# Joël Bouchard

Joël Bouchard (born January 23, 1974) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with eight teams for parts of eleven seasons between 1994–2008. He currently serves as the head coach for the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League (AHL), the minor league affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

## Playing career

As a youth, Bouchard played in the 1988 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Montreal.
Bouchard was drafted by the Calgary Flames in the sixth round of the 1992 NHL entry draft with the 129th overall pick. Collectively, he played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Flames, Nashville Predators, Dallas Stars, Phoenix Coyotes, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Islanders, as well as in the American Hockey League (AHL) for the Hamilton Bulldogs.

## Coaching career

After his playing career ended in 2008, Bouchard worked as an analyst for Réseau des sports (RDS). He also produced and hosted his own show called "l'Académie de Hockey McDonald." He became the head coach of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)'s Blainville-Boisbriand Armada in 2014, leading the club to two league championship finals in 2017 and 2018.
Bouchard was hired in May 2018 as the head coach of the Laval Rocket, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens. In 2021, he left the Rocket at the end of his contract, posting a 83–67–24 record over three seasons.
On July 9, 2021, the Anaheim Ducks hired Bouchard to coach their AHL affiliate, the San Diego Gulls. After only a single season as head coach of the team, Bouchard was relieved from his duties.
On June 26, 2023, Bouchard was hired as head coach of the Syracuse Crunch, the AHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

## Career statistics
### Regular season and playoffs

| | | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1990–91 | Longueuil College-Francais | QMJHL | 53 | 3 | 19 | 22 | 34 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 |
| 1991–92 | Verdun College-Francais | QMJHL | 70 | 9 | 37 | 46 | 55 | 19 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 20 |
| 1992–93 | Verdun College-Francais | QMJHL | 60 | 10 | 49 | 59 | 126 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 1993–94 | Verdun College-Francais | QMJHL | 60 | 15 | 55 | 70 | 62 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 1993–94 | Saint John Flames | AHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994–95 | Saint John Flames | AHL | 77 | 6 | 25 | 31 | 63 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 1994–95 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1995–96 | Saint John Flames | AHL | 74 | 8 | 25 | 33 | 104 | 16 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 |
| 1995–96 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1996–97 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 76 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 49 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1997–98 | Saint John Flames | AHL | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1997–98 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 44 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 57 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1998–99 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 64 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1999–00 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 52 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1999–00 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2000–01 | Grand Rapids Griffins | IHL | 19 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2000–01 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 32 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2001–02 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 70 | 9 | 22 | 31 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2001–02 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2002–03 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 22 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2002–03 | New York Rangers | NHL | 27 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2002–03 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2003–04 | New York Rangers | NHL | 28 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2004–05 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 20 |
| 2005–06 | Bridgeport Sound Tigers | AHL | 15 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2005–06 | New York Islanders | NHL | 25 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2006–07 | Bridgeport Sound Tigers | AHL | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2007–08 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 20 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — |
| NHL totals | NHL totals | NHL totals | 364 | 22 | 53 | 75 | 264 | — | — | — | — | — |

### International

| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1993 | Canada | WJC | | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1994 | Canada | WJC | | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1997 | Canada | WC | | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Junior totals | Junior totals | Junior totals | Junior totals | 14 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| Senior totals | Senior totals | Senior totals | Senior totals | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |

## Coaching record
### QMJHL

| Team | Year | Regular Season | Regular Season | Regular Season | Regular Season | Regular Season | Regular Season | Post Season |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | OTL | Pts | Finish | Result |
| BLB | 2014–15 | 68 | 41 | 18 | 9 | 91 | 1st in West | Lost in first round (2–4 vs. GAT) |
| BLB | 2015–16 | 68 | 26 | 32 | 10 | 62 | 4th in West | Won in first round (4–2 vs. VDR) Lost in quarter-finals (1–4 vs. ROU) |
| BLB | 2016–17 | 68 | 43 | 19 | 6 | 92 | 2nd in West | Won in first round (4–0 vs. DRU) Won in quarter-finals (4–3 vs. BAT) Won in semi-finals (4–1 vs. CHA) Lost in President's Cup final (0–4 vs. SJ) |
| BLB | 2017–18 | 68 | 50 | 11 | 7 | 107 | 1st in West | Won in first round (4–0 vs. VDR) Won in quarter-finals (4–1 vs. MON) Won in semi-finals (4–3 vs. CHA) Lost in President's Cup final (2–4 vs. BAT) |
| QMJHL totals | 2014–18 | 272 | 160 | 80 | 32 | 352 | 2 division titles | 33–26 (0.559) |

### AHL

| Team | Year | Regular Season | Regular Season | Regular Season | Regular Season | Regular Season | Regular Season | Post Season |
| Team | Year | G | W | L | OTL | Pts | Finish | Result |
| LAV | 2018–19 | 76 | 30 | 34 | 12 | 72 | 7th in North | Did not qualify |
| LAV | 2019–20 | 62 | 30 | 24 | 8 | 68 | 6th in North | Playoffs cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic |
| LAV | 2020–21 | 36 | 23 | 9 | 4 | 50 | 1st in Canadian | Playoffs cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic |
| LAV totals | 2018–21 | 174 | 83 | 67 | 24 | 190 | 1 division title | 0–0 (0.000) |
| SD | 2021–22 | 68 | 28 | 33 | 7 | 63 | 7th in Pacific | Lost in first round (0–2 vs. ONT) |
| SD totals | 2021–22 | 68 | 28 | 33 | 7 | 63 | 0 division titles | 0–2 (0.000) |
| SYR | 2023–24 | 72 | 39 | 24 | 9 | 87 | 3rd in North | Won division semifinals (3–1 vs. ROC), Lost in division finals (0–3 vs. CLE) |
| SYR totals | 2023–24 | 72 | 39 | 24 | 9 | 87 | 0 division titles | 3–4 (0.428) |
| AHL totals | 2018–24 | 314 | 150 | 124 | 40 | 340 | 1 division title | 3–6 (0.333) |