Joël Bouchard

Joël Bouchard
Joël Bouchard
Born	January 23, 1974 (age 52); Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Occupation(s)	Ice hockey player (former), coach
Years active	1994–2008 (player), 2014–present (coach)
Known for	Professional ice hockey player in the NHL; head coach and general manager of Syracuse Crunch (AHL)

Joël Bouchard (born January 23, 1974) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and current coach, serving as the head coach and general manager for the Syracuse Crunch in the American Hockey League (AHL). His playing career in the National Hockey League (NHL) spanned over 11 seasons, during which he represented eight different franchises from 1994 until 2008.

Playing career

Selected 129th overall by the Calgary Flames in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft, Bouchard competed at the NHL level with several teams including the Flames, Nashville Predators, Dallas Stars, Phoenix Coyotes, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and New York Islanders. Additionally, he spent time in the AHL playing for the Hamilton Bulldogs.

Coaching career

Following his retirement as a player in 2008, Bouchard transitioned into broadcasting as an analyst for Réseau des sports (RDS) and also hosted the program "l'Académie de Hockey McDonald." In 2014, he took on the role of head coach for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Blainville-Boisbriand Armada, guiding the team to appearances in two league championship finals in consecutive years, 2017 and 2018.

In May 2018, Bouchard was appointed head coach of the AHL's Laval Rocket, the primary affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens. Over three seasons, he achieved an overall record of 83 wins, 67 losses, and 24 overtime/shootout results before departing once his contract concluded in 2021.

On July 9, 2021, he accepted the position of head coach for the San Diego Gulls, the AHL affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks. After completing one season with the club, Bouchard was dismissed from this role.

Most recently, on June 26, 2023, he was named head coach of the Syracuse Crunch, which serves as the AHL affiliate for the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Regular season and playoffs

1998–99 NHL season Nashville Predators NHL 64 4 11 15 60 — — — — — 1999–2000 NHL season Nashville Predators NHL 52 1 4 5 23 — — — — — 1999–00 Dallas Stars NHL 2 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 2000–01 Grand Rapids Griffins IHL19 3 9 12 8 — — — — — 2000–01 NHL season Phoenix Coyotes NHL | 32| 1| 2| 3| 22| — — — — — 2001-02 AHL season Albany River RatsAHL70| 9| 22| 31| 28| — — — — — 2001–02 NHL season New Jersey DevilsNHL1| 0| 1| 1| 00| — — — — — 2002-03 AHL season Hartford Wolf PackAHL22| 6| 14| 20| 22| — — — — — 2002–03 NHL season New York RangersNHL27| 5| 7| 12| 14| — — — — — 2002–03Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL7| 00| 1| 10| — — — — - 2003–04 NHL season New York RangersNHL28 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 10 | - 2004-05 AHL season Hartford Wolf PackAHL7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 00 | 2 | 20 | - 2005-06 AHL season Bridgeport Sound TigersAHL15 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 10 | - 2005–06 NHL season New York IslandersNHL25 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 23 | - 2006-07 AHL season[Bridgeport Sound Tigers]AHL4 | 00 | 3 | 30 | - 2007-08 AHL season Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL)AHL20 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 18 |

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1990–91	Longueuil College-Francais	QMJHL	53	3	19	22	34	8	1	0	1	11
1991–92	Verdun College-Francais	QMJHL	70	9	37	46	55	19	1	7	8	20
1992–93	Verdun College-Francais	QMJHL	60	10	49	59	126	4	0	2	2	4
1993–94	Verdun College-Francais	QMJHL	60	15	55	70	62	4	1	0	1	6
1993–94	Saint John Flames	AHL	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0
1994–95	Saint John Flames	AHL	77	6	25	31	63	5	1	0	1	4
1994–95 NHL season	Calgary Flames	NHL	2	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
1995-96 AHL season	Saint John Flames	AHL	74	8	25	33	104	16	1	4	5	10
1995–96 NHL season	Calgary Flames	NHL	4	0	0	0	4	—	—	—	—	—
1996–97 NHL season	Calgary Flames	NHL	76	4	5	9	49
1997-98 AHL season	Saint John Flames	AHL	3	2	1	3	6
1997–98 NHL season	Calgary Flames	NHL	44	5	7	12	57
(NHL totals)			364 !22 !53 !75 !264 ! — ! — ! — ! — ! —

International

Year	Team	Event	Outcome	GP	A	Pts	PIM
1993	Canada	WJC	Template:Gold1	7	0	0	0
1994	Canada	WJC	Template:Gold1	7	1	1	10
1997	Canada	WC	Template:Gold1	11	1	1	2
Junior career totals				14	1	1	10
Senior career totals				11	1	1	2

QMJHL

Team	Season	Regular Season						Postseason Performance
Team	Season	G	W	L	OTL	Pts	Standing	Outcome
BLB	2014–15	68	41	18	9	91	1st in West Division	Eliminated in first round (2–4 vs. GAT)
BLB	2015–16	68	26	32	10	62	4th in West Division	Advanced past first round (4–2 vs. VDR) Eliminated in quarter-finals (1–4 vs. ROU)
BLB	2016–17	68	43	19	6	92	2nd in West Division	Won first round (4–0 vs. DRU) Won quarter-finals (4–3 vs. BAT) Won semi-finals (4–1 vs. CHA) Runner-up in President's Cup final (0–4 vs. SJ)
BLB	2017–18	68	50	11	7	107	1st in West Division	Won first round (4–0 vs. VDR) Won quarter-finals (4–1 vs. MON) Won semi-finals (4–3 vs. CHA) Runner-up in President's Cup final (2–4 vs. BAT)
QMJHL totals	2014–18	272	160	80	32	352	2 division titles	33–26 (.559)

AHL

Team	Season	Regular Season						Postseason Performance
Team	Season	G	W	L	OTL	Pts	Standing	Outcome
LAV	2018–19	76	30	34	12	72	7th in North Division	Missed playoffs
LAV	2019–20	62	30	24	8	68	6th in North Division	Playoffs cancelled due to pandemic restrictions
LAV	2020–21	36	23	9	4	50	1st in Canadian Division	Playoffs cancelled due to pandemic restrictions
LAV totals	2018–21	174	83	67	24	190	1 division title	0–0 (.000)
SD	2021–22	68	28	33	7	63	7th in Pacific Division	Eliminated in first round (0–2 vs. ONT)
SD totals	2021–22	68	28	33	7	63	0 division titles	0–2 (.000)
SYR	2023–24	72	39	24	9	87	3rd in North Division	Won division semifinals (3–1 vs. ROC), Lost division finals (0–3 vs. CLE)
SYR totals	2023–24	72	39	24	9	87	0 division titles	3–4 (.428)
AHL totals	2018–24	314	150	124	40	340	1 division title	3–6 (.333)

External links