LPHF: Trident Quebec official in New York

UTICA, N.Y. — Getting an interview with Pascal Daoust this week in Utica was like trying to stop Marie-Philippe Poulin from scoring a separatist attack. It’s not impossible, but it’s complicated please.

The difficulty of the matter was in no way connected with a lack of will on his part. On the contrary, the general manager of the New York Women’s Professional Hockey League (LPHF) team showed great kindness in all his dealings with the visiting media representatives for the preparatory camp organized by the league. He also encouraged his staff and players to be open to any sign of interest in them.

The problem is that good discussion, by definition, requires little time. And time, you have very little when you’re running an organization that didn’t exist about three months ago and that you expect to be fully operational in a few weeks.

“I’ll eat on Sunday,” Daoust joked to her colleague André-Anne Barbeau when she managed to make fifteen minutes of her dinner hour on Wednesday. On that day, managers and players of the six teams in the new arena had to attend conferences and media meetings compressed into a schedule befitting the Prime Minister’s agenda.

“Right now, he’s probably juggling 15 balls,” Katja Kliment-Hydra told us the other day, speaking of the CEO. I’d probably share five. »

On Friday we told you about the French-speaking sector that New York brought together for the inaugural LPHF project. Daoust did the same at a managerial level, enlisting two old acquaintances from his career in Quebec to help him lay the foundations and create the structure for what the three partners unanimously described as a lifelong project.

Clément-Heydra is a former captain of the McGill University Martlets who first met Daoust when he was part of the coaching staff of the Carabins de l’Université de Montréal. Without knowing her personally, Daoust recognized his rival’s goodness, charisma, and enthusiasm. She was part of the Montreal Force staff and juggling various coaching and consulting jobs when Daoust surprised her with his call.

Officially, she is in charge of team services. She will also be responsible for ensuring operations run smoothly on match days. They ensure that all players’ needs are met – whether we are talking about housing, work permits, expense accounts or salaries. While awaiting future hires, she is also responsible for managing media requests and the team’s community engagement. She will understand that she is tired, but she does not complain about it.

“We’ve been in survival mode for two and a half months, I think! Fires are everywhere and we’re trying to put them out. But it’s really fun. We love hockey and we’re building an organization. I couldn’t ask for better.”

Numbers that speak

The other end of the trident is Christophe Perreault, who serves as the Director of Recruitment and Advanced Statistics. His apparent collusion with Pascal Daoust goes back to the beginnings of the Carabins program in early 2010.

“I was a student at HEC but in my classes, I wasn’t really listening statistics », admits the numbers expert, who is still a statistician and recruiter for the UdeM team.

“There’s a fairly famous picture of me on the show where we see me in front of four tablets because I was analyzing a match for the online broadcast while talking to the coach and I go into my device. statistics. »

When Daoust left academia to become general manager of Val-d’Or Foreurs, he asked Perrault to follow him. “We did things a little differently,” Daoust recalls. Advanced stats are the flavor of the day, but at the time they were little used. It’s fun to work with Christophe because he brings a lot of things, but he doesn’t impose anything. I am someone who likes to work with multiple angles of discussion. »

“I’m very aware of the strengths of numbers, I know them by heart, but I also know that there are limits and I respect that very much,” puts Perreault in perspective. The first time I met Howie [Draper, l’entraîneur-chef]I told him: ‘I’ll never tell you how to do an alignment, that’s not my job. But if you want to know who plays well with whom or if you want to know our next opponents well, I’ve got plenty of ‘information’ for you.’

Perrault’s contribution goes beyond simply interpreting and generalizing numerical data. It constantly scans the web looking for an interview, analysis or medical report. The nuggets he finds there could allow him to discover a weakness in the opposing camp or guess an opportunity to seize. Every little detail counts.

“Numbers have value, but hockey is also a sport of emotions. If Pascal wants to know something, he tells me and I look for it.”

A fragile idea of ​​time

Individually, in separate interviews, the three friends marveled at this unique opportunity they had been given: the ability to build a sports organization from absolutely nothing. One of the pivotal moments in the adventure was the draft. Players who wanted to declare themselves eligible had until September 3 to do so. The auction took place 15 days later.

Intense? Imagine running at full speed, but at marathon distance.

“It will definitely take six months to draft,” says Clement Hydra, who came to help her two colleagues less than a week before the big day.

“Our advantage over other clubs is that we have gained draft experience in the QMJHL,” Perreault says. The first step was to define our priorities. What will be in demand in this league? This was the basis. I’m a finance guy: what is supply, what is demand, what do we need more of? »

Clement Hydra had the advantage of working alongside several candidates and leading against many other candidates. I knew them beyond numbers. But the research work that remained to be done was difficult. The trio estimates they have spoken to 125 players on the phone. They invited coaches and agents.

On the ice, we wanted to build through defense. We were looking for an intelligent and consistent woman. But in addition to their athletic skills, the player profile required must align with the club’s five core values: respect, loyalty, family, pursuit of excellence and humility.

“When we arrived in Toronto [quelques jours avant le repêchage]We booked a conference room in the hotel and locked ourselves in it. It was our hideout, explains Clement Hydra. We didn’t get much sleep, but we got there well prepared. »

“Sometimes, I feel like it’s been six or seven months since it happened because the days haven’t ended yet. I have the impression that there was a day that started somewhere in August and it hasn’t ended yet,” says Daoust, the colorful conductor. But for me, “This is the most beautiful project. Building a project is one thing, but building it from scratch is an enormous privilege. And to do it in professional hockey, in New York, is the greatest gift.”

A few kilometers from the finish line, the New York leaders were finally able to see what the team they had imagined and hastily assembled looked like in practice. They liked what they saw, realizing that three preseason games don’t make a season, and that the rat race was far from over.