MacDougalls usher in new Wildcats era

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Taylor MacDougall’s first public job, minutes into his role as general manager and director of hockey operations of the Moncton Wildcats, was a duty that came from the heart – welcoming his father Gardiner as the team’s new head coach.

Moments earlier, Taylor, 34, was the focal point as he was introduced to the hockey world by Wildcats’ president Robert Irving, ushering in a new era that the organization is banking on will lead it to a long-coveted Memorial Cup title.

“I recognize the expectations are high but our expectations of ourselves are even higher,” said Taylor MacDougall, who made remarks in both official languages.

The family connection represented an obvious theme to the announcement, one that Irving set the tone for by opening with a tribute to his late uncle Arthur, who passed away earlier this week.

Then, he also spoke to Taylor about the impact that his own father – J.K. Irving – made on his life and his career.

“I am thrilled that Gardiner and Taylor will be working together,” Irving said. “This is exciting. There is nothing like a father and son working together as a team. I can tell you my dad has been a mentor in my life and in business. He has provided me with guidance and direction that helped me succeed. I talk to him every night and he is my inspiration. I know, Taylor, that your dad is your inspiration. It is a special moment for a father and son.”

The news capped more than a month of speculation in a lengthy process since the team and former head coach Daniel Lacroix mutually agreed to part ways in April following a four-game sweep to Chicoutimi in the opening round of the QMJHL playoffs. Wednesday now represents a key reset point as the team enters a prime go-for-it stage in the current development cycle for the franchise, nearly three decades into its existence.

Gardiner MacDougall, who announced his retirement from the University of New Brunswick on Tuesday after winning nine University Cup titles since 2000, detailed this week how Taylor’s development in the QMJHL provided him with important insight as a coach and a parent.

Combining to move forward with his son in a strong organization that should contend for the 2025 QMJHL title was too good to pass up.

“There were a lot of factors but this was the biggest,” Gardiner MacDougall,64, said of that family opportunity.

The duo will hit the ground running. Because they have to do so.

The next item of business is the QMJHL draft, slated for June 7-8 at the Avenir Centre. But even before that is the league’s next trading period, a short but intense window where future considerations from the Christmas trading period will be finalized as well as new deals to stock teams for runs at the 2025 title.

“It is a challenge and it is a small window,” Taylor MacDougall said. “We are going to have to work very hard over the new couple of weeks. Things happen fast and we have to dig in and make assessments and ultimately make decisions….(the timing with) the draft is critical, so we have to hit the ground running.”

Taylor MacDougall played five seasons in the QMJHL with St. John’s, Montreal and Cape Breton and then five more years with the UNB Reds before earning his law degree and embarking on a career as a player agent.

He plans on making a trip to the Montreal area this weekend to meet with some members of the current Cats team and then prepare for the draft.

“We want to empower everyone we are working with, so the first step is just familiarizing myself with the team, the roster and getting to know them,” Taylor MacDougall said.

One of the duties he had to complete before accepting the position was transferring more than 20 to 25 of his QMJHL clients.

“We had a lot of great relationships and making this decision was an exciting one but a very hard one,” he said. “Having some of those conversations was tough yesterday, if I am being honest.”

Now, the process is getting ready for the draft – an oncoming challenge just over three weeks away.

Gardiner MacDougall is no stranger to success, armed with championship credentials Irving was attracted to in a Mem Cup quest.

Gardiner MacDougall won nine University Cups with the Reds after arriving in Fredericton in 2000, the last a perfect 43-0 season for the 2024 title. He added a pair of University Games gold medals as well. Further, he won the Memorial Cup with the Saint John Sea Dogs in an interim role after Gordie Dwyer was let go by Saint John following the 2022 playoffs.

He recently capped his outstanding credentials with a gold medal at the World Under 18 Hockey Championship in Finland that wrapped up earlier this month with a 6-4 victory over the United States in the championship game.

Wildcats star forward Caleb Desnoyers was a member of that Canadian team.

Now it is time to get to know the rest of the Wildcats, who he saw a ‘couple of games’ this past season.

“It is all about JGS,” Gardiner MacDougall told the crowd. “Just getting started.”

In a season of high expectations in 2023-24, the Wildcats finished third in the Eastern Conference and were bounced 4-0 by Chicoutimi in the first round.

The subsequent changes happened almost immediately when Lacroix and the team agreed to part ways and shortly afterward, former director of hockey operations Ritchie Thibeau accepted a senior management position with JD Irving, Limited.

There was early speculation that Gardiner MacDougall was the Cats’ top choice but he was finalizing a multi-year extension with the University of New Brunswick. Compounding the timeline was MacDougall’s duty as head coach with Team Canada at the world championship in Finland.

Speculation intensified in Moncton after Canada captured gold at that event May 5 but there were no announcements when he returned to his UNB offices. In fact, last week, he told Brunswick News he was headed out on a recruiting trip for the hockey program.

On Friday, sources say, things really began to come together in discussions with the Wildcats and after the weekend, MacDougall and the team had arrived at a deal. He started to inform university officials of his decision on Monday.

“To get to this position, things happen quickly in the hockey world,” Gardiner MacDougall said.

“I have extreme gratitude for what Mr. Robert K. Irving has done. There was probably one person in New Brunswick, one person in the Quebec Maritimes Hockey League and one person in all of Canada that could pull it off, what he just did.”

On Tuesday evening, MacDougall publicly announced his retirement from UNB at the Aitken Centre in Fredericton and on Wednesday morning, he was formally welcomed as head coach by his son at the Avenir Centre in Moncton.

“Seventeen hours and 22 minutes – the shortest retirement in hockey history,” he laughed before his formal remarks Wednesday.