(Lausanne, Switzerland) There are some stories that cannot be invented. On the day of our visit, Lausanne HC faces EHC Kloten. With Lausanne’s number 1 goalkeeper injured, the net is handed to Kevin Pasche, a 20-year-old goalkeeper who will be playing his very first match in the Swiss national league. This Kevin Pasche works under the orders of a certain Cristobal Huet, Lausanne goalkeeper coach.
“I’ve known him since I was 10, 12 years old,” says Pasche. The first time I saw him was in Villars, his son was playing there. Then, [Cristobal] played in Lausanne, so I watched him a lot. I’m a fan of Chicago because he played there. »
And of course, Pasche stopped Kloten’s 25 shots to follow Zachary Fucale, Yann Danis and Mario Gosselin in starting his big league career with a shutout.
“It’s cool for him, he’s a young guy from here, I coached him when he was 10 years old. Well ! I gave him a helping hand and then he made his way,” says Huet.
His playing career is over, but not his hockey career. The former Canadiens goalkeeper therefore works for the club that hosted him from 2012 to 2018, the club where he won a championship and where he did enough for his bib number 39 to be hoisted to the ceiling.
“I had a bit of a fear of heights,” he confided to La Presse. I didn’t want to stop and do nothing. The most obvious was coaching goalkeepers, because that’s what I’m most good at. »
Huet warns us: we should not “necessarily” see this as the first step in ascension to a head coaching position.
His inspirations? “It’s inevitable to have mentors and replicate what they did. Tom Hedican in Lugano, Roland Melanson in Montreal, Stéphane Waite in Chicago… We take the good things from everyone and we try to apply them. »
The Frenchman’s visit to Montreal was incredible. Arriving at age 29, with no expectations, in a deal completed before a year-long lockout, he achieved rockstar status. From 2005 to 2008, during his three seasons in Montreal, he had the best efficiency rate in the NHL.
On the other hand, Cory Stillman’s overtime goal in Game 6 against the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006 and Toronto’s 6-5 loss in Game 82 of the 2006-07 campaign are among the least good memories. Carey Price’s early promotion, at age 20, signified her swan song.
“I think I was at a point in my career where I was able to enjoy the experience of playing for the Montreal Canadiens. Because I was older, and because it was still cool! “, he lets go, prompting laughter from the guy who realizes the obviousness of what he has just said.
To add to his good memories, he was able to team up with David Aebischer, who became a friend because their destinies always seem to link them. The Swiss is now the counterpart of Huet, goalkeeper coach at Fribourg-Gottéron.
“He’s still with his wife, not me!” But our wives at the time got along well, we spent Christmas together. I have always been close, most of the time, to the other goalkeepers on my team. He was Swiss, we had things in common. We wanted to play both, but we kept things apart, we separated hockey from the rest. »
Last year, Huet and Aebischer rubbed shoulders again in Quebec, as part of the International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. “We’re both goalkeeper coaches, so we talk to each other quite a bit. His son is also a guardian. It was a great two weeks to spend with him. »
Of Chicago too, his memories are mixed, especially since this chapter continued to be written afterwards. It was during his time in Illinois that Kyle Beach was the victim of sexual assault, tarnishing the glorious image that the Blackhawks had cultivated during the 2010s.
“I was contacted [by the investigators], I responded,” says Huet. For my part, I was perhaps more apart, because I am a guard, I am French-speaking. I don’t know what the others said, but I didn’t see anything. »
(Note: The interview took place a week before a second alleged victim of the team’s former video coach Brad Aldrich came forward.)
“I didn’t play my best hockey. Conversely, it was at this moment that the team completely switched, we know this generation. I was lucky to find myself on this team at that time. We always appreciate the moments when we play good hockey. But my little one is there and I won the Stanley Cup. »
So, between a Stanley Cup as a reserve goalkeeper or a Swiss championship in Lugano as a starter? “We only have one Stanley Cup. It’s hard to win it. I wouldn’t trade either one. »