The Montreal Canadiens organization is welcoming a new face with a unique background. David Urquhart is joining the Laval Rocket as an assistant coach, completing the team’s coaching staff under new head coach Daniel Jacob.
Jacob assumed the top job after Pascal Vincent departed for the Seattle Kraken. The returns of Martin Laperrière and Ilya Ejov had already been confirmed, leaving one final opening on the staff. Urquhart emerged as the favorite for that role ahead of Alexandre Jacques and Daniel Renaud, and the appointment is now official.
His coaching résumé already stands out. Before taking over McGill University’s program in 2021, Urquhart spent three seasons as an assistant coach with the San Diego Gulls in the American Hockey League. That AHL experience, combined with his university head-coaching tenure, gives him a practical foundation for developing the next wave of Canadiens prospects in Laval.
What truly separates Urquhart is a championship and academic pedigree rarely seen in professional hockey. As a player, the defenseman captained McGill and led the team to the OUA championship in 2008. His contributions earned him induction into the university’s Hall of Fame. After university, his playing career continued through the AHL and ECHL before taking him to Italy, where he won a championship in 2014.
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Even more striking is the path he has taken away from the ice. Urquhart holds a bachelor’s degree in finance and a master’s degree in sport psychology. His thesis examined how elite coaches build winning cultures—an area of study that maps directly onto the demands of developing young professionals in a competitive AHL environment. He is also trilingual, fluent in French, English, and Italian.
That combination of on-ice achievement, coaching experience at both the university and professional levels, formal education in finance and sport psychology, and multilingual ability creates a profile unlike almost anyone else currently working in the game. It positions Urquhart as a natural fit to help the Canadiens’ prospects grow in Laval, both as players and as professionals.
Given the depth of his background, it would not be surprising to see him continue climbing the coaching ranks in the years ahead. For now, the Rocket and the broader Canadiens organization have added a coach whose experiences and expertise offer something genuinely distinctive.