Former Montreal Canadiens director of hockey operations Patrick Boivin is the new director of recreation and athletics at Concordia University.
A resident of Côte-des-Neiges, Boivin will replace Katie Sheahan, who had held the position for more than a decade before retiring last May.
Boivin is the son of former Canadiens president Pierre Boivin and had held his position with the team for the last three seasons, overseeing daily team operations, including negotiating player contracts and establishing budgets.
Before becoming director of hockey operations, he spent two years as a corporate marketing manager with NHL Enterprises Canada.
He plans on blending all of this experience into the fold at Concordia, where he says he wants to “get sports and recreation entrenched into services offered to students by the university.”
“What I did with the Canadiens gives me a foundation for a big portion of the operations here,” he said during an interview.
“Athletics and recreation are key facets of student life at Concordia. That is why we have hired an individual who has the knowledge and experience to leverage opportunities that will enhance this important area,” said Lisa Ostiguy, Concordia’s deputy provost of academic affairs in a statement.
Boivin didn’t leave the Canadiens to become a Stinger, he said - he was moving on from the team and looking for the next step. The challenge and opportunity presented to him by Concordia fit right in with what he was hoping to accomplish next.
Though he admits that it’s too early to detail a plan for the next few years, he’s looking forward to the challenge of elevating what the university offers in terms of its athletics and recreation department.
“We want to reach out to the community and reposition, not rebrand, Concordia, to reenergize and bring the Stingers back to the forefront,” he said.
One of the first challenges he plans on tackling is strengthening the bonds with Stinger alumni and ensuring that a bond is created with current students.
“In the end, it’s about the people who are here now. We want to create a strong link and a sense of pride and engagement to the school through sports, so that even when students leave it’s always a part of them.”
He hopes that the same kind of connection can also be created with borough residents, noting how often local youth camps and sports teams are hosted in the Stinger Dome and how a familiarity with the campus at a young age can create a connection to the university in young athletes.
Concordia is hoping Boivin’s experience will help bring some of its programs back to the top, especially the football team, which has struggled as of late and missed the playoffs twice in the last three seasons, and the men’s hockey team, which finished with an 8-15 record last year.
Locally, Boivin is also a member of the board of the Fondation du Collège Notre-Dame, helping the school achieve its educational objectives and develop new projects.
