Pionniers de Chamonix Mont-Blanc

The Pionniers de Chamonix Mont-Blanc (French for 'Chamonix Mont-Blanc Pioneers') are a French ice hockey team based in Chamonix, Haute-Savoie. They play in the country's top tier, the Ligue Magnus. For their inaugural 2016–17 season, they were known as Pionniers de Chamonix-Morzine.

Pionniers de Chamonix Mont-Blanc
NicknamePionniers
CityChamonix
LeagueLigue Magnus
2016–Present
Founded2016
Home arenaCentre Sportif Richard Bozon
Colours     
PresidentBernard Molliet
Head coachMarc LeFebvre
CaptainNuma Besson
WebsiteLes Pionniers

History

Origins

In 2016, France's Ligue Magnus adopted an expanded schedule and cut its number of teams from 14 to 12. The league's two Haute-Savoie clubs, the Chamois de Chamonix and the Pingouins de Morzine-Avoriaz, decided to merge their respective professional teams in order to better face the economic and competitive challenges presented by the new setup. The result of that fusion was a joint team called the Pionniers,[1] splitting its home games between Chamonix and Morzine-Avoriaz.[2] The amateur sections remained separate and retained the Chamois and Pingouins names.[3]

While both towns are located within the same department, they are not particularly close, with Chamonix nested in the Mont Blanc massif and Morzine-Avoriaz part of the Chablais region. Following negotiations between the two municipalities, it was agreed that Chamonix would be the united team's training base for its inaugural season,[4] as well as the owner of its league franchise.[5]

2016-17 season

2016–17 Chamonix-Morzine logo

The precarious balance between the two organizations was quickly challenged when the new Pionniers limped out of the gate to a dismal record.[6] Mid-February 2017, head coach Stéphane Gros was dismissed as the team was dead last in the standings. The move was not unexpected from a sporting standpoint, but it further aggravated the Morzine-Avoriaz side as Gros had career ties to both clubs, while his replacement Christophe Ville was viewed as purely a Chamonix man.[7][8] The Pioneers still finished the season in last place and Morzine-Avoriaz renounced the partnership after a single season.[5]

Aftermath

As the fusion agreement was more protective of Chamonix's interests, Morzine-Avoriaz suffered the most damaging fallout.[5] Chamonix kept the organization's trademarks and visual identity, and most importantly its position in the French hockey rankings.[5] While their twelfth-place finish should have sent them to the lower division, they ended up being saved from relegation by the withdrawal of Dijon from the Ligue Magnus.[9]
Morzine-Avoriaz on the other hand returned to its previous identity, the Penguins, and had to start all over at the country's fourth level, the Division 3, in 2017–18.[5]

Roster

Updated February 5, 2019.[10]

Goaltenders
Number Player Catches Acquired Place of Birth
29 France Lucas Mugnierl L 2018 Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, France
33 Slovakia Richard Sabol L 2017 Prešov, Slovakia
Defencemen
Number Player Shoots Acquired Place of Birth
4 United States Geoff Fortman R 2018 Crystal Lake, United States
5 United States Colin Sullivan R 2018 Milford, United States
25 France Jérémie Penz L 2016 Sallanches, France
32 France Numa Bessone (C) L 2012 Sallanches, France
44 Slovenia Maks Selan L 2018 Jesenice, Slovenia
45 Czech Republic Vojtech Kloz L 2018 Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic
57 Czech Republic Jiri Klimicek L 2018 Ostrava, Czech Republic
94 France Clément Mermoux R 2018 Sallanches, France
Forwards
Number Player Shoots Position Acquired Place of Birth
12 Canada Perry D'Arrisso R RW 2018 Mississauga, Canada
14 France Adrien Glévéau R RW 2017 Sallanches, France
16 France Julien Laplace L C 2017 Annecy, France
17 France Fabien Kazarine L LW/RW 2018 Compiègne, France
20 Canada Cody Freeman L RW 2018 Markham, Canada
22 France Quentin Fauchon R RW 2018 Villeneuve-Saint-Georges, France
27 Canada Benjamin Lagarde L LW 2018 Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Quebec, Canada
33 France Mathieu Briand L C 2018 Saint-Pierre, Saint Pierre and Miquelon
40 United States Erik Higby L C 2018 New Braunfels, United States
54 Canada Scott Jacklin (A) L C/LW 2018 Kimberley, Canada
55 Sweden Henric Andersén (A) R RW 2017 Grums, Sweden
72 France Loïc Coulaud R RW 2018 Gap, France
77 France Maxence Leroux R C/RW 2018 Melun, France

References

  1. "Chamonix / Morzine : tout savoir sur les Pionniers du hockey". lessorsavoyard.fr. Groupe Rossel-La Voix. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  2. Alapetite, Alexis (2016-04-13). "Création d'une nouvelle équipe avec la fusion de Morzine et de Chamonix". parlonssports.fr (in French). Retrieved 2017-02-28.
  3. "U11: Tournoi Megève Tiers de glace". megevehockeyclub.fr. Megève Hockey Club. 30 September 2018. Retrieved 6 October 2021. Pingouins, [...] chamois [...] ont bien compris qu'il faut maintenant compter sur les Boucs de Megeve...
  4. "La naissance des Pionniers". Altus-Vallée de Chamonix. No. 19. Chambéry: Grands Espaces. p. 18. Pour cette saison 2016/2017, le « camp de base » de l'équipe sera Chamonix, avec des entraînements principalement à la patinoire Richard Bozon.
  5. Théveniau, Yves (24 October 2017). "Comme on se retrouve…". ledauphine.com. Groupe EBRA. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  6. "Hockey sur glace: les Pionniers de Chamonix Morzine lancent leur contre-offensive". france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr. France TV. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  7. "Changement d'entraineur pour le Chamonix Morzine Hockey Club" (Press release). Chamonix Morzine Hockey Club. 17 February 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  8. Juillet, Alexandre (17 February 2017). "Hockey sur glace - LM : Stéphane Gros n'est plus entraineur des Pionniers". hockeyhebdo.com. Média Sports Loisirs. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  9. "Ligue Magnus: les hockeyeurs niçois doivent maintenir le cap". nicematin.com. Groupe Nice Matin. 26 September 2017. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
  10. "Pionniers de Chamonix-Morzine Roster". pionniers-chamonix.com (in French). Retrieved February 5, 2019.
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