Behind the Bench: Chris Levesque

*All Quotes obtained first hand during November of 2016*

Temiscaming Titans Head Coach Chris Levesque is one of the more unique cases of a Head Coach in the GMHL, this is not to say bad but it is not very often that someone gets to coach the very team they spent years playing for on the ice.

That's right before Levesque joined the coaching staff of the Titans two years ago, and promptly helped lead them to a Russell Cup Victory, he spent the prior 3 seasons playing for them. A fan favorite over his 3 years in Temiscaming, the heavy hitting and soft finishing defencemen had 97 points (25G, 72A) during his career and is one of four Titans honored at Le Centre with a Banner of Achievement 

We sat down with Levesque and talked with him on a number of topics, 

On the evolution of the league over the past 6 years, " Lots of things have changed since I played, there was a lower amount of teams in the league when I began my journey here in the GMHL the league has gradually expanded year by year which has allowed more players from across the world to get the opportunity to play which I feel gives more players an opportunity to play at a high level of hockey."

Spending all 6 of his GMHL associated years in Temiscaming one can't help but ask Levesque about the town where his heart has been for so long, " Being a part of an organization such as Temiscaming is something that I take pride in and that I'm grateful for, it really is like no other, having the chance to play and now coach in front of 500 fans a game is very exciting and it brings an extra level out of your game, the talk of the town throughout the week is usually about the Titans. The ownership does a great job running this team, they make it a very welcoming and comfortable environment to be in."

This season so far has seen its shares of ups and downs for the Titans and currently sees them as a middle of the pack team in terms of standings, Coach Levesque has high hopes for the season still however, "We are currently 3 wins over .500 but it's still fairly early in the season and I feel like we are making progress every day. I'd like to personally thank the support I have been getting from my assistant coach Bryn Roberts who I believe is the best person that could be on the staff with me and works just as hard if not harder than I do day in and day out. The regular season is definitely a good learning tool and process in many areas for our hockey club, such as overcoming adversity, learning how to rebound, staying composed and to not get too far ahead of ourselves that way we are ready for a Russell Cup run."

Here's wishing that Coach Levesque can continue his 6 year run of excellence up in Temiscaming and help lead the Titans on an exciting Russell Cup playoff run.