ll have a little talk this weekend, so we’ll see what’s going on there and then we’re looking forward to working with him. And I know Martin Lapierre very well, as well. So just from that it’s a good situation.”
Choules and the Lions’ coaching staff will be present at the Canadiens’ prospect tournament in Buffalo that begins on September 15, and also will be present at the Rocket training camp. Choules avoided mentioning a hard number of players the Lions should expect from the Rocket because he didn’t want to open any players to scrutiny, but there was a discussion around whether there is a risk of a two-headed locker room, where you have some players sent from the AHL to work on parts of their game and the ECHL guys who might be getting fewer opportunities because the other guys need to be developed. How will he manage that sort of situation?
“Well, that’s a great question because I asked Pascal and he’s like, ‘Well we will work with J.-F. on this.’ If a player on a two-way deal comes down to me, can we scratch this guy too if he’s not performing? That’s the stuff I have to work on with J.-F.. I’ll find out what the situation is for certain players, who’s coming down and whatnot. You just adapt; you adapt on the fly and that’s the beauty of the league. Like nothing’s ever the same, right? So you just have to keep going forward.”
Choules certainly was in good spirits, and who can blame him? He’s been pursuing an opportunity, and it has finally opened up. If he can bring the same positive energy and determination to the team, then the Lions are in good hands.
“I’ve been trying to get a job in pro for so many years and I’ve been kicked aside, but it builds character. So when it finally happens you’re pretty happy. I’m happy for Pascal. I mean, really happy for Pascal, because I know the grind and what it is.
“We’re very fortunate to do what we’re doing. A bad day at the rink is a good day everywhere else. I think it’s important that we stress that to the players as well.”
