UPDATE: Bob Hartley hired as the new head coach of the Calgary Flames on May 31 by GM Jay Feaster for whom he also worked in Hershey. Whether or not he brings Veilleux along with him is yet to be determined.
The news that Bob Hartley may soon be named coach of the Montreal Canadiens should not come as that much of a surprise. I've heard for weeks that the colorful former Colorado and Atlanta bench boss has been lobbying quietly for the job. And if he does get the high profile post, don't be surprised if one of his former players, the feisty Éric Veilleux, who just coached the QMJHL Shawinigan Cataractes to a surprise Memorial Cup title over the OHL London Knights with a 2-1 OT win in the championship game, soon follows him as an assistant coach.
A former goalie, winner of the President's (QMJHL), Calder (AHL), and Stanley Cups as a coach, and a friend of mine from his days coaching the Hershey Bears in the late 1990s, I can say without reservation that Bob Hartley would certainly shake things up in Montreal. Although "Uncle Bob" spent the last season coaching the Zurich Lions to the Swiss league title, a club with which he still has a year left on his contract, you can be sure that this would not stand in the way of his return to the NHL with the Habs. Veilleux has spent his entire seven year major junior coaching career (2005-12) with the Cataractes and with his Memorial Cup win would appear ready to move on the pros as well.
Eric Veilleux and Bob Hartley
Hartley and Veilleux go back to the 1990s when Hartley coached him with the QMJHL Laval Titan (for which Veilleux was the leading scorer for the league champion Titan in 1992-93), as well as three seasons (1993-96) with the AHL Cornwall Aces and two more (1996-98) with the Hershey Bears with which they won the AHL's Calder Cup in 1997. All told they were together for seven consecutive years as player and coach with three teams during this stretch (1991-98).
After the fully bilingual Hartley won the Swiss League title this year, Veilleux brought him in to offer counsel to the Cataractes during their month-long layoff after being eliminated in the second round of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoffs. (The Cataractes were automatically in the in the Memorial Cup this year because they were the host team.) Hartley also served as Veilleux’s “eye in the sky” during the tournament. Thus if Hartley gets the Habs' job it would certainly not be surprising if Veilleux were to follow him to Montreal as an assistant coach with Larry Carriere returning to his full time duties as Assistant GM.
I personally remember 5'7" Veilleux vividly during his two years with Hartley in Hershey (1996-98) when that club had an especially intense rivalry with the Bill Barber's Philadelphia Phantoms. The two teams combined for a total of 1,199 penalty minutes against each other in one twelve-game season series for an incredible average of 100 minutes per game. Vellieux often led the way as the perfect "Hartlian" pest drawing many of those penalties, and as a virtual clone of former Flyer Ken "The Rat" Linseman he started many a line brawl as well. In that rôle the diminutive Hershey centerman quickly earned the admiring sotto voce sobriquet around the league ... but especially in Philadelphia ... of
"that little prick #55".
A Hartley/Veilleux coaching duo in Montreal would certainly give the Habs one of the most -- if not THE most -- colorful and quotable coaching staff in the NHL. And after years of taciturn managers and coaches, the Montreal media will love it!!
I don't read French, but still I can hardly wait!
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