THUNDER BAY – Felix Potvin never managed to win a championship during his 13-year NHL career.
He might just make up for it in Thunder Bay.
Although a TELUS Cup championship is a far cry from hoisting the Stanley Cup, it might be just as satisfying for the 47-year-old, who leapt at the opportunity to take over the coaching reins of the Magog Cantonniers, the AAA midget team in the Quebec community, located about 120 kilometres east of Montreal down Highway 10.
Potvin, who led the Toronto Maple Leafs to the conference finals in 1993 and 1994, losing first to Los Angeles and then to Vancouver, said the coaching gig was a perfect fit at this point in his life – a retired goaltender looking for a way to stick around the game he loves.
“When the opportunity came, I started as an assistant coach. I loved doing it and now as a coach it’s a lot of fun. Having these kids, at that age, where it’s an important time in their life, to either keep going in major junior or in university – or even at school, it’s important.”
Potvin, a second-round pick of the Leafs in 1990, spent three years in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with Chicoutimi before jumping to the professional ranks, where he was named the American Hockey League’s top goaltender and best rookie in 1991-92.
The Anjou, Que. native joined the Leafs for good in 1992-93, finishing fourth in the Vezina Trophy and third in the Calder Trophy voting.
Known affectionately as The Cat, Potvin spent seven full seasons with Toronto before being dealt to the New York Islanders after Toronto signed goaltender Curtis Joseph.
He spent a season-and-a-half in Vancouver before winding down his NHL career with stops in Los Angeles and Boston, finishing with a 266-260-85 record.
Potvin says he’s tried to impart the knowledge he gained on his journey to the National Hockey League and back, but only when asked.
“A little bit,” he said on Tuesday, after coaching the Cantonniers to a 3-1 win over Halifax.
“But that’s the main goal. I’ve been through it, so they know they can listen. But we’ve got good kids and the important thing is to show them the right path and then after that the job is done.”
Potvin, whose team took silver at last year’s TELUS Cup, said he tries to take a little from each of his coaches along the way as he transitions behind the bench himself.
It’s a list that includes the likes of Mike Milbury, Andy Murray and, particularly, hall-of-famer Pat Burns.
“Obviously Pat was a part of it,” Potvin said, adding he takes the best of each of his coaches and tries to avoid the worst.
His players seem to have responded, rolling to a 3-0 record after edging Calgary 3-2 on Wednesday afternoon.
“He brings a lot of experience,” said forward Alexandre Doucet, one of the Cantonniers’ top performers at the TELUS Cup.
“He played in the NHL, so it’s very fun for us. And when he talks, we listen to him a lot. He lets us do what we have to do, but defence is important to win games so he wants us to be great on the two sides of the ice.”
Magog takes on Toronto on Thursday afternoon, looking to keep their unbeaten streak alive.
