Lajoie leaving Bears with national title on resume
Moments after the final horn sounded at the Aitken Centre in Fredericton, N.B., six weeks ago and the University of Alberta Golden Bears rushed the ice to celebrate their record 16th national title, head coach Serge Lajoie took a moment to let it all sink in.
That’s when the emotions started to pour out.
Lajoie won a national championship as a player. He won two as an assistant coach, and this was his first as a head coach. But he also had a gut feeling it may be his last.
With former Bears head coach Ian Herbers on a three-year sabbatical from the U of A after joining the Edmonton Oilers’ coaching staff, there was a good chance that, despite helping guide the Bears to the U Sports championship this season, Lajoie would be forced to move on with Herbers returning to Alberta’s bench.
It came to fruition last week when the Oilers announced Herbers’ contract wouldn’t be renewed. Herbers then exercised his option to return to the U of A and will take back the reigns of the Golden Bears program July 1.
“I knew there was a strong possibility that Ian would come back,” Lajoie said. “I took the job knowing that Ian was on a three-year sabbatical, but I wanted to come back to the U of A, a program that has given me so much.
“To come back as a head coach, I didn’t want to pass up the chance to grow and evolve in an environment that has meant so much to me. It was on my mind, but I never let it affect my job. I always viewed myself as the full-time coach of the U of A, and when I left, I fulfilled my sense of duty to bring the U of A Golden Bears back to their rightful place of being at the top of U Sports hockey.”
In his three years as head coach, Lajoie accumulated a 94-21-1 record, including a 37-6 mark this season, two Canada West titles and the national championship.
With the resume Lajoie has built coaching the Golden Bears, and before that at NAIT, he figures to earn other coaching opportunities. But moving on from the Bears program isn’t easy.
“I had to go back to the U of A to get a few things on Sunday night. You walk into the dressing room and the coaches room, and it stirs up a lot of memories. I’m really going to miss this place,” Lajoie said.
“I’m going to miss the players. They taught me so much. We say we develop players, and that’s our job as a coaching staff, but the players have helped me grow. In time, I will be able to properly thank them for everything they’ve done for me.”
Lajoie still wants to be a head coach and is pursuing some Western Hockey League opportunities. He met with the Saskatoon Blades about their vacant head coaching position and has also been in contact with the Red Deer Rebels about their vacant associate coach position. Other opportunities could become available in the coming months.
Whatever the future holds, Lajoie is going to make sure it’s the right fit for him and his family, who have called Edmonton home for more than three decades.
His next coaching opportunity may be an unfamiliar one, but it’s one he’s ready for.
“The unknown can be unsettling, but it’s also exciting,” he said. “Once you plant your feet and you start to establish the relationships that need to be built and focus on the process and the details, there’s a sense of confidence and calm in that you’ll experience that success.”