Pascal Vincent Era

[jamesnorris]

At the time, I didn't know much about Pascal Vincent. All I knew was there were people calling for his head on a daily basis and that head was bald. It was somewhat understandable at the time because he had some pretty powerful teams and wasn't able to make the deep run everyone wanted but post-Vincent, it seems like CB realized the grass wasn't greener on the other side.

The first two years post-Vincent weren't too bad but those teams also had Vincent's finger prints all over them. In his final draft with CB he picked up star goalie Olivier Roy and hulking stay-at-home d-man Mathieu Brodeur.

In the third year under Mario, when the team was becoming his own, it became an utter train wreck. That classic bid for the Memorial Cup, the roster simply stunk, and their cupboard was empty. Remember Alex Veronneau as the goalie of the future?

Then we get to the hilarious Choules/Rioux era. People thought Vincent was bad... and then Mario? Little did we know! A GM that worked from Quebec and a coach that couldn't keep players on his team, they took over a train wreck and somehow made it worse. I'm pretty sure 1 name can be used to describe this era, Adam Veliky.

Now there's M-A Dumont. He's made some very bold and intelligent moves since taking over the club. From drafting a player #1 overall knowing that he wouldn't report just to get the compensation picks, convincing Cam Darcy to try his hand in the Q while also drafting 2 Russian childhood friends, and then recently passing on a local kid #5 overall. He stacked the cupboard with QMJHL players and manages his assets brilliantly.

I didn't think I'd ever see a day where CB would potentially have 3 1st round picks in the upcoming Q draft, 2 Russians on the roster (1 of which is a top prospect for 2015), and still be considered one of the contending teams in the league.

This is the first time I've seen a buzz in CB over the hockey team since Vincent had his finger prints on the roster. So we're now seeing the good again, in Mario we saw the bad, and in Choules/Rioux we saw the horribly ugly.

It leaves me wondering how people reflect on the Vincent-era.







For those too lazy to look stuff up, year/record/division ranking:
1997–98 - 19-46-5 - 6th
1998-99 - 22-44-4 - 6th
1999-00 - 24-39-9 - 3rd
2000-01 - 30-37-5 - 2nd
2001-02 - 38-20-14 - 3rd
2002-03 - 21-37-14 - 4th
2003-04 - 49-16-5 - 1st
2004-05 - 32-27-11 - 3rd
2005-06 - 40-23-7 - 3rd
2006-07 - 46-22-2 - 2nd
2007-08 - 40-24-6 - 4th
2008-09 - 46-18-4 - 2nd
2009-10 - 41-22-5 - 3rd
2010-11 - 18-45-5 - 5th
2011-12 - 23-42-3 - 5th
2012-13 - 14-46-8 - 6th
2013-14 - 37-27-4 - 2nd

bold/italic = Vincent as Head Coach
bold = Vincent as GM/Head Coach

Also the CB Draft history :
www.eliteprospects.com/draft_by_team_other.php?type=QMJHL%20Entry%20Draft&TeamID=893

[Citris]

I've always respected Pascal. The Capers were consistently good for years. The collapse after his departure is just an indicator of what an asset he really was. Smart, smart hockey mind.

[MJNICK44]

Great job jamesnorris. This is a great thread. With Pascal we were always a top notch team where players wanted to play. We never had many refuse to report like we have the past few years. (Choules/Rioux era)
It was always entertaining to watch Vincent teams. They were a good bunch that worked hard pretty well every shift. I like what Coach/GM Dumont has done for the most part. He seems to be another brilliant hockey mind. Manages assets extremely well. This season is looking bright. Thanks for the info above. It was nice to remember the good old days!

[eaglefan62]

Great thread, comments are bang on. I would go back a bit furhter than the Rioux/Choules era, I believe the root of our problems started with the Paul MacDonald/Mario Durocher era. It began with the cloud of accusations when Vincent left when MacDonald was present, then onto the Memorial Cup bid to the poor trades. Ithink we have turned the corner now after three horrible seasons and things are looking brighter. We have some good hockey players now, some depth, and a boatload of draft picks for next year. If Dumont manages his assetts properly, looks like the next 2-3 years should be exciting.

[looneytunes]

Norris

That was a great post. You hit the nail on the head.

It seemed like Vincent could never pull the roster and or team together enough to win it all during their runs and that is why people loved to shit all over him.

It really was not until the fans realized how horrible things went when Vincent and his scouts left just how good of a GM he was. Under Durocher ( poor asset management , failure to see the season would not work out in 09 that killed the team for years , his scouts were not having much luck ) . He was an okay coach though but his constant line juggling in 08-09 really bugged me.

Of course we could blame Paul MacDonald all we want , and in part I do. Whether Durocher was fanned on to go for it or whether he was left to do whatever still puts the blame on Macdonald. Thankfully he is gone too. I do not think he understood the way the divisions worked or was just way too confident in that roster.

I think it was also a rumour that Vincent recommended that we draft Ellis. Or possibly he was still with the team then? My memory is a little cloudy there.

The two teams that I really remember are the 04 team that had the skill but lacked the identity and as it seemed chemistry to make it far in the playoffs. Plenty of skill though. Disappointing.

The other was the 08 team. That team was just a joy to watch. Never any quit. Overachieved big time.

[Davey Boy Smith]

There were times when people wanted Pascal Vincent head for sure - October/ November 2001 being the chief time period for sure. The Eagles started horribly that season and fingers started pointing! Then a brawl filled comeback against Quebec happened in mid-December and that seson changed.

To be honest, other than that, I don't remember a hugs groundswell that wanted Vincent fired. He had his critics for sure. However, I think most people respected him, though he was a harder person to like than Dumont. He came across as a bit cold and arrogant. However, the team was consistently winning during his tenure for sure. The main criticism is that there was a consistent underachieving in the playoffs, at least compared to what his teams did in the regular season.

The most memorable team for me is easily the 2007 team. The right deals were made to make the team contend - to win the whole thing even. Watching the Eagles lose game seven in Val D'Or on TV was possibly the hardest loss I have ever had as a sports fan. To this day, I dont blame anyone - it just didn't go our way.

There is no doubt that the (mis) management of the team after he left made Pascal Vincent look really, really good! However, right now, I am concentrating on the present. we have a lot of young, exciting players plus lots of 2015 draft picks. It is hard not to be excited about where this team is and where it is headed!