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Mario Lamoureux looking to grow hockey as he becomes Legacy head coach
Lamoureux and his family are household names within the hockey community in North Dakota. (Courtesy: Mario Lamoureux)

Mario Lamoureux looking to grow hockey as he becomes Legacy head coach

BISMARCK, N.D. (BVM) — There was no guarantee that Mario Lamoureux would take the Bismarck Legacy boys hockey head coaching job when he was offered it. He had received other coaching offers in the past that he had turned down. However, this one was different and came at a time that made Lamoureux make the big decision to retire from playing and move onto coaching. 

“It’s really exciting,” Lamoureux said. “Obviously a big transition in life for me but I’m just really excited to be a part of something that’s brand new. It’s a pretty unique situation to be able to create whatever we want it to be.”

Bismarck Legacy has never had a boys hockey team before, meaning that Lamoureux will become the program’s first coach. As Lamoureux said it is an opportunity that does not come along very often and one that would be hard to pass up. 

“You’re starting from scratch,” Lamoureux said. 

The job also gave him the chance to stay around the sport he loved year round. But that was something he already had through running his Lamoureux Hockey Camps and then playing professionally in Europe. Lamoureux also wasn’t exactly ready to retire and knew he still had what it took to play professionally. 

“I loved every second of being a player and I would have loved to play until I was 100 years old,” Lamoureux said. 

However, it was Lamoureux’s understanding of the impact he could make not just in Bismarck but the whole Midwest that made him decide to take the coaching job. 

“Just trying to grow hockey in general,” Lamoureux said. “Just trying to get more kids excited about playing hockey and finding a way for kids to get more success in hockey.”

It is his passion and desire to share his love of the game with as many people as he can.

Lamoureux has played professionally in Europe for almost 10 years. (Courtesy: Mario Lamoureux) 

“I just don’t know if there has been a more satisfactory feeling than seeing the passion and improvement out of a player and being a part of that I feel really grateful for,” Lamoureux said. 

Along with that is his goal of making sure kids have the right tools to take their hockey careers as far they possibly can. To give them the same opportunities he had that allowed him to have the career he had. 

“I’m excited to give those kids that opportunity,” Lamoureux said.

Lamoureux was a two-time state champion at Grand Forks Central before playing junior hockey for the Tri-City Storm in Kearney, Neb., He then went on to play for the University of North Dakota which led to him playing professionally all across Europe, even winning a championship in Denmark back in 2008. 

Those opportunities have also set him up for success as a coach. The long-time hockey player has a vast knowledge of the sport and can pull from all the great coaches who helped him during his career. 

“You pick what you like and what you don’t like from a lot of coaches as you kind of go through the process of youth hockey, high school, juniors, college and pro,” Lamoureux said. “You kind of piece all those things together on what you thought was most effective.”

Along with that comes many people he can reach out to for advice. Many former teammates are now coaches at different levels of the sport and his brother, Pierre, is the head coach of the Fargo Force, a USHL team. His sisters, Jocelyn and Monique, are also Olympic Gold medalists with USA Women’s Hockey, so there is no shortage of people to call.

“It makes a big difference to lean on other people,” Lamoureux said. 

With the resources at his disposal and his passion for the game stronger than ever, Lamoureux is ready for this next chapter of his life, but that doesn’t mean he is hanging up his skates for good. Unfortunately for his future players, they will have to scrimmage their coach at practice from time to time, and he won’t be taking it easy on them. 

“I’ve thought about it,” Lamoureux said. “This will be my way to get my competitive edge out a little and take it out on the high school kids.”

That will no doubt be fun, but at the foundation of all of it is a desire to create an environment where kids want to work hard, and Lamoureux knows how he will create that atmosphere. 

“To me I approach this the same way I approached it as a player,” Lamoureux said. “I got to show up and bring it everyday and what I did as a player was as a player and I want to show about and prove myself on the coaching side of it and that means showing up and proving it to the players on a consistent basis. You want to set that tempo for hard work and dedication and that starts with me at the top.”

Lamoureux knows that if he does that his players will have the success he wants for them and the Legacy team will thrive. However, Lamoureux does not just want his players to thrive, he wants the sport and all those in the region to thrive with him. 

“Obviously I’m the high school coach for legacy hockey but I really view myself as a coach for the hockey community in this region,” Lamoureux said. “If that means helping kids from another community whether it’s Mandan, Bismarck high, Century, Jamestown or wherever, if I can help a kid there have a chance to go move on I am 100% in support of trying to help that kid.”