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Jean-François Houle is headed back to Clarkson University.
In a surprise announcement Friday, Laval Rocket general manager John Sedgwick said the AHL team and its head coach had come to a mutual agreement in order to allow Houle to become head coach at Clarkson. What made the announcement surprising is that Houle signed a three-year contract extension with the Rocket on May 29. The Rocket also extended the contracts of assistant coach Martin Laperrière, goaltending coach Marco Marciano and video coach Charles Juneau.
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“We’re really excited and we’re very grateful for the opportunity,” Houle said during a video conference on May 29. “There’s a certain culture that we established in the last three years and we’re really happy to have some continuity in that. I think it’s good for the young players to have some continuity behind the bench. We had a young group of young players last year and another one coming in this year with all the draft picks that Montreal has. It’s a nice vote of confidence to be able to keep working with those young players, so very excited.”
The offer from Clarkson was obviously too good for Houle to pass up and Sedgwick, the Rocket and the Canadiens should be commended for not standing in his way. Houle played four years at Clarkson and was later an assistant coach at the university for seven seasons.
In a news release, Clarkson noted that Houle and his wife, Mia, have been returning to Potsdam, N.Y. — where Clarkson is located — over the last year since their son, Noah, is entering his sophomore year at SUNY Potsdam, where he is a member of the lacrosse team. The Houles’ eldest daughter, Emma, recently graduated from UC Santa Cruz and they also have a 7-year-old daughter, Lucy.
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“I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to return and coach at my alma mater,” Houle said in the Clarkson news release. “I am excited about the future of Clarkson hockey and eager to continue the rich history of the program. I am looking forward to becoming a mentor and instilling the Clarkson University values to the next generation of student-athletes. My family and I have forged some deep friendships within the community and we are happy to make Potsdam home again.”
Houle, 49, has spent the last nine seasons coaching in the AHL, including the last three as head coach of the Rocket. The AHL can be a tough league for coaches, with the focus more on development than winning games — especially with the rebuilding Canadiens. There are also long bus rides for road trips during the 72-game regular season.
The Rocket, with a very young roster, failed to make the playoffs this past season, finishing last in the North Division with a 33-31-8 record.
“We would like to thank Jean-François for his contribution to the development of the culture of our organization and our players,” Sedgwick said in a news release. “During his three years at the helm of the team, his dedication and experience allowed the Rocket to be highly competitive, while preparing many players to make the jump to the NHL. We wish him the best of luck for this next chapter of his career.”
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The NCAA offers more job security than the AHL, along with a 35-game ECAC schedule for Clarkson, which finished with an 18-16-1 record this past season.
Houle will replace Casey Jones, who coached for 13 seasons at Clarkson. Jones left Clarkson last week to become associate head coach at Cornell, where he played for four seasons. Jones will replace Mike Schafer as head coach when the latter retires after the 2024-25 season. Schafer will be entering his 30th season at Cornell.
Houle becomes only the 12th head coach in the history of Clarkson hockey.
Candidates to replace Houle in Laval could include Pascal Vincent, who was fired this week as head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, and Guy Boucher, who was fired last week as an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Both have head-coaching experience in the AHL. Vincent was head coach of the Manitoba Moose for five seasons, while Boucher coached the Hamilton Bulldogs for one season when they were the Canadiens’ top farm team before becoming head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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