Growing up, we all knew that one person who knew what they wanted to do later on in life before everybody else. In certain locker rooms around Quebec, some 15 years ago, that person was Blainville-Boisbriand Armada General Manager Olivier Picard.
“It’s something I always wanted to do,” the now 31-year-old Picard recalls. “I was playing (U18) and my teammates were always saying I was going to be a scout for sure. I seemed to know everyone and everything (about the world of hockey management). It was something that was expected.”
Picard can point to a number of people who had a significant impact on his post-playing days. One of the top names on that list started to tap the former defenseman’s potential for talent evaluation when he was an overager for the same Armada club he now runs.
“I had a good relationship with (former Armada Head Coach) Joël (Bouchard),” Picard explains. “He would ask me who I felt could help our team. He was already seeing something in me. After I came back (from a short semi-pro stint), he gave me a job as a scout. Obviously, there’s not a clear path on how to become a GM so I knew I had to gain experience in hockey overall. That’s why I became a scout and later an Assistant Coach.”
Transitioning from junior hockey player to junior hockey scout in under one year might be close to a record. But for Picard, who also spent time with the Victoriaville Tigres and Gatineau Olympiques during his playing days, it was also a springboard. That first Assistant Coach role he speaks of came with his former U18 club, the Magog Cantonniers. This led to Picard’s return to major junior as first an Assistant Coach, then Assistant GM with the Sherbrooke Phoenix, an experience that led to further guidance from the likes of Jocelyn Thibault and Stéphane Julien.
“(They) always acknowledged the value of what I brought to the organization,” Picard points out.
After helping identify the talent that sent the Armada to back-to-back final appearances in 2017 and 2018, plus leaving a mark on a pair of very successful Phoenix squads, it was time for a new challenge. As it so turns out, it came about in a familiar place. During the 2023 off-season, Picard was named Armada GM and immediately went to work on a roster that was still in development mode. It was a challenge he relished.
“It’s building a team,” Picard responds when asked what he enjoys most about the job. “It’s what drives me. I like seeing progress and how everything you do has an impact right away.”
Picard has certainly had an impact. Not only is the Armada battling for top spot in the West Division this year, but up to 20 players on the roster are eligible to return next year. This lines up perfectly with Picard’s approach to moulding his roster as well as past lessons learned.
“You see the mistakes we’ve made in the past and try and avoid them,” Picard says. “You also remember the successes and try to replicate them. I also lived it as a player, so I understand the impacts of some things, like a (player having his) role change at Christmas. That’s why I’m trying to have a huge core of players, especially my elite players, who are already here when the season starts. That way, when the trade period comes, if we make moves, our largest roles aren’t changing. I want to use all those experiences in this position.”
Picard’s experiences have a distinct “full circle” vibe to them. Both player and coach in Magog; assistant in Sherbrooke, just up the road from his hometown of Waterville, Quebec; and, of course, in Blainville, where he’s seemingly done everything but sell 50/50 tickets.
“It’s so special to be doing this (job) here,” he says with more than note of sincerity. “I played for three other teams, but I always considered myself an Armada. It’s where I really flourished as a player. To have a chance to possibly bring the first championship to this organization really means a lot.”
Hearing Picard talk, it’s no wonder his fellow teenaged teammates pictured him sitting in the GM’s chair when he was still sitting in the locker room.
