67’s Tourigny named coach of the year
67’s coach earned Brian Kilrea Award by keeping team among CHL’s very best
Two of the three finalists for the CHL’s Brian Kilrea Coach of the Year Award were former assistants with the Ottawa Senators.
The winner sure appears to be cutting himself a path back to the NHL.
“(NHL teams) are always looking for guys that can communicate with the players, and that’s the difference,” Kilrea himself said Monday when told 67’s bench boss Andre Tourigny had been recognized as the top junior coach in the country. “Right now he’s done a great job of doing that. That’s what it is. It’s getting along with the players.
“The ones in the National league that get along the best get the most out of their players. So they’ll be looking. I’m sure he’s drawn some attention. That’s two years in a row that (the 67’s) have excelled.”
Tourigny was given the nod for the award over Brad Lauer, the coach of the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings (42-12-6-4), and Stephane Julien, coach of the QMJHL’s Sherbrooke Phoenix (51-8-3-1).
Lauer was an NHL assistant for seven seasons, including two with the Senators (2009-11) under head coach Cory Clouston.
Tourigny, 46, spent 10 seasons pacing the plank of the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies, with whom he won the QMJHL coach of the year award in 2005-06, before becoming Patrick Roy’s assistant with the Colorado Avalanche for two years and Dave Cameron’s right-hand man with the Senators in 2015-16.
He returned to junior with the Halifax Mooseheads the next season, then came back to Ottawa to guide the 67’s in 2017-18.
Last year, he led the 67’s to a franchise-record number of wins (50-12-0-6) before the team lost to Guelph in the OHL final.
This season, the 67’s came back with a vengeance. They had a 50-11-0-1 mark — including a franchise record 17-game winning streak from Nov. 16 to Jan. 10 — before the coronavirus halted the season, six games from the end of the schedule.
The 67’s also led the CHL with 296 goals scored and just 164 goals allowed, fewest in the OHL.
“Andre has been the driving force behind the continuous improvement of our hockey club with his nurturing style, relentless attention to detail and ability to marshal players and staff throughout the season,” said 67’s GM James Boyd.
Tourigny’s career marks in junior hockey are impressive.
While only 21 CHL coaches have won 500 games and coached 1,000 games, he is poised to join both groups, currently sitting with 496 victories in 961 career games.
“It’s a tremendous honour for me and my staff to get coach of the year in the CHL,” Tourigny said in a news release. “In the CHL you have 60 head coaches and staff who work really hard during the season, so to be recognized by the CHL with coach of the year, me and my coaching staff are really blessed and honoured.
“Our ownership and our management give us all the tools to make that happen, and I want to also thank our players for all of their support and hard work during the season to make it happen.”
Tourigny also picked up a gold medal as an assistant coach with Team Canada at the world junior championship last January, and he’ll take over as the head coach of the national team for next year’s global tournament.
Really, outside of winning the Memorial Cup there’s not a lot left for him to accomplish at this level — and the 67’s had as good a chance of doing that this season as anyone.
“When they lost that series to Guelph, I think they sort of used that as ‘we’ll get there this year’ attitude,” Kilrea said. “They all believed they could do it. They all felt that way, and that comes from the coach.
“I know Andre gives a lot of credit to his assistants, but they all work hard, they’re forever going over little details, video and everything.
“They were well prepared, and that’s the difference.”
Tournigny is just the second 67’s coach to win the CHL coach of the year award, which was first presented in 1987-88 to Alain Vigneault of the Hull Olympiques and then handed to Kilrea in 1996-97.
The award was renamed in Kilrea’s honour in 2003, after he won his 1,000th game behind the 67’s bench. dbrennan@postmedia.com
(NHL teams) are always looking for guys that can communicate with the players ... he’s done a great job of doing that. It’s getting along with the players.