Blaze retain LeFebvre as head coach
Coventry Blaze have confirmed Marc LeFebvre as the team’s head coach for the 2014/15 season.
British-Canadian LeFebvre took over in mid-February following the departure of Matt Soderstrom and will now be given the chance to build his own team following what was a disappointing season for the Blaze.
LeFebvre, 31, was part of the Sheffield Steelers’ double-winning side of 2003/04 before joining the Blaze as a player for the 2005/06 season.
His first foray into coaching was as head coach of the 1000 Islands Privateers in the FHL in North America in 2011/12 before leading the Dayton Demonz to the same league title the following year.
After being named the league’s coach of the year, he opted to further his career by joining up with Doug Christiansen in Sheffield at the start of the season just ended.
Blaze chairman Andy Buxton said: “We went through a lengthy and thorough process before arriving at the decision to appoint Marc. We interviewed a short-list of five candidates and after weighing up all of the options we decided Marc is the right man to take us forward at this time.
“We’ve been very impressed with the way he has gone about his business since joining us in February. He is thorough, well prepared and very knowledgeable. Very importantly he really wants to be here. He doesn’t just want to be a head coach, he wants to be the head coach of Coventry Blaze.
“He has a great plan for how we need to move forward on the ice and he strongly believes he can build a team that everyone connected with the club will be proud of. He has plans for how we can improve all aspects of our on ice performance and preparation.
“We all believe that to be successful in this league you have to understand the league. Most of the people who have coached in the Elite League have come from within.
“A coach here has to be a great all-rounder – a good coach but a good recruiter and man-manager too. All of those things are so important and we believe Marc has all those qualities through his time as a head coach in North America, working with the Steelers and since joining us. He is very well connected. A number of last season’s players have told us how much they learned from him in such a short time.
“He’s only been coaching Blaze for a short time but you can already see the passion he has for the club. A huge number of our supporters saw that and we’ve been overwhelmed with messages saying they would love to see him given the chance to build his own squad and lead this team next season.
“We’d like to thank all of the other people who were interested in our club and we want to wish Marc all the very best as he looks to lead us into the 2014/15 season.”