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

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player. He is currently serving as the head coach of Traktor Chelyabinsk of the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; ) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (20), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), and China (1) for a total of 23 clubs. It was considered in ...

(KHL). Groulx is formerly the head coach of the

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Rochester, New York. They are the American Hockey League affiliate of the National Hockey League's Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home g ...

and

Syracuse Crunch The Syracuse Crunch are a professional ice hockey team based in Syracuse, New York. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's Tampa Bay Lightning. They play in they home games at the Upstate Medical Univer ...

of the AHL, along with being the former head coach and general manager for the

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

of the

QMJHL The Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL; , LHJMQ), formerly the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). The league includes teams in Quebec ...

Playing career

Groulx played major junior hockey with the Granby Bisons 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 located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, Groulx turned to coaching, taking an assistant position with the Shawinigan Cataractes 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, 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 in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

with the

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 th ...

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

on May 10, 2016, replacing Rob Zettler. 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 are owned by Maple Leaf 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 based in Cleveland. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League (NHL). The Monsters play home games at Rocket Mortgage F ...

. Groulx achieved 200 professional coaching wins on March 30, 2019 while coaching the

. The Crunch beat the

Utica Comets The Utica Comets are a professional ice hockey team based in Utica, New York. They are members of the North Division in the Eastern Conference of the American Hockey League (AHL) and affiliated with the National Hockey League's (NHL) New Jersey D ...

6–2. Groulx is the winningest coach in

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 an inactive professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. They competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division (1996–1998, 2021–2024) and ...

, after a vacancy was left by Rick Tocchet. He would not get the job, as Arizona hired André Tourigny. On February 21, 2022, Groulx won his 200th career game with the Crunch.

Personal life

Groulx's son, Benoit-Olivier, also known as "Bo" was selected 54th overall by the

Anaheim Ducks The Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California. The Ducks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confere ...

in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.

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 Gatineau Rochester Americans coaches Viry-Châtillon EH players Canadian ice hockey coaches 20th-century Canadian sportsmen