Dominique Ducharme (ice hockey)

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Dominique Ducharme
Born (1973-03-12) March 12, 1973 (age 48)
Notre-Dame-des-Prairies, Quebec, Canada[1]
NationalityCanadian
OccupationIce hockey coach, player
Coaching career
PositionHead coach
General managerMarc Bergevin
TeamMontreal Canadiens
Years as a coach2002–present
Years as an NHL coach2021–present
Years with current team2018–present
Ice hockey career
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Position Forward
Shot Left
Played for Cornwall Aces
Orques d'Anglet
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 1995–2002

Dominique Ducharme (born March 12, 1973) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career[]

Ducharme had a four-year standout career playing for the University of Vermont's men's ice hockey team. He ranks ninth all-time in points with 149, and seventh all-time in assists with 93 at UVM while playing alongside the likes of future NHLers and Stanley Cup champions Martin St. Louis and Tim Thomas.

After graduation, Ducharme began his professional career with splitting time between the Raleigh IceCaps and Huntington Blizzard of the ECHL along with the Cornwall Aces of the AHL in 1995–96. After that, he embarked on a five-year career in the French leagues, before retiring in 2002.

Coaching career[]

After retiring as a player, Ducharme spent one season as a coach for the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivieres team in 2002–03. In 2004, Ducharme took his first head coaching job, working with his hometown junior team, the Joliette L'Action in the Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League. He stayed there until 2008, when he accepted a position as an assistant coach with the Montreal Junior Hockey Club in the QMJHL, until taking the Halifax job in 2011.

Ducharme's first season with the Mooseheads saw the team finish 6th overall in the QMJHL, and second in the Maritimes Division reaching the semifinals of the President's Cup. In 2012–13, with top NHL Draft prospects like Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin, Ducharme and the Mooseheads went 58–6–3–1, registering 347 goals for and only 176 goals against. In the 2013 President's Cup playoffs, Halifax lost just one game to capture its first QMJHL crown in team history. With automatic entry in to the 2013 Memorial Cup, the Mooseheads defeated the Portland Winterhawks 6–4, to win its first Memorial Cup title, and become the third-straight QMJHL team to win the tournament in as many years. For his efforts, Ducharme was awarded with the Ron Lapointe Trophy as the QMHJL's Coach of the Year.

Following the 2015–16 QMJHL season, Ducharme resigned his position with the Mooseheads and joined Drummondville as both head coach and general manager.[2]

Ducharme has also been involved with Hockey Canada, first assisting on Quebec in the 2011 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, and as an assistant coach for the Canada Under-18 National Team at the 2013 Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament.[3] Ducharme served as the head coach for Canada during the 2017 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, leading the team to a silver medal, and the 2018 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, leading them to gold.[4]

On April 27, 2018, Ducharme was hired as an assistant coach by the Montreal Canadiens, following the firings of J. J. Daigneault and Daniel Lacroix.[5]

On February 24, 2021, Ducharme was promoted to interim head coach by the Canadiens, following the termination of Claude Julien and Kirk Muller.[6]

On June 19, 2021, Ducharme tested positive for COVID-19, placing him in isolation for 14 days; he continued work through phone calls and video calls, talking with the coaching staff and players as they won their semifinal playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights, advancing to the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals.[7]

On July 2, 2021, Ducharme rejoined the team for morning skate ahead of Game 3 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Finals.[8] In the first Stanley Cup Final game at the Bell Centre the Canadiens were defeated by the Tampa Bay Lightning by a score of 6-3.[9] The Canadiens would ultimately lose the series 4 games to 1.[10]

On July 13, 2021, Ducharme was formally named the 31st head coach in Canadiens history, signing a three-year extension with the team.[11]

Career statistics[]

Regular season and playoffs[]

