OFF MIC: GOALIE AND VIDEO COACH, ROB COUTURIER

In the inaugural edition of “Off Mic”, a weekly series that captures the stories and journeys of Mavericks players, coaches and staff, Rob Couturier served as our very first guest. Rob is currently in his second season as the Mavericks Goalie and Video Coach, but he took us a few decades back and 1,600 miles away to his humble beginnings in Bangor, ME. 

Sitting just 109 miles south of the Canadian border, Bangor is home to some of the harshest winters in the country. Rob recalled a few winters as a kid when the temperature dipped below zero for 20 days straight. Whereas in some warmer climates you might find tennis courts or golf courses on every corner, in Bangor, outdoor rinks dominated the city landscape as Rob described. You could barely walk a block without finding a rink in a park or someone’s backyard. “It was just a part of growing up and a huge part of my life,” Rob said. Although his parents were not big hockey people, it’s not surprising that hockey found Rob. 

His first encounter with hockey was at the age of five. A few of the boys from the neighborhood were playing and needed a goalie, so they put a stick in Rob’s hands. He joked that his Boston Bruins-obsessed friends probably just wanted to use the one Montreal Canadiens fan for target practice, but Rob fell in love with the game that day and embraced every chance he got to play goalie moving forward.

So how did coaching enter the picture? While realizing that a prolonged playing career likely wasn’t in the cards, Rob knew he wanted to stay around the game and turned to coaching as a viable path. His first coaching gig came at Hampden Academy, a small private high school located about five miles from Bangor, where he was hired as the school’s very first Goalie Coach and got to work alongside an old friend who was the Assistant Coach. 

Rob continued to cut his teeth during a five-year stint at North Yarmouth Academy, followed by subsequent roles as an NCAA Goaltending Coach at Colby College and the University of Nebraska-Omaha, while keeping his sights set on reaching the pro level. In mid-August of 2023, his goal came to fruition when Mavericks Head Coach and GM, Tad O’Had, announced that Rob had been hired as the organization's new Goalie and Video Coach. 

Rob shared that the biggest difference upon joining the pro ranks was the rigorous schedule. He had been accustomed to the college schedule which is capped at 40 games if a team is fortunate enough to go on a national championship run. In his first year in KC, Rob was part of a historic 92-game season that featured the Mavericks’ first-ever appearance in the Kelly Cup Finals, more than double the volume of any season he had experienced before. Another difference he shared is that in college hockey, coaches are often burdened with non-hockey related items, such as administration and class schedules. With the Mavericks, Rob says, “it’s just hockey all the time.”

So how does he get through the arduous 72-game schedule? For one, a lot of coffee. Secondly, just like the players, Rob maintains a strict gameday routine. From the morning skate to the mid-day suit prep to the pregame scouting report, consistency is king. 

Once the puck drops, Rob sets up shop in the press box where he runs the live game feed through a program on his computer, known as a tagging system. He identifies, or tags, events throughout the game such as the Mavericks’ neutral zone forecheck. As Rob explains, this comes into play when he and the rest of the coaching staff review film in between periods and discuss any adjustments they may want to make.

Away from the rink and to recuperate from the rigors of hockey season, Rob likes to spend his time in the outdoors be it fly-fishing, mountain biking, or even golfing, a newer and unexpected venture for him. Among his favorite destinations are Lake Jacomo and Blue Springs Lake, just a stone’s throw away from Cable Dahmer Arena. (Benson, 2024)