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Nathan Beaulieu’s father has already complained about having Alex Galchenyuk’s father around

 Manuel Sperandio-Lemay
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Nathan Beaulieu’s father has already complained about having Alex Galchenyuk’s father around

That’s a lot of fathers in the equation, but you’ll see. It’s not that complicated!

In 2012, Alex Galchenyuk is a high-profile prospect in the NHL draft. He and his teammate Naïl Yakupov are seen as very high-level prospects. Yakupov was even destined to be the first overall pick. Several years later, we all know that this draft was not going to be a great one.

The two youngsters are now playing with the Sarnia Sting in the Ontario Hockey League, and they’re making good time, as they say. A little too much, perhaps!

One fine day, the venerable Pat Hickey of The Montreal Gazette went there to interview the team’s general manager and head coach, a certain Jacques Beaulieu. Yes, Nathan Beaulieu’s father.

During their discussion, Beaulieu made a rather surprising statement:

“I have two coaches I don’t need or want.” – Jacques Beaulieu

The first unwanted coach was, of course, Alex Galchenyuk’s dad!

Galchenyuk’s father had long been a key figure in his son’s career, even going so far as to try to increase his playing time with the Habs. To the point where his agent at the time, Igor Larionov, had to intervene. All this led to his dismissal in 2015 by the Galchenyuk family, as my colleague Félix Forget mentioned yesterday.

It’s ironic that the two fistons ended up on the same team when they made the jump to the NHL. One imagines that there must have been some tension between the two youngsters when they started rubbing shoulders in their early days with the Habs.

The other problem dad was Gord Murphy, father of Connor Murphy, currently a defenseman with the Chicago Blackhawks. In this case, we’re talking about someone who really knows field hockey, as he’s a long-time NHL assistant coach. In the last twenty years, the old man has been an assistant with the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Florida Panthers, the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Rangers, with whom he is still currently involved.

Just goes to show, it’s not just average dads who can be a burden on junior coaching staffs.

In this case, I find it particularly funny that Jacques Beaulieu was the target of problematic fathers at the time, as he himself was a disturbing presence in his son’s career. Recall that the father-son duo had found themselves facing assault charges after being involved in a fight at a party in 2013.


In bursts

– New additions to walls at Harvard University.

– Samuel Savoie of the Gatineau Olympiques signs with the Blackhawks.

– Filip Mesar doesn’t even crack the top 10. Does that worry you?

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