Laval assistant coach: Paul Byron not interested

Ever since he arrived in Montreal, Paul Byron has been a crowd favorite. Acquired for absolutely nothing, he’s had some great seasons.

Unfortunately, his field hockey career has come to a bit of a screeching halt due to injuries, but he continues to be involved with the team. Since hanging up his skates, he has been a player development consultant.

Last year, he worked closely with Owen Beck, Emil Heineman, Jan Mysak (Anaheim) and Filip Mesar. He also watched games with Oliver Kapanen, Blake Biondi and Cédrick Guindon. He was therefore very involved with the youngsters, which is why, a few months ago, Anthony Marcotte raised the possibility of seeing him behind the Rocket bench.

What does the main interested party think?

He’s not interested at the moment. That’s what he told journalist Jean-Philippe Arcand of La Presse newspaper.

All but one of the Rocket’s coaching staff will be back behind the bench next year.

That’s Kelly Buchberger, who has jumped ship to pilot a team in the Alberta Junior League. Byron would have been a prime candidate to replace him, but for the time being, he’d rather be his son’s head coach in minor hockey.

Right now, he’s not ready to take on such a time-consuming job.

It’s a full-time job. Even more so than when you’re playing. You spend so much time at the arena doing video, preparing for practices and games, traveling… It’s just not something I’m ready for in my life right now. – Paul Byron

The team’s former striker hasn’t closed the door, but let’s just say that in the short term, he can be forgotten in this role. Perhaps when Jean-François Houle’s contract expires, he’d like to become head coach…

For now, he loves what he does and wants to continue to help the team in his own way, by supporting the team’s prospects.