2018-11-02

Halifax Mooseheads Assistant Coach Sylvain Favreau is soaking in his latest opportunity with Hockey Canada’s Program of Excellence.

“It’s a great experience for me. It’s a privilege to work with the best of the best in that age group,” he said.

Favreau is currently in New Brunswick where he’s serving as an Assistant Coach with Team Canada Black at the World U17 Challenge. These are the players that will soon be gracing the stage of the NHL Entry Draft and some will become household names in future World Junior Hockey Championship events.

His team scored a 4-2 pre-tournament win over Finland on Thursday night and will open the preliminary round schedule on Sunday afternoon against Canada White at Harbour Station in Saint John. Sea Dogs rookie Josh Lawrence scored in the win, but the coach said he wasn’t the only player who stood out on the ice.

“I think the win was really by committee and we had some ups and downs but I felt Quinton Byfield (Sudbury Wolves) who was the first overall pick in the OHL particularly dominant for us.”

This isn’t the first time Favreau has been called upon by Hockey Canada. He also served as a guest coach with the U17 Development Camp in 2017. He said he would love to continue climbing the ranks with the program.

“Just like the players that are trying to grow within the program, it’s the same for a coach and yeah the ultimate goal would be to maybe one day represent my country at the World Juniors.”

The Orleans, ON native is in his second season behind the Mooseheads bench and explained how taking part in this event will help him grow his coaching skills.

“When you look at it, there are three Canadian teams and that means there are nine CHL coaches and we really get the chance to lean on each other and network so there are things you can definitely take away from other coaches.

“I think as a coach you always have to stay a student of the game so these white board sessions that we go through gives us a good chance to see and hear other opinions. We ask the players to be open to learning and developing and I think that’s my mindset as well.”

The World U17 Hockey Challenge runs November 3-10 in Saint John and Quispamsis which means Favreau will miss a total of five games with the Mooseheads. Halifax hosts Val d’Or and Moncton this weekend before visiting Acadie-Bathurst on Wednesday and will then play two more home games next Friday and Saturday versus Cape Breton and Acadie-Bathurst. He said while he is giving Team Canada Black his full attention, the Moose obviously aren’t far from his mind.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about what’s going on back in Halifax all of the time. I keep in touch with Head Coach Eric Veilleux pretty much daily and I’m looking forward to seeing both games this weekend from afar.”

For more information on the World U17 Challenge visit HockeyCanada.ca/wu17.

Your 12-4 Mooseheads welcome the Val d’Or Foreurs Saturday night at 7pm and the Moncton Wildcats on Sunday afternoon at 2pm. Tickets are on sale now at the Ticket Atlantic Box Office, select Superstore Outlets, www.ticketatlantic.com or charge by phone 451-1221.