The conferences were presented by Catapult, a company that developed software used “pretty much everywhere” in the hockey world by coaches. Jeremy Coupal, former video coach of the Edmonton Oilers, contacted Enrick Corneau to offer him the opportunity to be one of the speakers.
A proposal that he quickly accepted when it arrived at the beginning of April.
“If I haven’t spoken to all the video coaches, I don’t miss many from the National League,” mentioned the Chicoutimien, in a telephone interview. You arrive at the front and it’s your turn to present your conference. I was still surprised to see that there weren’t many presenters. It was a big privilege.”
During this conference, the 29-year-old was asked to share his reality with the Saguenéens and his experiences over the years, he who is in his 12th year in the world of hockey, through various involvements as a coach. He started to touch the video component in 2016 and last season was his first in the Sags organization.
The good news is that Enrick Corneau will be able to continue doing this for at least the next two seasons in Chicoutimi since his contract has been renewed.
“I talked about my day-to-day work, my way of working, the reality of junior hockey,” he described. People don’t know much about the video coaching profession and even if my presentation was made to other video coaches, it allows you to learn certain things. It’s a lesser known reality, we put a lot of hours into it, while being in the shadows. In the end, our role is just as important.”
Precision work
Cutting video sequences of the opponent, study of the different phases of the game, selection of the most relevant moments to present to the players before the match, fine-tuning the visual style. The tasks are numerous for a video coach, who spends quite a few hours behind his computer screen, before, during and after a hockey match.
A native of Chicoutimi, Enrick Corneau served as video coach for the Saguenéens during the last season. (Bruno Girard/Chicoutimi Saguenéens)
It’s about filtering and further filtering everything that is relevant in order to be as precise as possible, put into context Enrick Corneau, who always liked to look at what was being done elsewhere.
“It’s important to be aware of the gaming systems and I like to be up to date, in order to have up-to-date data documented at a specific location,” confided the man who landed in Vegas on Monday evening, for his first visit to the vice capital.
“It was the first time I gave a presentation in front of a group of coaches and for the coaches,” he confirmed. There were people from different leagues, different teams, different nationalities. It was pretty incredible.”
Despite the many looks, Enrick Corneau felt a spirit of camaraderie among the video coaches from the different circuits. Participants from the National League, the American League, the Canadian League, the NCAA (American university circuit) and the new Women’s Professional League, among others, participated in the Catapult activities, in addition to the coaching provided by the NHLCA, the NHL Coaches Association.
“I don’t know where it comes from, but the video coaching community is special, there’s no one in competition,” noted the Saguenéens’ standard-bearer. “We probably understand each other because we’re always there to fix the technical problem when it arises! We’re not there to take the place of an assistant or anyone else, we’re there to support and the goal is to make life easier for the coaching staff. There’s also a nice management aspect that’s interesting with the work of a video coach.”
Enrick Corneau has been employed by the Chicoutimi Saguenéens since the start of the 2023-2024 season.
Everything in its time
Officially a member of the Saguenéens until the end of the 2025-2026 season, just like the entire coaching staff already in place, Enrick Corneau obviously aspires to climb the ranks in the world of hockey. But not at any price and above all, there is no question of skipping steps.
“I live in the moment and right now, my goal is to be with the Saguenéens. To win, obviously, but to continue to grow as a coach and as an individual, by continuing to give my all to the organization in my region. As I told Yan (Yanick Jean, head coach), it’s a dream to be with the Sags and I’m having a lot of fun,” assured the Chicoutimien.
