Pascal Vincent’s first visit to Place Bell

On Wednesday, August 14, Pascal Vincent visited Place Bell for the first time as head coach of the Rocket. Here are the highlights :

By Justin Vézina

It may not have been an official homecoming day for the Laval Rocket, but it was a nice preview of the restart of activities at Place Bell.

For the first time since his appointment in mid-July, new Rocket head coach Pascal Vincent visited the club’s facilities. The visit was organic and warm. 

And although there was a small entourage that followed Vincent on his visit, made up of the Rocket’s communications specialist, a photographer, a videographer and a reporter, it was all a private affair.

The group began the visit in the offices and bowels of the Laval home. Strikers Lucas Condotta and Xavier Simoneau then took over the guided tour, showing the new coach around the dressing room and adjacent rooms such as the gym and video room.

It’s a lot like the Canadiens’ locker room,” said Vincent, sporting a powder-blue polo shirt. I like it. It’s not too big like you sometimes see elsewhere.”

After exchanging a few courtesies, the Rocket’s new pilot turned his attention to the family lives of the two players present at Place Bell on this balmy Wednesday lunchtime in August. They then returned the favour by asking him about his move and transition to the Centre de la nature city.

“Welcome back to the traffic metropolis,” Simoneau joked to the tactician.

One thing’s for sure, this won’t bother the instructor too much, since he was born and raised in Laval. In fact, he even wore the colours of the Titan, a former QMJHL club based on Île Jésus. What’s more, the Vincent family home is just ten minutes from the Rocket’s, so there won’t really be any geographical adjustments.

Vincent also took advantage of his presence to shake a lot of hands, from staff members to members of the marketing and sales departments. In particular, he met team services coordinator Carl Gagnon and equipment manager Simon Payette. Already, Vincent was observing the locker room, and it was clear that he was committed to its organization. He seemed ready to give a speech and work out tactical adjustments during an intermission.

But before we see this at Place Bell, we’ll have to wait patiently until October 18.