The Bonnyville Pontiacs are saddened to announce the resignation of Head Coach Brad Flynn,
but have hired a two-time Memorial Cup champion to fill the position.
Mario Pouliot is now the 11th Head Coach in Bonnyville Pontiacs history.
Flynn tendered his resignation late last week due to a family emergency that is forcing him to
relocate back to Ontario.
“I would like to thank the board, management, and the players for the opportunity to be the
Head Coach of the Pontiacs. It is extremely disappointing that I cannot continue as Head
Coach,” Flynn said.
“The Bonnyville Pontiacs is a first class organization and I wish the organization nothing but the
best moving forward.”
Pouliot, 58, is the only coach in Canadian Hockey League history to win back to back Memorial
Cup championships with different teams, taking the Acadie–Bathurst Titan in the 2017-18
season and the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies in the 2018-19 season to Memorial Cup titles.
Flynn coached under Pouliot in 2015-16 with Acadie–Bathurst Titan.
“The Pontiacs organization is thrilled to be able to bring in a coach with a pedigree like Mario’s,
he comes to us in a tumultuous time with the surprise resignation of Brad Flynn. We want to
wish Brad nothing but the best going forward,” said associate General Manager Neil Langridge.
“Chad Nelson and myself were taken back with the news of Coach Flynn, but we immediately
went to work to ensure that our players would have the best leadership possible, a leader that
could not only push our players on the ice but push the organization to new heights.”
Associate General Manager Chad Nelson said, “We welcome Coach Pouliot to the Pontiacs
organization and are excited to integrate him with assistant coach Connor Cadaret who has
stepped up in the interim. Mario comes to us with a wealth of experience and success that will
be a welcome addition.”
Since 2010-11, Pouliot has coached 555 games in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League,
garnering a record of 268-235-33-19.
In eight seasons before that, the Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec native was the Head Coach, General
Manager, and Vice-President of the Collège Antoine-Girouard Gaulois of the Quebec AAA
Midget Hockey League (LHMAAAQ).
Pouliot coached 346 games and set a league record of 250 coaching wins, claiming five regular
season division titles, and one league playoffs championship in the 2002–03 season, the first in
the club’s history.
In 2003, the Gaulois qualified for the 2003 Air Canada Cup, the Canadian national Midget AAA
championship, taking home a silver medal. He was inducted into the LHMAAAQ Hall of Fame in
in 2011.
When Pouliot took the reins of the Acadie–Bathurst Titan in 2014-15, they were bottom of the
standings, and four seasons later, they were QMJHL and national champions.
The following summer, Pouliot was hired as Coach and General Manager of the Rouyn-
Noranda Huskies where they won 59 games during the regular season to set a QMJHL record,
tied a CHL record with 25 consecutive wins, and were ranked first overall in the CHL.
He was awarded the Ron Lapointe Trophy as the league’s Coach of the Year, and the Maurice
Filion Trophy as the league’s General Manager of the Year that season, and the Brian Kilrea
Coach of the Year Award of the CHL.
He stepped away from the Huskies due to health reasons in early 2021.
The Bonnyville Pontiacs wish Brad Flynn the best of luck moving forward and welcome Mario
Pouliot to the organization.