What path did our Lions travel before arriving in Trois-Rivieres? This is the question we will answer in this article.
Originally, the Lions were a professional club operating in the 1950s in Trois-Rivières. Following this long absence, there were the Draveurs de Trois-Rivieres in junior hockey and several LNAH clubs as well.
It all started with an idea from the mayor at the time to build a new, state-of-the-art Coliseum for the city of Trois-Rivieres. It was then that city councilors adopted a budget to build what is now called the Videotron Coliseum, located in District 55 near Highway 55.
Once the project was launched, it was necessary to find an occupant for this building. Several candidates raised their hands, including the Patriotes de l’UQTR. The city, therefore, decided to turn to Marc-André Bergeron, who had just left the Aigles de Trois-Rivières (baseball), to find the best occupant for the new arena.
Rumors then began to circulate about the future occupants. Many believed in a return of the North American Hockey League, others in the move of the Patriotes from UQTR. The strongest feeling in the population was the return of a team from the QMJHL but no mention of the ECHL.
It is, therefore, towards the end of 2020 that the first information as to the possible tenant begins to point to an ECHL club. The city has therefore decided to enter into an agreement with the Deacon Sports Entertainment group, chaired by Mr. Mark Weightman. This five-year agreement, therefore, brings an ECHL team to Trois-Rivières that can also go for 15 years.
The arrival of the team was therefore planned for the 2021-2022 season. It was then necessary to find an identity and a name for the team. The sporting history of the city as well as the Quebec identity, were then put forward when the time came to make these choices.
A selection committee issued a public survey to help choose the name of the new team. The names proposed were: Le Flambeau, La Forge, Les Forgerons, Le Trois-Rivières HC, Les Lions, Les Riverains, Les Saints, Les Tritons, Le 1634. Following two weeks of votes, it was finally Les Lions of Trois-Rivières which was elected by the population as the name of the future team.
It was at the beginning of the summer of 2021 that the new president of the team, Mark Weightman, and the new general manager of the club announced the name of the new team affiliated with the Montreal Canadiens, Les Lions de Trois-Rivieres.
The rest of the road is worthy of a Hollywood movie.
A first year under the sign of Covid with matches behind closed doors, more than 75 players donned the uniform of the Lions but despite everything, a surprise presence in the playoffs for the troop of the first coach in history, Eric Belanger. Of note, the Lions almost caused a surprise by causing a 7th and final game against the Growlers, who were a power in the league.
The second year was a very weird one for a franchise’s second year. A promising summer of high-caliber signings for the Lions quickly turned sour. A chemistry that did not take goalkeepers with fragile confidence, all this strewn with a resignation from the head coach. Despite everything, the team flirted until the last month of the season, with the last place leading to the playoffs, but in vain.
The third year will be the one to watch for the Lions. We had big changes at the beginning of the summer. Marc-André Bergeron got relieved from his duties, replaced by Pascal Rhéaume, who was the assistant coach for the last two years. The new GM didn’t lose time and signed some key players such as the captain Cedrick Montminy and last year’s best goal scorer Anthony Beauregard. Clearly, Rheaume is on a mission to bring this team to a whole new level and the next step. The 2023-2024 season is a promising one, and we feel the fans are getting more excited.
