Marc Dubeau of St. Lina gets to live his dream of being a hockey player for at least four more years.
The official announcement came on June 26 that the 21-year-old, who played the 2014-2015 season with the Kindersley Klippers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL), would be attending American International College (AIC) to play with the Yellow Jackets. The Yellow Jackets are a NCAA Division 1 team in the Atlantic Hockey Association.
Dubeau credits Giovanni Bombini, a former Klipper that is currently with the Yellow Jackets, for helping him land this opportunity.
“He (Bombini) was talking with our (Klippers) assistant coach, Chris Forsman, and he told him that AIC was still looking for a player. My assistant coach sent them video of me and they got in contact with me.”
What appealed to the AIC coaches was Dubeau’s size (6’5, 202 pounds), his footwork, his vision and his hands.
Dubeau told the Journal that the commitment to join the team came weeks prior to the official announcement. He had to register into the school before the news could be made public.
Part of the recruitment process involved Dubeau taking a quick round trip down to the college, which is based in Springfield, Massachusetts, to learn more about the team. He met the players and coaches, and then went out to a meal with them. He toured the school and he also looked at the rink.
“The architecture of the school stood out to me,” said Dubeau. “There were a lot of old brick buildings. I have been living in Western Canada for so long so I don’t really get to see that stuff. It is a smaller school and it has smaller classes. I definitely liked when I heard that. It is definitely different to what I see here but I enjoyed going down there.”
The athletic portion of the commitment can certainly be viewed as a testament to his determination to improve his abilities each time he steps onto the ice. Dubeau, who has played three seasons of Junior ‘A’ Hockey with the Bonnyville Pontiacs — between 2012 and October 2013 — and the Klippers, improved his point totals each campaign.
He posted career-high 18 goals, 24 assists and 42 points in 56 games with Kindersley this past season. The highlight was an impressive 17 game point streak that came between Nov. 29 and Jan. 23. Before that run, Dubeau says the biggest point streak he put together was three or four games.
“Once Darcy DeRoose joined my line with Cody Young, I started to get points in game after game after game. I just found a way to put it in before the buzzer. It was something you don’t want to think about too much. I wanted to win, but at the back of my mind when I got one in, I realized I kept it going another game.”
He earned nine goals and 14 assists during that run.
Dubeau considered this past season’s Klippers to be a special team. The group did fare very well in the playoffs by advancing to the third round. The Klippers fell in overtime of game six in a competitive series against the Notre Dame Hounds, a team that eventually finished as the runner-up of the Canalta Cup. The Melfort Mustangs claimed the championship.
Dubeau ranked second on his team in playoff scoring. He posted a sizzling 11 (4G and 7A) points in 10 games.
The St. Lina product is back home for the summer. He says he will do the majority of his off-season workouts at the gym in St. Paul and at home. He will book a few on-ice sessions in Edmonton during the summer to work on his skills with the puck. He said that working on his overall quickness will be a priority this summer.
He also has to determine what individual classes he will be taking in his first semester. He plans to major in chemistry and minor in biology. The scholarship he earned with AIC is a dual one — he was rewarded for both his athletic and academic triumphs. In the classroom, he earned well over an average of 90 per cent. Science and math courses are what he considers as his strong suits.
Dubeau credits his parents, friends, coaches and teammates for helping him get to this point.
His parents are proud of him for realizing his dream.
“His commitment and work ethic got him to this point,” said Julie Dubeau. “Both on the ice and in his academic work.”
“He just wanted it,” added Denis Dubeau. “If you want something bad enough, you will do what it takes to get there.”
Due to his considerable abilities, Dubeau could have pursued a career in track and field. He earned three gold medals in high school provincials in his Grade 12 year.
He chose hockey because he has a passion of competing as a member of a team of likeminded individuals that are determined to work together to achieve a singular goal. And he has always had a strong passion for Canada’s favourite game since he was four years old.
He is hoping his hockey career can continue beyond these four years either in the NHL, AHL or ECHL.
The good news for him is that he is joining a USA Hockey system that is continuing to get better and better in developing prospects.
Couple that with Dubeau’s work ethic and there certainly is potential for him to continue to keep climbing higher in the game he loves.
