Martin Dagenais’s plan is to make the Ottawa Junior Senators the premier destination in the Central Canada Hockey League (CCHL) for top young players.

After a pair of first place finishes in the Yzerman Division and a game-seven loss in the CCHL finals last spring, the Junior Senators owner, manager and head coach is well on the way to accomplishing his aim.

“Our ultimate goal is to move players on to the next level,” Dagenais, who helped the team to Yzerman Division titles in 2012-13 and 2013-14 as an assistant coach. “We’re very proud of our record in that regard. Winning goes hand in hand with that because it attracts attention. A few years ago we just wanted to make the playoffs. Now we expect to contend for the league championship. We came close last year. Success breeds success and people want to play for us.”

Over the past two years several Junior Senators have gone on to play in college, including Robert Michel (Maine), Brandon Watt (Robert Morris) Shawn Lynch (Utica), Joey Champigny (Waterloo), Sean Rappleyea (Alabama-Huntsville), Jody Sullivan (SUNY Oswego) Evan Lindquist (SUNY Plattsburgh), and Jim Pearson (Concordia). Michel was recently invited to the Pittsburgh Penguins’ development camp. In addition, defenseman Geoff Lawson is committed to Robert Morris for the 2017 season.

What kind of players does Dagenais look for?

“First of all we’re looking for quality individuals who can be quiet leaders,” he said. “We want guys who can skate, have good skills and a strong work ethic. We also want guys to play both ways. If you cannot play both ways it’s just not going to work out.”

The Junior Senators have a reputation as a well-rounded team. For the most part, Dagenais plays four lines and rolls his six defenseman. Ottawa was fifth in the CCHL in scoring for the 2015-16 campaign, boasted the league’s lowest goals against and showed discipline as the league’s least penalized squad.

This attention to detail and two-way play has proven valuable in the playoffs. Last spring Ottawa took the defending champion Carleton Place Canadians to the seventh game of the Bogart Cup playoffs. The prior year, Dagenais’ first as coach/GM, Ottawa lost in game seven of the semi-final round.

“Most of the teams at the top of our league don’t have many 16- or 17-year olds,” Dagenais said. “We do because we play four lines and they can learn from our veterans. We are a difficult team to beat. All of our forwards back-check, our goalies are strong and our defense is the best in the league. Power-play and penalty kill time are earned. This rubs off on the young guys who will eventually become our leaders.”

Dagenais is an intermediate school teacher by trade, and much of his coaching staff is also comprised of teachers. As a result, their players are encouraged to hit the books—and he notes college recruiters are looking for players who can also excel in the classroom.

Being in Ottawa—Canada’s capital—home to government and various cultural activities is another plus for players. Although they play in a large city, a strong sense of community surrounds the team thanks to a dedicated group of volunteers and fans. The Senators’ home rink, the Jim Durrell Recreation Centre  in South Ottawa, is centrally located in the 12-team CCHL. The team’s longest bus ride is a less than two-hour trek to Pembroke.

“As coaches, we value education and expect all of our players to be in school,” said Dagenais, who originally wanted to be a journalist. “The atmosphere in Ottawa is good for education. While our guys are here to play hockey we also want them to continue to develop as people. Ideally, everyone who comes through our organization should not only become a better player, but a better person.

Dagenais now 35, began coaching as an 18-year old when his brother Patrice’s bantam team needed an assistant coach. By the end of the campaign Dagenais was hooked. He quickly became a head coach successfully leading youth teams at various levels.

In 2008 he joined the Junior Senators as an assistant and later spent two years as general manager and coach of the CCHL’s Hawkesbury Hawks. In 2011, Dagenais returned to Ottawa where he spent three years as an assistant before purchasing the team in 2014.

“As a GM, I knew the second time around would be much better,” Dagenais said. “I learned a lot in Hawkesbury and I knew what needed to be done. As a coach, I’m always looking to improve. Fortunately I’m surrounded by great assistant coaches and most of them are teachers, too. They all have different backgrounds and specialize in something different. In hockey today you have to have a great staff. That’s why we’ve been successful.”