Montreal Canadiens’ new goalie coach got his start in Cape Breton

Former Cape Breton goalie coach Marco Marciano gets called up to work with the Montreal Canadiens.

Stepping onto the ice as the Montreal Canadiens’ new goaltending coach on Wednesday was a moment decades in the making for Marco Marciano. The 43-year-old Quebecer’s journey to the National Hockey League has deep roots on Cape Breton Island.

“Ever since Marco moved in with us when he was in his early 20s he’s been a really hard worker and been a great goalie coach,” said Janelle Hawkins of Westmount, N.S., whose family billeted Marcino more than 20 years ago when he was the goaltending coach for the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League’s Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.

One of Marciano’s proteges and housemates at the Hawkins residence was a young man named Marc-Andre Fleury.

“Marc-Andre went to the NHL and came back a few months later and they were both under the same roof, which is kind of an interesting story because now look at them,” Hawkins said, recalling the 2003-04 season when both Marciano and Fleury lived at her home.

Cape Bretoner Scott Gouthro reached the American Hockey League as a goaltending coach. He worked alongside Marciano with the Eagles. He said his friend paid his for many years with the Canadiens’ AHL affiliate, the Laval Rocket.

“I’ve known Marco since I started with the Eagles about eighteen years ago,” said Gouthro, who remains a goaltending consultant with the team. “For him to get the call now just shows his character and the perseverance that he had, going through all this and sticking with it - grinding it out throughout the years.”

Marciano, who was born and raised in the Montreal area, will celebrate his 44th birthday coming up on February 2. Getting the NHL promotion in his hometown seems like an early present.

“I think that was always the dream”, Hawkins said, adding that she and her family stay in touch with Marciano. “I’d say it was pretty far off when he first started, but he worked for it and here he is.”

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