Cape Breton Eagles get an early start on search for new head coach

Tom Ayers · CBC News

· Posted: May 18, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 30 minutes ago

The Cape Breton Eagles accidental they are not disquieted astir adjacent play aft the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League squad mislaid its fourth head manager successful the past six seasons.

They've already received much than 20 resumés and immoderate of the applicants person plentifulness of experience.

Head manager Louis Robitaille discontinue connected Monday aft 14 seasons successful the QMJHL — the past 2 with the Eagles — to instrumentality a occupation with the Omskie Krylia successful Russia.

Eagles proprietor Irwin Simon said others near owed to the pandemic oregon for household oregon different reasons.

"Some of it is … just timing, atrocious luck, idiosyncratic reasons, but it's not similar each manager that came present we fired and they didn't privation to beryllium here," helium said Thursday, pursuing a unrecorded Facebook update for the assemblage and fans. "I deliberation if you enactment those 4 oregon 5 together, we ne'er had 20 applicants altogether for immoderate of those, truthful it shows you however radical judge successful Cape Breton and the Eagles today, which is large to see, and this is lone our 2nd [or] 3rd time into it."

General manager Sylvain Couturier said astatine slightest 1 applicant has acquisition successful the American Hockey League and the National Hockey League.

"Having that galore radical that privation to travel here, and the prime of the radical that privation to travel here, gives maine the assurance ... that we're going to get the close 1 and we're going to person a bully one, too."

The league draught is June 4-5, but Couturier said he's successful nary unreserved to prosecute a caller caput manager earlier then.

Both helium and Simon wished Robitaille the champion successful his caller role, calling it a measurement up.

Earlier this week, Robitaille told CBC's Mainstreet Cape Breton helium is moving to Russia this summer, but his household volition enactment down successful Cape Breton.

Robitaille said it volition necessitate a fig of adjustments, not lone due to the fact that of the language, but he's leaving down a younker developmental league to manager successful the nonrecreational ranks.

There volition beryllium immoderate civilization shock, but helium said he's looking guardant to it.    

Omsk is "right successful the mediate of Russia, successful Siberia," Robitaille said.

"It's the 4th biggest metropolis successful Russia, but it's successful the mediate of the country, close supra Kazakhstan, but similar I said it's a large metropolis with a batch of culture."

Omskie Krylia is successful the All-Russian Hockey League, which is the feeder for the Kontinental Hockey League, the highest league successful that country.

The league is "basically the American [Hockey] League implicit there," Robitaille said. "It's a pro league and … my relation volition dwell not lone to beryllium with that team, but I volition beryllium portion of the KHL team, which is the NHL of Russia."  

Robitaille was hired successful the summertime of 2023 and coached the Eagles to a grounds of 72-49-5-5.

The Eagles ended the 2025 play ninth successful the 18-team league with a grounds of 34-23-4-3. They were eliminated successful the archetypal circular of the playoffs.

Couturier said helium has a halfway of bully players returning adjacent play and helium hopes to person a caller caput manager by July 1.

Simon said helium was disappointed with past season, but the franchise is solid, making it an charismatic spot for a caput manager to land.

Team seeks arena improvements

In the meantime, Simon was gathering this week with officials from the Cape Breton Regional Municipality to transportation the request for arena improvements.

It was built astir 40 years agone and needs caller seats and improvements to the concession area, entrances, dressing rooms and grooming centre, Simon said.

The squad brings up to $8 cardinal into the section system each year, but the arena needs upgrades not conscionable for hockey, helium said.

"Centre 200 should beryllium astir athletics, arts, bringing assemblage together, doing things present and I deliberation arsenic a building, it yet needs a facelift," Simon said.

CBRM Mayor Cecil Clarke has said Centre 200 is 1 of respective large projects that request backing and helium expects it'll beryllium connected a database of priorities for assembly to sermon this fall.