Benoit Groulx (ice hockey)
Benoit Groulx (born January 30, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He is currently the head coach of the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL and formerly the head coach and general manager for the Gatineau Olympiques of the QMJHL.[1]
| Benoit Groulx | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
January 30, 1968 Hull, Quebec, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 192 lb (87 kg; 13 st 10 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Viry-Châtillon EH Brest Albatros Hockey Dragons de Rouen | ||
| NHL Draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 1989–2000 | ||
Playing career
Groulx played major junior hockey with the Granby Bisons of the QMJHL.
Coaching career
In 2000, following an 11-year professional career played mostly in France, Groulx turned to coaching, taking an assistant position with the Shawinigan Cataractes of the QMJHL. He became a head coach during the 2000–01 QMJHL season when he replaced John Chabot to take the reins of the Hull Olympiques, which was changed to the Gatineau Olympiques in 2003 following the city's amalgamation in 2002, where he won the 2003–04 Ron Lapointe Trophy as the QMJHL coach of the year. He was a head coach in the American Hockey League with the Rochester Americans for both the 2008–09 and 2009–10 AHL seasons, but re-join the Gatineau Olympiques in 2010.
After serving as assistant coach under Brent Sutter at the 2014 World Junior Championships, he was named head coach for Team Canada for the 2015 World Junior Championships.[2]
He was named head coach of the Syracuse Crunch on May 10, 2016, replacing Rob Zettler.[3] In his first season as head coach, he led the Crunch to the Calder Cup Finals and an Eastern Conference title. His second season as head coach of the Crunch was also success. His Crunch had a 10-game winning streak and a 7-game win streak at certain points, in which the 10-game win streak lasted from November 22, 2017 to December 15, 2017. The 7-game win streak lasted from March 14, 2018 to March 30, 2018. He also led the Crunch to their highest win percentage in franchise history, a .658 win percentage. The Crunch easily did away with Rochester in the first round sweeping the Americans, 3–0. However, the Crunch were swept by the eventual Calder Cup Champions, the Toronto Marlies, 4–0, in the second round. In the following season, the Crunch had their best regular season in their history, but were upset in round 1 by the Cleveland Monsters.
He achieved 200 professional coaching wins on March 30, 2019 while coaching the Syracuse Crunch. The Crunch beat the Utica Comets 6–2.[4]
He is second in coaching wins in Syracuse Crunch history. He has 161 career wins as coach of the Syracuse Crunch as of the end of the 2019-20 AHL season. He is behind Gary Agnew, who has 220 wins for the Crunch.[5]
During the 2021 Syracuse Crunch training camp, Groulx fractured his left elbow after falling down at practice.[6]
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Ron Lapointe Trophy - QMJHL Coach of the Year | 2003–04 | [7] |
| AHL All-Star Game North Division Coach | 2016–17, 2018–19 | |
Coaching record
AHL
| Team | Season | Regular Season | Post Season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | Finish | Result | ||
| ROC | 2008–09 | 80 | 29 | 43 | — | 8 | 66 | 7th, North | Missed Playoffs |
| ROC | 2009–10 | 80 | 44 | 33 | — | 3 | 91 | 2nd, North | Lost in Round 1 |
| SYR | 2016–17 | 76 | 38 | 24 | — | 14 | 90 | 1st, North | Lost in Calder Cup Finals |
| SYR | 2017–18 | 76 | 46 | 22 | — | 8 | 100 | 2nd, North | Lost in Round 2 |
| SYR | 2018–19 | 76 | 47 | 21 | — | 8 | 102 | 1st, North | Lost in Round 1 |
| SYR | 2019–20 | 62 | 30 | 23 | — | 9 | 69 | 5th, North | Season Cancelled |
QMJHL
| Team | Season | Regular Season | Post Season | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | OTL | Pts | Finish | Result | ||
| HULL | 2002–03 | 72 | 39 | 27 | 4 | 2 | 84 | 2nd, Ouest | Won QMJHL Lost Canadian Hockey League Championship |
| GAT | 2003–04 | 70 | 50 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 107 | 1st, Ouest | Won QMJHL Lost Canadian Hockey League Championship |
| GAT | 2004–05 | 70 | 33 | 28 | 5 | 4 | 75 | 3rd, Ouest | Lost in Round 2 |
| GAT | 2005–06 | 70 | 40 | 23 | — | 7 | 87 | 4th, West | Lost in Round 3 |
| GAT | 2006–07 | 70 | 39 | 27 | — | 4 | 82 | 3rd, West | Lost in Round 1 |
| GAT | 2007–08 | 70 | 43 | 19 | — | 8 | 94 | 4th, West | Won QMJHL Placed 4th in Canadian Hockey League Championship |
| GAT | 2010–11 | 68 | 43 | 17 | — | 8 | 94 | 3rd, West | Lost in QMJHL Finals |
| GAT | 2011–12 | 68 | 26 | 32 | — | 10 | 62 | 4th, West | Lost in Round 1 |
| GAT | 2012–13 | 68 | 29 | 34 | — | 5 | 63 | 5th, West | Lost in Round 2 |
| GAT | 2013–14 | 68 | 41 | 23 | — | 4 | 86 | 4th, West | Lost in Round 2 |
| GAT | 2014–15 | 68 | 31 | 31 | — | 6 | 68 | 5th, West | Lost in Round 2 |
| GAT | 2015–16 | 68 | 46 | 19 | — | 3 | 95 | 3rd, West | Lost in Round 2 |
References
- "Gatineau Olympiques - Hockey Staff". en.olympiquesdegatineau.ca. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
- http://www.torontosun.com/2014/06/12/qmjhls-benoit-groulx-named-canadas-world-junior-coach
- https://www.nhl.com/lightning/news/lightning-hire-benoit-groulx-to-become-head-coach-of-syracuse-crunch/c-882228
- @SyracuseCrunch (March 30, 2019). "Congratulations, Coach. 👊" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- @SyracuseCrunch (February 12, 2020). "1️⃣5️⃣4️⃣ Head Coach Ben Groulx is tied for second in franchise history! He has a 154-88-17-20 career record behind the #SyrCrunch bench" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- @syrhockey (January 26, 2021). "Crunch coach Ben Groulx already on the IR. He fell down at practice Monday and fractured his left elbow" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- "Gatineau Olympiques - Record Book". en.olympiquesdegatineau.ca. Retrieved March 1, 2014.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or The Internet Hockey Database