EDMUNDSTON, New Brunswick – The Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL), in conjunction with the National Hockey League Coaches’ Association (NHLCA), announced Monday the names of the six finalists for the Darcy Haugan/Mark Cross Memorial Award, emblematic of CJHL Coach of the Year, for the 2024-25 campaign.
Simon Olivier led the Blizzard to their best record since moving to Edmundston in 2017-18, going 44-6-1-1 on the campaign. This marked an 11-point improvement from last season. On April 24, Olivier and his players lifted the Metalfab MHL Cup as playoff champions.
Edmundston was ranked in the top five of the CJHL’s Top 20 Weekly Rankings for all but two weeks this season. They climbed to the top spot twice, including the final listings of the season. Edmundston scored 238 goals and only allowed a league-low 126 against, both of which were improvements from the 2023-24 season.
The Blizzard finished fourth in the MHL in power play proficiency (22.1%) and were third on the penalty (81.6%) this season.
Simon Olivier was hired as Blizzard head coach for the 2022-2023 season and led his team to the final against the Yarmouth Mariners. Last season, the Blizzard reached the Eastlink North finals, losing to the Miramichi Timberwolves. In the three regular seasons under his stewardship, the Blizzard finished first in their division each time, compiling an impressive record of 121-31-2-2 for an efficiency rate of .788.
Olivier has an impressive record in Junior A hockey. He won the head coaching title in the QAAAJHL following the 2018-2019 season behind the bench of the Côte-du-Sud Everest. And this season, he won the same title in the Maritime Junior A Hockey League.
Presented annually by the CJHL and NHLCA, this distinguished honour serves in memory of Humboldt Broncos (SJHL) head coach Darcy Haugan and assistant Mark Cross, who were among those who sadly lost their lives following the tragic events of April 6, 2018.
Each of the finalists were determined through a voting process completed by the CJHL’s nine-member leagues, for their respective contributions throughout the course of the regular season.
For more details on the other nominated coaches, visit the following page on the MHL website: https://www.themhl.ca/blizzards-olivier-a-finalist-for-darcy-haugan-mark-cross-memorial-award-as-cjhl-coach-of-the-year.
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Photo
Head coach Simon Olivier, left, and assistant coach Michael Ward giving instructions to Blizzard players during a game in the Eastlink North Section final series against the Campbellton Tigres. Photo archives Percy Picard
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Source: Hugues Chiasson, Communications VP for the Edmundston Blizzard, with texts by James Faulkner, Director of Communications for the MHL, and the CJHL.