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1991–92 University of Vermont ECAC 31 13 19 32 20 — — — — —
1992–93 University of Vermont ECAC 31 16 22 38 18 — — — — —
1993–94 University of Vermont ECAC 33 12 31 43 26 — — — — —
1994–95 University of Vermont ECAC 35 13 23 36 28 — — — — —
1995–96 Raleigh IceCaps ECHL 6 1 2 3 0 — — — — —
1995–96 Huntington Blizzard ECHL 13 5 3 8 2 — — — — —
1995–96 Cornwall Aces AHL 5 1 1 2 6 — — — — —
1996–97 Toulouse-Blagnac France3 27 56 49 105 46 — — — — —
1997–98 Cergy France3 28 73 68 141 40 — — — — —
1998–99 Cergy France1 28 29 34 62 — — — — — —
1999–00 Orques d’Anglet Ligue Magnus 35 16 22 38 40 — — — — —
2001–02 Orques d'Anglet Ligue Magnus 35 13 22 35 — — — — — —
Career totals 308 248 296 544 226 — — — — —

Head coaching record[]

NHL[]

Team Year Regular season Postseason
G W L OTL Pts Finish W L Win% Result
MTL 2020–21 36 15 16 5 (35) 4th in North 13 6 .684 Lost in Stanley Cup Finals (TB)
Total 36 15 16 5     13 6 .684  

QMJHL[]

Team Year Regular season Post season
G W L T OTL Pts Finish W L Win % Result
HAL 2011–12 68 36 22 — 2 85 2nd in Maritimes 10 7 .588 Semi-finals
HAL 2012–13 68 58 6 — 3 120 1st in Maritimes 19 2 .905 Memorial Cup champions
HAL 2013–14 68 48 18 — 3 97 1st in Maritimes 11 5 .688 Semi-finals
HAL 2014–15 68 32 30 — 4 70 4th in Maritimes 7 7 .500 Quarter-finals
HAL 2015–16 68 21 39 — 7 50 6th in Maritimes — — — Missed playoffs
DRU 2016–17 68 28 34 — 1 62 4th in West 0 4 .000 Round 1
DRU 2017–18 68 44 20 — 4 92 2nd in West 5 5 .500 Quarter-finals
Total* 450 255 158 — 37     52 26 .667  
  • Due to his Team Canada's stints, the total is the games he coached himself, excluding when he was with Team Canada.

Awards and honors[]

Award Year
All-ECAC Hockey Rookie Team 1991–92
Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award (CHL) 2012–13

References[]

  1. ^ Latour, Guy (January 3, 2014). "Une année de rêve pour Dominique Ducharme". Le Journal de Joliette (in French). Retrieved June 10, 2021.
  2. ^ Lipscombe, Kristen (April 26, 2016). "Former Halifax Mooseheads head coach Ducharme takes on double duty in Drummondville". metronews.ca. Archived from the original on July 1, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  3. ^ "Dale Hunter named head coach of Canada's National Men's Summer Under-18 Team; Dominique Ducharme and D.J. Smith to serve as assistant coaches". hockeycanada.ca. June 26, 2013. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  4. ^ "Dominique Ducharme appointed head coach of Canada's 2016-17 National Junior Team". hockeycanada.ca. June 6, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  5. ^ "Dominique Ducharme named assistant coach with the Canadiens". NHL.com. April 27, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  6. ^ "Claude Julien and Kirk Muller relieved of their coaching duties". NHL.com. February 24, 2021. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  7. ^ "Canadiens' Ducharme to isolate for 14 days after positive COVID test". Sportsnet. June 19, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2021.
  8. ^ "Ducharme: 'I'm ready to continue the fight'". NHL. July 12, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  9. ^ "TBL@MTL: Game 3 Recap". NHL. July 2, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  10. ^ "MTL@TBL: Game 5 Recap". NHL. July 7, 2021. Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  11. ^ "Dominique Ducharme appointed 31st head coach in Canadiens history". NHL.com. July 13, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2021.

External links[]

Preceded by
Claude Julien 		Head coach of the Montreal Canadiens

2021–present 		Succeeded by
Incumbent
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