Who will be Canada's next coach of the men's team in short track

Earlier this week, we were the first to announce that Derrick Campbell was leaving Canada to coach the Chinese national team. Our mission is to bring you the news but also to make you learn more about the sport and its protagonists. Here a some of the trainers who could become head coach of the Canadian national team in the future.

By Carl Savard and Jackob Savard

Photos by Tony Chung, Martin Holtom and Passion/Speed/Skating

Frédéric Blackburn

It might not be the most plausible scenario but the actual head coach of the ladies’ national team, Frederic Blackburn, could make the switch to the men’s team. Blackburn coached the men’s national development team before taking the role of head coach for the ladies before the 2012-2013 season. Adding to his skating experience, the Olympic medalist is also a Chartered Professional Coach (ChPC) who possesses his level 4 NCCP certification.

Jon Cavar

The 41 years old Ontarian has more than a decade of experience as a member of the team of trainers preparing the Canadian athletes, men and women, to battle on the world stage. He was assisting head coach Derrick Campbell until the latter announced that he was leaving Canada for China earlier this week. Cavar is presently in charge of the men’s team who is already on the ice to prepare for the 2018-19 season. The Ottawa born also has experience as a head coach leading the USA’s short track team during two seasons from 2014 to 2016. He has a bachelor's degree in kinesiology and exercise science from Concordia University. As a skater, Cavar was crowned Canadian champion in 1998.   

Jonathan Guilmette

Three times Olympic medalist Jonathan Guilmette could also be part of the discussion when it comes to finding a replacement for Derrick Campbell. His work as a trainer includes the role of head coach of the Canadian regional training center based in Montreal followed by a full olympic cycle as a head coach for team Japan. While in Canada, Guilmette was in part responsible for the growth of such athletes as Samuel Girard and Kim Boutin. After four years in Japan, Guilmette is back in Canada as the manager of the high performance short track program in Calgary.

Eric Bédard

Just like Marc Gagnon, the name Eric Bédard as been linked to short track speed skating for a while by the general public. Bédard skated at the Olympic games in Nagano, Salt Lake City and Torino and won four olympic medals during his career. As a coach, he worked for the German national team before joining the Italian team. He also worked as a coach for France’s national team before coming back to Canada to work with the next generation of champions training at the Olympic oval in Calgary. He is now back in Quebec to work alongside his partners in promoting and developing their speed skating equipment company Nagano Skate.

Rémi Beaulieu

Born in Alma, Rémi Beaulieu is an interesting candidate for the job. Not presently part of the team of trainers guiding the destiny of the Canadian team, he occupied the role of head coach at the international level with the Kazakh national team. He is in charge of the Quebec training center in Laval, preparing younger skaters for the next stage of their career. As a skater, Beaulieu won multiple medals on the world cup circuit. He just completed a bachelor's degree in kinesiology and is an excellent teacher of the sport.

Sébastien Cros

Born in France, the 42 years old Cros was head coach of the Canadian female team that skated at the Vancouver Olympic games in 2010. Prior to that, he had coached the French national team from 2002 to 2007. He left Canada for Russia in 2012 in a situation similar to the one that saw Derrick Campbell announce he was stepping down from his job in Canada to join team China. Cros left Canada to join the Russian team as Russia was preparing to receive the world at the Sochi Olympic games. Derrick Campbell just left for China as the Middle Kingdom will host the Games in Beijing in 2022. As a skater, Sébastien Cros was part of the French national team from 1992 to 1998 and was France’s vice champion in 1994.

Kenan Gouadec

Gouadec grew up skating in Canada but ended up joining the French national team later on. He has a bachelor's degree in exercise science from Concordia University and a master's degree in exercise physiology from the University of Montreal. He has a lot of experience has a coach being linked to the Italian national team since 2011 as technical director and head coach. Prior to that, he had worked for Speed skating Canada as a regional development mentor based in Montreal.

Annie Sarrat

The selection of Annie Sarrat would be a huge surprise, but if Canada starts asking for their coaches to possess the highest level of education both in the health and coaching fields, her name should start being in the mix from now on. She has worked in the past with the women’s national team and is behind the development of upcoming talents such as Steven Dubois and Maxime Laoun. She is in charge of the development of the short track coaches in Canada being one of the few who has reached the highest level of certification in the country. As a skater, she has represented France and took part in the World junior championships during the 1994-95 season.

Marc Gagnon

Born in Chicoutimi, the name Marc Gagnon pretty much rhymes with short track in Canada. One of the most decorated Canadian athlete in the sport, he has been part of the team of trainers in charge of developing the younger Canadian skaters since 2010 and took the reins of the Regional training center in 2014 as the head coach. Gagnon’s knowledges are mainly field experiences taking their roots in his career as a skater at the highest level.

There is a possibililty, although we would be surprised, that none of these choices will get the job. There is also a possibility that Canada will use the departure of Derrick Campbell to rearrange their entire coaching pyramid. We should have the answer in a few weeks. And you? Who would be your choice? Click HERE to cast your vote in our survey.