Ducharme will ‘forever have Halifax in his heart’, as head coach leaves Mooseheads

The winningest coach in Mooseheads history says he will forever have Halifax in his heart, but it’s time to spend more time with his family.

Yesterday the Herd announced head coach Dominique Ducharme would be leaving his post for personal reasons.

Ducharme told The Rick Howe Show, with a 13-year-old boy and a soon-to-be 11-year-old girl in Joliette, QC, it’s time to spend more time with his family.

“I’ve been away from them for the last 4-years, and obviously I’ve missed a lot of things,” he said. “In our work, we’ll always miss things because it’s a busy job that we have, but being far like this made me miss even more.”

“They’re coming into that age when I think they’ll need their father around a little bit more.”

Ducharme said winning the Memorial Cup in 2013 was an amazing highlight of his time in Halifax, and he’ll forever be linked to all those who were a part of it, but all of his years here have been amazing.

“What I remember the most is how much everyone was engaged; our players, everyone in the organization, and the fans supporting us,” he explained. “It’s fun to remember those times when you win the Memorial Cup or the President Cup, but the other years and the other runs were also very special.”

He’s had the opportunity to coach big names like Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Drouin, Zach Fucale, Nikolaj Ehlers and Timo Meier, but it’s impossible to pick a favourite.

“There’s many guys now who are playing university hockey, or playing in Europe, it’s been just a great ride” he said.

However just because he’s leaving the Mooseheads, doesn’t mean you won’t see him behind the bench anytime soon.

“I’m not retiring from hockey,” he said. “There’s many 3 or 4 teams looking for a coach that are within about an hour and a half from Joliette, that could be an option.”

“Who knows what could be coming up, we’ll see within the next few weeks.”

Mooseheads general manager Cam Russell says the search for a new head coach begins immediately.

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