Joël Bouchard (born January 23, 1974) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

. He played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

with eight teams for parts of 11 seasons. He was most recently the head coach of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

San Diego Gulls The San Diego Gulls are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL) that began play in the 2015–16 season. Based in San Diego, California, and affiliated with the National Hockey League's Anaheim Ducks, the Gulls play th ...

, the minor league affiliate of the Anaheim Ducks.

Playing career

As a youth, Bouchard played in the 1988

Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament (french: Tournoi international de hockey pee-wee de Québec) is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, ...

with a

minor ice hockey Minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body contact, vary from c ...

team from

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

. Bouchard was drafted by the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

in the sixth round of the

1992 NHL Entry Draft The 1992 NHL Entry Draft was the 30th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 20 at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. A total of 264 players were drafted. The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Sergei Gonchar, who ret ...

with the 129th overall pick. He played for the Flames,

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...

, Phoenix Coyotes, New Jersey Devils,

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

, New York Islanders, and the AHL's

Hamilton Bulldogs The Hamilton Bulldogs are a major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League that began to play in the 2015–16 season. Based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, the Bulldogs play their home games at FirstOntario Centre. They were purcha ...

Coaching career

After his playing career ended in 2008, Bouchard worked as an analyst for

Réseau des sports Réseau des sports (RDS), is a Canadian French language specialty channel oriented towards sports and sport-related shows. It is available in 2.5 million homes, and is owned by CTV Specialty Television Inc. ( Bell Media 80% and ESPN 20%). Its ful ...

(RDS). He also produced and hosted his own show called "L'Académie de hockey McDonald." He became the head coach of the

QMJHL The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The le ...

Blainville-Boisbriand Armada The Blainville-Boisbriand Armada is a junior ice hockey team of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The team is based in Boisbriand, Quebec, Canada, and plays its home games at the Centre d'Excellence Sports Rousseau. History The Armada sta ...

in 2014, leading the club to two league championship finals in 2017 and 2018. Bouchard was hired in May 2018 as the head coach of the

Laval Rocket The Laval Rocket (french: Rocket de Laval) are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL) as an affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL)'s Montreal Canadiens. Based in Laval, Quebec, Canada, the Rocket play th ...

, the AHL affiliate of the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

. In 2021, he left the Rocket at the end of his contract. He posted a 83–67–24 record over three seasons. On July 9, 2021, the Anaheim Ducks hired Bouchard to coach their AHL affiliate, the

. After only one season as the head coach of the team, Bouchard was relieved from his duties.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Transactions

*June 26, 1998 - Claimed off waivers by the

from the

. *March 14, 2000 - Claimed off waivers by the

from the Nashville Predators. *August 31, 2000 - Signed as a free agent with the Phoenix Coyotes. *October 25, 2001 - Signed as a free agent with the New Jersey Devils *August 5, 2002 - Signed as a free agent with the

. *February 10, 2003 - Traded by the New York Rangers, along with

Richard Lintner Richard Lintner (born November 15, 1977) is a Slovak former professional ice hockey defenceman who last played for HC Dinamo Minsk of the Kontinental Hockey League and current television presenter. He previously played in the National Hockey Lea ...

Rico Fata Rico Fata (born February 12, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played for the Calgary Flames, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Atlanta Thrashers and Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL). Playin ...

Mikael Samuelsson Karl Mikael Samuelsson (born 23 December 1976) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey right winger. Samuelsson began his career in Sweden, starting with small town team IFK Mariefred, followed by Södertälje SK as a junior in 1994. He we ...

and future considerations to the

in exchange for

Alexei Kovalev Alexei Vyacheslavovich Kovalev ( rus, Алексей Вячеславович Ковалёв, , ɐlʲɪkˈsʲej vʲɪtɕɪˈslavəvʲɪtɕ kəvɐˈlʲɵf; born February 24, 1973) is a Russian professional ice hockey coach, executive and former pr ...

, Mike Wilson, Janne Laukkanen and Dan LaCouture. *July 14, 2003 - Signed as a free agent with the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

. *October 3, 2003 - Claimed off waivers by the New York Rangers from the Buffalo Sabres. *August 18, 2005 - Signed as a free agent with the New York Islanders. *October 23, 2007 - Signed a minor league contract with

, AHL affiliate of

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bouchard, Joel 1974 births Living people Albany River Rats players Blainville-Boisbriand Armada coaches Bridgeport Sound Tigers players Calgary Flames draft picks Calgary Flames players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Dallas Stars players Grand Rapids Griffins (IHL) players Hamilton Bulldogs (AHL) players Hartford Wolf Pack players Ice hockey people from Montreal Longueuil Collège Français (QMJHL) players Nashville Predators players New Jersey Devils players New York Rangers players Phoenix Coyotes players Pittsburgh Penguins players Saint John Flames players Verdun Collège Français players Canadian ice hockey coaches