Benoit Groulx (born January 30, 1968) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

player. He is currently the head coach of the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL and formerly the head coach and general manager for the

Gatineau Olympiques The Gatineau Olympiques are a major junior ice hockey team based in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, that plays in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Starting with the 2021–22 season, the Olympiques play home games at Centre Slush Puppie, ...

of the

QMJHL The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The le ...

Playing career

Groulx played major junior hockey with the

Granby Bisons The Granby Bisons were a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Granby, Quebec, and played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). They team was founded in 1981 in after the team moved from Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, where they had previousl ...

of the QMJHL.

Coaching career

In 2000, following an 11-year professional career played mostly in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, Groulx turned to coaching, taking an assistant position with the

Shawinigan Cataractes The Shawinigan Cataractes (french: Cataractes de Shawinigan) are a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The team is based in Shawinigan, Quebec, Canada. The Cataractes have been previously known as the Shawinigan Bruin ...

of the QMJHL. He became a head coach during the 2000–01 QMJHL season when he replaced John Chabot to take the reins of the

Hull Olympiques The Gatineau Olympiques are a junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey team based in Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, that plays in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). Starting with the 2021–22 season, the Olympiques play home games at Ce ...

, which was changed to the

in 2003 following the city's amalgamation in 2002, where he won the 2003–04 Ron Lapointe Trophy as the QMJHL coach of the year. He was a head coach in the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

with the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, ...

for both the 2008–09 and

2009–10 AHL season The 2009–10 AHL season was the 74th season of the American Hockey League. Twenty-nine teams played 80 regular-season games each from October 2 to April 11. This season featured the addition of one new team, the relocation of two others, and t ...

s, but re-join the Gatineau Olympiques in 2010. After serving as assistant coach under

Brent Sutter Brent Colin Sutter (born June 10, 1962) is a Canadian former National Hockey League (NHL) player and former head coach of the New Jersey Devils and Calgary Flames. Selected by the New York Islanders 17th overall at the 1980 NHL Entry Draft, Sut ...

at the 2014 World Junior Championships, he was named head coach for Team Canada for the 2015 World Junior Championships. Groulx was named head coach of the Syracuse Crunch on May 10, 2016, replacing

Rob Zettler Rob Zettler (born March 8, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 14 seasons with the Minnesota North Stars, San Jose Sharks, Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Nash ...

. In his first season as head coach, he led the Crunch to the Calder Cup Finals and an Eastern Conference title. His second season as head coach of the Crunch was also success. His Crunch had a 10-game winning streak and a 7-game win streak at certain points, in which the 10-game win streak lasted from November 22, 2017 to December 15, 2017. The 7-game win streak lasted from March 14, 2018 to March 30, 2018. He also led the Crunch to their highest win percentage in franchise history, a .658 win percentage. The Crunch easily did away with Rochester in the first round sweeping the Americans, 3–0. However, the Crunch were swept by the eventual Calder Cup Champions, the

Toronto Marlies The Toronto Marlies are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the American Hockey League (AHL) as a member of the North Division of the Eastern Conference. The Marlies is owned by Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment, a c ...

, 4–0, in the second round. In the following season, the Crunch had their best regular season in their history, but were upset in round 1 by the

Cleveland Monsters The Cleveland Monsters are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team began play in 2007 as the Lake Erie Monsters and since 2015 has served as the top affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hock ...

. Groulx achieved 200 professional coaching wins on March 30, 2019 while coaching the Syracuse Crunch. The Crunch beat the

Utica Comets The Utica Comets are a professional ice hockey team based in Utica, New York, with home games at the Adirondack Bank Center. They are members of the North Division in the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL) and affiliated wi ...

6–2. Groulx is the winningest coach in Syracuse Crunch history, with 221 career coaching wins with the Crunch. During the 2021 Syracuse Crunch training camp, Groulx fractured his left elbow after falling down at practice. In 2021, Groulx interviewed for the head coach position of the

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mul ...

, after a vacancy was left by

Rick Tocchet Richard Tocchet (; born April 9, 1964) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. Playing as a right winger, he played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angel ...

. He would not get the job, as Arizona hired André Tourigny. On February 21, 2022, Groulx won his 200th career game with the Crunch.

Coaching record

AHL

QMJHL

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Groulx, Benoit 1968 births Living people Brest Albatros Hockey players Canadian ice hockey centres Dauphins d'Épinal players Dragons de Rouen players Gatineau Olympiques coaches Granby Bisons players Hull Olympiques coaches Ice hockey people from Quebec Rochester Americans coaches Sportspeople from Gatineau Viry-Châtillon EH players Canadian ice hockey coaches