Photo credit: Jared Book/EOTP
The Laval Rocket have named Daniel Jacob as the fifth head coach in team history on Monday.
Jacob has been an assistant coach in the American Hockey League for seven seasons, including twice for the Rocket under both Joël Bouchard and Pascal Vincent, who left the organization for a job with the Seattle Kraken. Jacob was also an assistant under Bouchard when he went to the San Diego Gulls.
The announcement was made by Rocket GM John Sedgwick. “The Montreal Canadiens organization is proud to promote Daniel Jacob to the position of head coach of the Laval Rocket. Daniel brings over 15 years of experience as an assistant coach in both the QMJHL and AHL, and we believe that he is ready to take the next step in his impressive coaching career. In his time with the Laval Rocket, Daniel has earned the respect of all his colleagues and players with his relentless enthusiasm, work ethic and undeniable passion for the game of hockey and for improving hockey players. He is an excellent communicator with a proven track record of player development and strong values which are aligned with those of the Montreal Canadiens and Laval Rocket organizations. Daniel is the right person for this role, and we have full confidence in his ability to continue to develop our young players in a competitive environment. Congratulations to Daniel and his family and we look forward to his tenure as our head coach”, said Sedgwick.
Jacob has been heralded by players as being key in their development, including many of the young defencemen who have high hopes in the organization.
The 45-year-old was last a head coach with the Canadian U-17 development program, but has assistant coaching experience for over 15 years, including in the QMJHL and at McGill University, where he previously played and captained. He also had some pro playing experience in Austria and Serbia with one career AHL game.
Jacob led the team’s development camp’s on-ice sessions, a sign that he was in position for the promotion as that is typically led by the team’s AHL coach.
