The Boxers de Bordeaux are a professional ice hockey team founded in 1998 and based in Bordeaux, Gironde, France. Since 2015, they have been playing at the highest level of the French hockey pyramid, the Ligue Magnus. The team is partly owned by a group of Canadian investors, which includes famed player and coach Patrick Roy.
| Boxers de Bordeaux | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Bordeaux, France |
| League | Ligue Magnus 2015–present |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Home arena | Patinoire de Mériadeck |
| Colors | |
| Owner(s) | Jean Bédard Patrick Roy Jacques Tanguay |
| General manager | Stéphan Tartari |
| Head coach | Olivier Dimet |
| Captain | Loïk Poudrier |
| Website | www |
| Franchise history | |
| 1998–present | Boxers de Bordeaux |
History
editFounding and lower divisions (1998–2015)
editThe organization was established in October 1998 under the legal name Bordeaux Gironde Hockey 2000 to succeed a recently folded team known during most of its history as the Dogues de Bordeaux. Like its predecessor, the club named itself after a mastiff breed, the boxer.[1] A few players from the Dogues opted to remain with the new team despite starting all the way back to the fourth tier. Among them was league veteran Stéphan Tartari, who would double as a player and assistant coach. He would graduate to the position of head coach, and later manager after the end of playing career.[2]
The Boxers immediately ascended to the third tier, and further gained promotion to the second tier in 2006, where it would remain for ten years. In 2014, the parent club spun off the men's team to a separate for-profit company to prepare for promotion to the country's highest level, the Ligue Magnus.[3] The team reached second-tier finals in 2014 and 2015, losing to Lyon in the former before defeating southwest rivals Anglet—then coached by future Bordeaux skipper Olivier Dimet—thanks to a sudden death goal by Anglet-trained Thomas Decock in game four of the best-of-five series.[4] With the win, the city of Bordeaux returned to the national top flight after a 17-year absence.[5]
Ligue Magnus (2015–present)
editUnderdog years
editFollowing an undistinguished first season, where it finished in 9th place and narrowly missed the playoffs, the team reached 4th place and the playoff semifinals in 2016–17 and 2017–18, equaling the historical best of the market's previous team, the Dogues. The 2018–19 campaign however, was both a sporting and financial disappointment, as the club was prematurely eliminated by Amiens in the quarterfinals, and assessed the first of two consecutive point penalties for overspending. As a result, the club had to par down its roster for several seasons to replenish its coffers.[6] Following the rebuild, the club returned to its status as a solid underdog in the Ligue Magnus behind the league's perennial big three of Rouen, Grenoble and Angers, with the city of Bordeaux considered perhaps the country's most hockey-friendly major agglomeration thanks to its affluent demographics.[3][7][8]
Breakthrough and arrival of Canadian investors
editIn January 2024, it was announced that a partnership of former NHL great Patrick Roy and fellow Canadians Jean Bédard, owner of sports bar chain La Cage, and Jacques Tanguay, former owner of the Quebec Remparts, had acquired a minority stake in the team. The trio's shares represent an 18.5 percent ownership.[9][10][11]
Following an injury-hampered early season, the Boxers righted the ship to enter the playoffs with the fourth seed. They beat newcomers Marseille in the overtime of game seven, before upsetting the country's biggest-budget team Grenoble in a five-game semifinal to reach their first championship series. The team won the first two games on the ice of title defenders Rouen, but lost the next four to finish the campaign as runner-up, its best result to date.[12]
Current roster
editUpdated 7 November 2024.
Honors
editChampions
edit
Division 1 (1): 2014–15
Runners-up
edit
Ligue Magnus (1): 2023–24
Division 1 (1): 2013–14
Retired numbers
edit| No | Player | Position | Career | Last match date for Boxers | Date No. retired |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Stéphan Tartari[2] | C | 1998–2008 1996–98 w/ Dogues de Bordeaux |
April 12, 2008 | January 29, 2019[13] |
Notable personnel
editReferences
edit- ^ Canellas, Claude (December 1, 2022). "Dans le rétro : 50 ans de hockey à Bordeaux". hockey-boxers-de-bordeaux.fr (in French). Archived from the original on September 26, 2023.
- ^ a b Queuille, Marjorie (April 3, 2024). "Hockey. Finale de Ligue Magnus : Stéphan Tartari, une vie de passion pour le manager des Boxers de Bordeaux". Sud Ouest (in French). Retrieved May 29, 2023.
- ^ a b Goujon, Alain (December 16, 2016). "Hockey : les Boxers de Bordeaux veulent jouer 'les premiers rôles'". Sud Ouest (in French). Bordeaux. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
- ^ Lataillade, E.; Joucia-Parker, B.; Robin, N. (reporters) (April 3, 2015). Finale d'accession en ligue Magnus : le match de la victoire pour les Boxers de Bordeaux (TV report) (in French). Bordeaux: France 3 Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
- ^ Mathieu, Adrien (September 26, 2015). "17 ans après, la Ligue Magnus est de retour à Bordeaux". francebleu.fr. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
- ^ Carpentier, Clément (September 3, 2019). "Ligue Magnus: Les Boxers de Bordeaux 'en voie de redressement' sur le plan financier veulent 'aller chercher un titre'". 20minutes.fr (in French). Retrieved May 29, 2023.
- ^ Laplume, Nicolas (February 1, 2024). "'On sent un véritable engouement' : les Boxers de Bordeaux remplissent la patinoire de Mériadeck". Sud Ouest (in French). Retrieved May 29, 2023.
- ^ Cardinale, Juliette (April 7, 2024). "Avec les Boxers, la passion pour le hockey grandit à Bordeaux : 'On a été surpris par l'ambiance'". actu.fr (in French). Retrieved May 29, 2023.
- ^ O.P. (January 18, 2024). "Patrick Roy, légende de la NHL, devient co-actionnaire de Bordeaux en Ligue Magnus". lequipe.fr (in French). Retrieved April 2, 2023.
- ^ Canellas, Claude (March 11, 2024). "Jean Bédard : 'C'est une belle aventure !'". hockey-boxers-de-bordeaux.fr (in French). Retrieved May 29, 2023.
- ^ "Patrick Roy et Jacques Tanguay investissent dans un club de hockey de Bordeaux". radio-canada.ca (in French). January 18, 2024. Retrieved May 29, 2023.
- ^ Queuille, Marjorie (April 16, 2024). "Finale de la Ligue Magnus : le rêve des Boxers de Bordeaux s'est envolé, mais ils n'ont rien à regretter". Sud Ouest (in French). Bordeaux. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
- ^ Nadeau, Julien (January 31, 2019). "Si proches de l'exploit". hockeyhebdo.com (in French). Retrieved May 29, 2023.
External links
edit- Ligue Magnus site (in French)
- Official Website (in French)