(Stamford, CT) Here, boxes stamped with the famous Amazon arrow. There, sticks still in their packaging. And now, a locker wall on which it is written, in pencil, “NY 28”. The sleuth in us deduces that it is a 28-inch panel intended for New York.
“They haven’t yet had time to install the finishing panel,” apologizes Pascal Daoust.
The Quebecer welcomes us Thursday afternoon, in what is his new workspace, a project under construction, of course. The premises – a mammoth sports complex located in Stamford, Connecticut – are not under construction, but the spaces reserved for the New York team of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (LPHF), a team of which Daoust is the general manager, are in full development.
His title is indeed “general manager,” but on a team founded just two months ago, don’t imagine his job involves bickering with agents, traveling from city to city and to spend evenings in arenas scrutinizing future players. These tasks will come before long, but until then, there is a lot more pressing.
“When you have the privilege of building from scratch, you end up developing skills in areas that you don’t know,” he tells La Presse, sitting in the team’s training center. Washers and dryers, I can tell you about them! We had to shop for them, learn about the differences in capacity between this and that brand, and how this or that model will help our equipment managers. »
Members of his staff also begin to arrive. Katia Clément-Heydra, former Montreal Canadiennes player, will act as team services manager. Noémie Chartier-Lefrançois, former sports therapist for the Gatineau Olympics, holds the same functions for the future team. They are two of the three Quebecers he poached – the third being Christophe Perreault, director of recruitment and advanced statistics.
Daoust therefore has both hands in these logistics, but he must also set up a club in parallel. Training camp officially begins on Friday. Thursday was the physical exams. And Wednesday was devoted to medical exams, as well as a first team meeting, during which he presented the culture he wants to instill in the organization. What he said ?
“Family is a value. I’m not asking them to be friends. My brothers, they’re not my best friends in the world, but I can call them anytime, or they’ll call me, and I’ll be there. You don’t choose your teammates, you don’t choose your family, but we’re always here. »
Daoust also insisted on loyalty. “If I point one out – and they were afraid I’d point them out! – and I ask him to sing, it might sound bad. If I point to four and say: sing your favorite song, they might not sing the same song. Out of loyalty, I told them that we share our ideas, that we are going to have 35 good ideas like we could sing 35 songs. »
The rest will come quickly. The date of the start of activities is still unknown, although January 1st is widely circulated. The date seems rather close, knowing that the six DGs must essentially build the plane in mid-flight. “There are people in place in this league who have done incredible things for months. The DGs, we have been in office since September 1st. It’s been two and a half months and it feels like three years. If we managed to do all that in two and a half months…” Daoust retorts.
“But what’s special is we start in January, and there will be a draft probably as early as June. The teams where it is necessary to recruit, they will have three months of hockey left in January. There, I have zero time. But once that’s gone, we’ll have to hit the road. »
For this reason, he will therefore remain in Blainville during the season and will travel from home for recruitment or to follow his club.
Stamford, for the uninitiated, is one of New York’s many affluent suburbs. Speculative fund managers – hedge funds – are renowned for having invaded the region. A tour of Chelsea Piers, the sports center where New York’s players will train, provides insight into the socioeconomic conditions of the area. You can practice fencing, squash, swimming and hockey there, and the gymnastics areas for children are as far as the eye can see.
But here we are still 60 km from Times Square. It’s the equivalent of the Canadian who would play in Saint-Jérôme, but where the Johnny is replaced by a trattoria that serves penne arrabbiata for 27 dollars, American, of course.
Arenas for home games still haven’t been confirmed, but Bridgeport, even further from New York, often comes up as a possibility. However, it is not impossible that the team plays a few games closer to the New York region.
“The Rangers train outside of New York,” recalls Daoust. Players live outside of town. It’s much more affordable for players and staff. We are like professional teams who train outside. I can’t announce anything, but we’ll definitely have to go there, we’ll represent New York. »
There, there is no doubt that Daoust will ensure that the club is close to the market whose name it bears. After all, he has always dreamed of a job in the Big Apple. He’s never been this close.
