ST. PAUL – The St. Paul Jr. Canadiens have named their captain for the 2022/23 season. On Sept. 2, the Junior B hockey club introduced Kurtis Labant as the team’s captain heading into the upcoming hockey season.
Head coach Corey deMoissac says most of the team already looks up to Labant due to the captain’s experience. Labant played Junior A hockey in Whitecourt, before returning home to play with the Canadiens.
Labant says that he is excited to be back out on the ice and to play in front of his hometown crowd and wear the ’C’ on his jersey. He adds there are also plenty of other leaders on the team.
“We have a lot of leaders on the team – we have 15 guys coming back, so a lot of leaders in the room,” said Labant, explaining that he feels confident having a team with so many veteran players. In addition, he says the team brought in a couple of “big guys,” which should benefit the team.
“The biggest goal is for us to win the league,” says Labant. “The team is really excited, getting back out on the ice here on Friday for our camp - starting in Glendon.”
Several familiar names will return to the Canadiens’ roster this season
Labant is confident heading into the season, saying the Canadiens will always put on a good show for all the fans. As of Sept. 2, among the many returning players are Isaak Watters, Logan Higdon, and Lucas Martin from Bonnyville. Returning players from St. Paul include Bradley Mistol, Noah Balmer, Jacob Leroux, Liam Boyko, and of course Labant.
Other returning players also include William Chemago (Slave Lake), Teagan Densmore (Cold Lake), Louis-David Fournier (Berthier-sur-Mer, Quebec), Dylan Lindal (Humboldt, Sask.), Matthew McDonald (Rosetown, Sask.), and Ethin Campbell (Salmon Arm, British Columbia).
The team also acquired Jayden Williams from the Cold Lake Ice for future considerations. Treston Moisey (Mallaig) is also coming back after playing for the Red Lake Miners in the 2021/22 season.
Newly signed players include Jarrett Boulianne (Bonnyville), who played for the Lakeland Panthers U18 AA last season, and Tyler Broesky (Medicine Hat), who previously played for Potomac Patriots.
The team also acquired the playing rights of Kelton McAuley (Bonnyville) from the Sicamous Eagles.
For the upcoming season, deMoissac says he is confident in the fact that the team’s general manager, Dean Smyl, has managed to build a solid team.
“It’s now up to the coaching staff to put it together and get it done,” said deMoissac.
“You know, our community has been awesome supporting the team and coming to games and I think we have one of the strongest fan bases in the whole league,” he says. “The fans continued support of [the team] is so welcoming and exciting.”
The team’s main fall camp was scheduled to take place in Glendon from Sept. 9-11.
