The QMJHL Final is best on best, but that there’s one match up between the Chicoutimi Sagueneens and the Moncton Wildcats that is going to be very intriguing to watch and that’s the match up behind the bench. Winning is winning and both Yanick Jean and Gardiner MacDougall have done their share of winning, but when it comes to Championships as a coach very few could ever match MacDougall’s resume.
MacDougall claimed his first QMJHL championship in his first year at the helm of the Wildcats a season ago and is looking to join Gerard Gallant and go back to back, a feat that the longtime NHLer and former Jack Adams winner did with the Saint John Sea Dogs in 2010-11 and 2011-2012.
Photo Credit for MacDougall Daniel St Louis
MacDougall and Jean have a lot of similarities when it comes to their approach to certain aspects of the game like being incredibly structured, confident in their abilities and ultra competitors.
Both are emotionally engaged within the game and incredibly vocal. You will no doubt hear both these coaches communicating with their players over the crowd noise and the background music blasting. They’re about as passionate about the game of hockey and coaching as it gets and that’s what makes this coaching match up so unique. Nevertheless, the most intriguing difference between these two monumental bench bosses is the “match up game” or the lack thereof.
Yanick Jean has made a living playing the match up game especially when it comes to “shadow game.” Jean is notorious with his shadow opts and has shutdown countless star players over the years and has frustrated the living hell out of them, but somehow, he hasn’t been able to capture a championship as a coach over his time in the QMJHL.
With the Sags depth of talent and their ability to push the pace this year, it’s highly unlikely that we will see Jean shadow one or multiple Cats, but you never know what he might have up his sleeve. You can bet your arse that Jean will live and die by his matchups in this series.
On the other hand, Gardiner MacDougall doesn’t appear to play or put too much emphasis on the matchup game, he just continues to trust his guys, mostly his top guys and he’s more than willing to through them out there nonstop. Of course, he will spot them occasionally for offensive zone face offs or during key situations, and his lines are always in a blender, so there’s definitely an element of matching depending on your definition or perspective of it, but when it comes to Yanick Jean you could almost set your watch to his match up game.
There’s not a lot of deviation when it comes to a Gardiner MacDougall game plan and there’s not a lot of in game adjustments to be made and that’s one area where this series could be even more compelling. Which coach will adjust first? What will they adjust and how will that impact their team’s chances to win?
The game within the game is always intriguing, but this coaching match up has the making of an instant classic especially with so much at stake. It’s clear that this series like any series might come down to coaching. It’s really not fair to compare resumes amongst this duo when it comes to championships because we all know MacDougall is way ahead of many when it comes to that.
Will Yanick Jean win his first Q title as a coach?
Will Gardiner MacDougall go back to back?
The Quick Shift 