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Ottawa Citizen

Moncton Wildcats' father-son magic

It's an embrace Gardiner and Taylor MacDougall will never forget. Article content Article content The Moncton Wildcats had just won the franchise's first Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) championship in 15 years. Players and staff were celebrating on the ice in Rimouski, Que. Article content Taylor rushed to his father, Gardiner, and the two hugged. The emotion of the moment was evident on both of their faces. Article content 'I don't know if you could make up a scene in Hollywood and come out with how everything worked out,' Gardiner told The Guardian in a phone interview on May 20, one day after the Wildcats posted a 3-2 road win over the Rimouski Oceanic to win the franchise's third QMJHL championship. 'We are very, very blessed for sure.' Article content Head Coach & GM. Father & Son. Gardiner & Taylor. What a wild year it's been for the MacDougall pair! 🫂 @monctonwildcats | #QPlayoffs — QMJHL (@QMJHL) May 20, 2025 Article content This marked the MacDougalls' first season with the Robert K. Irving-owned and led Wildcats, who have now won three QMJHL championships since 2006. Taylor is the general manager and Gardiner, who grew up in Bedeque, P.E.I., is head coach. Article content Article content 'It is special, and it is something you try to soak in for a second,' Taylor told The Guardian on May 20. 'To get the win at all is something that is so hard to do, but to get to do it with family is probably even more so. Article content 'That extends into our entire staff. We have such a great staff and group to work with and there were a lot of special moments with them.' Article content 'I'm just happy for the entire organization,' said Taylor, a lawyer who previously worked as a player agent. 'We are so fortunate and so lucky with the people we have involved in the organization, a lot of them have been a part of the organization for a long time. You start with Mr. Irving and I'm so happy for them and the players.' Article content Article content Article content Expectations Article content The MacDougalls took over a Wildcats' team with championship aspirations. With a veteran core returning for the 2024-25 season, the Wildcats finished atop the overall standings in the 18-team league in the regular season with a record of 53-9-2-0 (won-lost-overtime losses-shootout losses), the Wildcats went 16-3 in the playoffs en route to winning the Gilles Courteau Trophy. Article content 'The overall experience has been exhilarating with the group,' said Gardiner, who spent the previous 24 seasons as head coach of the UNB men's hockey program, winning nine national championships and 12 Atlantic University Sport (AUS) conference titles. 'We were fortunate as a father-son to win two national championships at UNB as a coach-player, and here it's coach-general manager.