Winner of only one of its first thirteen games of the National League season with Christian Wohlwend, HC Ajoie has gleaned three successes in five matches under the leadership of Julien Vauclair. The contrast is so striking that it raises the question: was the sporting director ultimately not the ideal man on the bench for his club?
This was never an option. From October 21, the date on which “Wohlwo” was dismissed from his duties, Julien Vauclair continued to repeat that he would not finish the exercise as coach and that the priority was to find a replacement.
What he did on Friday. Canadian Greg Ireland will take over the reins of the Jura team during the international break.
The right solution? Maybe. Or perhaps the most judicious alternative, both financially and sportingly, would have been for Julien Vauclair to continue his interim role at the head of HC Ajoie. A statistic supports this observation.
Since its promotion in 2021-2022, four technicians have managed the Vouivre. And guess who has, by far, the best balance sheet? It’s Julien Vauclair. The sports director collected 44 points in 37 regular season games in three stints on the boards, an honorable average of 1.19 points per game.
For comparison, Gary Sheehan (0.44), Filip Pesan (0.67) and Christian Wohlwend (0.66) fell far short of the point-per-game average during their respective tenures.
These numbers say two things. First that Julien Vauclair is the best coach of HC Ajoie since his return to the elite – probably that his double role helps him get the best out of his players – and then that his successor will be under pressure.
Julien Vauclair proved that the group he built was capable of winning. Greg Ireland will have to do the same from October 15 in Kloten. Especially since he will benefit from the contribution of Pierre-Édouard Bellemare and his 785 NHL matches.
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