Dominique Ducharme resigns from QMJHL's Halifax Mooseheads

One of the QMJHL’s top coaches has left the only major-junior team he’s ever led, casting immediate uncertainty on his budding career.

Dominique Ducharme resigned from the Halifax Mooseheads on Monday, citing a desire to be closer to his family in his hometown of Joliette, Que.

“It’s heartbreaking for me today because Halifax is a place I love and a hockey market I love,” Ducharme said in a news release.

“(Mooseheads majority owner) Bobby (Smith) has been great to me. He gave me my first chance to be a head coach in the league and the way he treated me and my family was just unbelievable. But this is just about being closer to my kids, my girlfriend and my family who I’ve been apart from for a few years now.”

Halifax scribe Willy Palov wrote for the Local Xpress that Ducharme would make visits to see his family whenever possible, but the rigours of the QMJHL season made doing so increasing challenging. According to Palov, Ducharme’s son, Xavier, and daughter, Alexanne, live with his ex-wife in Joliette. His mother lives in the city 74 kilometres north of Montreal, too.

Ducharme’s father, Jacques, died last December while the now-43-year-old coach was in Helsinki, Finland working as an assistant for Canada at the World Junior Championship.

“It’s hard to leave a family like the Mooseheads, but my kids will only be 11 and 13 once. Because I’ve missed a lot of things being away from them and I felt now it’s time to be closer to them,” he said in the news release.

Ducharme’s decision ends a five-year run with the Mooseheads that saw him establish franchise records with 198 regular season wins and 44 playoff victories. He also guided the Mooseheads to a Memorial Cup championship in 2013, a season which saw him earn CHL coach of the year honours.

“I’d like to personally thank Dominique for the past five years he’s given to our players, our fans and our organization,” general manager Cam Russell said in a release. “He’s done what no other coach in team history has done by bringing a Memorial Cup title to the city of Halifax. It’s been an honour to work with him on a daily basis. I want to wish him all the best in his future.”

The rebuilding Mooseheads finished second-last in the QMJHL this season and missed the playoffs with a 21-39-7-1 record.

However, the Mooseheads came first in the Maritimes Division twice under Ducharme’s watch, including the 2013 campaign, which resulted in Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin being selected first and third in the NHL draft. Nikolaj Ehlers and Timo Meier were top-10 picks in subsequent NHL drafts.

“Our players have benefited from Dominique’s talent, passion and dedication,” Smith said in a release. “Our fans have watched entertaining teams that improved as each season progressed. We knew the day would come when Dominique moved on. Today, due to Dominique’s desire to work closer to his children, that day has come.”

Ducharme was a top midget AAA coach in Joliette when he entered the QMJHL as an assistant coach of the Junior de Montreal in 2008. He moved east to Nova Scotia when he was hired by the Mooseheads in 2011.

The Shawinigan Cataractes, Victoriaville Tigres and Drummondville Voltigeurs are the only QMJHL teams within 150 kilometres of Joliette. Each city is at least 110 kilometres away. Shawinigan awaits its semifinal opponent, while Victoriaville and Drummondville both lost in the first round.