The Laval Rocket have filled out their coaching staff, and the newest name on the bench comes with a résumé you don’t see every day in hockey.
David Urquhart is joining the Rocket as an assistant coach, completing the staff under new head coach Daniel Jacob. Jacob stepped in after Pascal Vincent left for the Seattle Kraken, and Martin Laperrière and Ilya Ejov had already been confirmed as part of the group.
Urquhart’s path to Laval is unusual from the start. Before taking over McGill’s program in 2021, he spent three seasons as an assistant coach with the San Diego Gulls in the AHL.
His playing career also left a mark. As a defenseman, he captained McGill and helped lead the team to the OUA championship in 2008.
His name is in the university’s Hall of Fame. After that, he played in the AHL, the ECHL and then in Italy, where he won a championship in 2014.
What makes Urquhart especially intriguing is everything he’s done away from the rink. He has a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s degree in sport psychology. His thesis looked at how top coaches create winning cultures, and he’s trilingual, speaking French, English and Italian.
It’s the kind of profile that stands out immediately, and it would not be surprising to see Urquhart keep moving up the coaching ladder in the coming years. For now, he gives the Canadiens organization another interesting piece in Laval, where he could play a real role in helping young prospects develop.
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The most notable part of Molsons message, though, was what it suggested about Martin St-Louis future. With the coach entering the final year of his deal, the contract situation has naturally drawn attention, and Molsons comments made it clear the team views St-Louis as central to what comes next. He also addressed a pair of unsigned players, Arber Xhekaj and Zachary Bolduc, and sounded confident those situations will be settled before training camp. [Read more 🡒]