The middle of June means final examination time for the students at Newbridge Academy. However, as most students and staff make their final preparations for the summer, many of our older student athletes are also preparing for a summer of training and camp preparation. The past few weeks have seen annual entry drafts completed for the United States Hockey League (USHL), Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) and Maritime Hockey League (MHL), respectively. Many of our student-athletes were selected, and many more have received invitations to attend different training camps throughout North America. Helping to move our student-athletes on to the next level both academically and athletically is at the forefront of our process at Newbridge Academy. It is with excitement that we highlight the individual accomplishments of our student-athletes Advanced Hockey Program First up is our senior high advanced hockey program student athletes. Bailey Peach, a grade 10 student who plays for the Cole Harbour Wolfpack, was selected 11th overall to the Sherbrooke Phoenix of the QMJHL. He will join Newbridge graduates Evan Fitzpatrick and Luke Green, as well as current Newbridge students Anderson Macdonald, Brock Macleod, and Evan Mackinnon, with the Phoenix. Keifer House, the Director of Hockey at Newbridge Academy, had this to say about Peach: “We are very proud of Bailey and his attaining this career benchmark. He has been in our program for several years and his game is bearing the fruits of his work and dedication to his craft. Bailey is a talented player with tremendous offensive upside. He’s taken his natural ability and learned to enhance that through the Newbridge program. I’ve enjoyed watching him build his game, not only adding tools to his tool box, but more importantly his ability to apply those tools with success at the highest levels. We look forward to following Bailey’s continued successes into the future.” Next up, goaltender Lucas Fitzpatrick saw his name called with the #68 pick in the MHL draft. Fitzpatrick was selected 35th overall by the Quebec Remparts in the 2016 QMJHL draft, before being traded to Shawinigan. He will be in attendance at Shawinigan training camp this summer. Varsity U16 Program Next up is the Newbridge Academy varsity U16 team. The team had a very successful season, despite being very young. They were the Prep School Hockey Federation (PSHF) regular season champions. They were also champions of the Boston Megabowl Invitational Tournament, as well as Rothesay Netherwood Top of the Hill Tournament finalists. Although they had great team 2 June 14, 2017 success, our student-athletes have also enjoyed some recent individual success. Team captain, Kaleb Boudreau, who is a grade 10 student, was selected by the Victoriaville Tigres in the QMJHL draft, and also as a territorial selection of the Yarmouth Mariners in the MHL draft. Sam Henderson, also a grade 10 student, was a territorial selection of the Valley Wildcats of the MHL. Oliver Troop, another grade 10 student, was also selected by the Valley, #78 overall. He was selected by the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL in 2016, and will be attending their training camp this summer. Also, as of publication date, the following players have received training camp invitations: Christopher Piche, grade 11 (Halifax, QMJHL), Will Neault, grade 11 (Shawinigan, QMJHL), Noah Adams, grade 10 (Yarmouth, MHL), and Kurtis Lang, grade 9 (Yarmouth, MHL). Olivier Filion, head coach of the U16 team had this to say about the recent opportunities afforded to his players: “I am very proud of how our players continued to get better throughout the year. They worked hard each and every day, and often went the extra mile to improve. Especially with most of the players being first time draft-eligible, I am very happy for all of them. And for the ones who have not been drafted, they need to continue pushing towards next year”. Varsity U18 Program Much like the U16 team, the U18 varsity program enjoyed tremendous team success this season. They were the PSHF regular season champions, won the Boston Megabowl Invitational and the Leo Boivin Showcase, and were finalists in the Bishop’s College School Tournament and the Robert Bernard Classic Tournament. There are also numerous players who have, and are continuing to enjoy individual success. Firstly, two players have officially signed with the Smiths Falls Jr. A Bears of the CCHL. Graduating players Hughie McHugh and Christophe Bohemier, who were line mates this season, will continue to play together next year in the Ottawa area. Smiths Falls’ General Manager and Head Coach, Mark Grady had this to say about the signings: “Both players showed well at our camp and reinforced my assessment and why we invited them. McHugh seems to have great on ice awareness and great soft skills where Bohemier plays with more of an edge but has good skill. Both kids were placed on a line for the final inter squad game and had 5 of their teams goals out of six. I look forward to having them play for us this season”. Next up, Alberto Pison, who is a grade 9 student, was selected by the Tri-City Storm in the USHL Futures draft, and is currently attending their main camp in Las Vegas. Mathieu Blanchard, a grade 11 student, was selected 43rd overall in the MHL draft by the the Edmundston Blizzard. He was selected by Acadie-Bathurst in the 2016 QMJHL draft and will attend their training camp this summer. The Yarmouth Mariners selected two grade 11 students, Thomson Phinney and Cameron Patton, with the #45 and #50 selections, respectively. Both Phinney and Patton have also received invitations to different junior camps, including the CCHL and the NAHL. Rounding out the U18 selections was Ashton Paul, who was chosen #59 overall by the St. Stephen Aces. Outside of the maritimes, last season’s leading scorer, grade 12 student Olivier Gauthier, has been a very busy guy recently. He has attended the camp of the Coulee Region Chill of the NAHL, and has been invited to main camps for both the Dubuque Fighting Saints and the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL; he will be making a final decision on where he plays next year in the coming weeks. Also, at time of publication, many other players are already confirmed to be attending junior camps: Sean Tobin, grade 12 (Yarmouth, MHL); Jackson Thomas, grade 12 (Yarmouth, MHL); Matt Duggan, grade 11 (Yarmouth, MHL); Marc Aucoin (Truro, MHL); and Callum Bouma (Valley, MHL). Matt Anthony, Head Coach of the U18 team, is very happy for, and proud of his players: “It is awesome to see so many individuals getting rewarded for their hard 4 June 14, 2017 work and dedication. We challenged these guys a lot this year, both in the classroom and on the ice, and they’ve responded extremely well. Being at Newbridge was a stepping stone for them in both their academic and athletic careers, and I am very confident that all of our players will be successful not only in their hockey endeavours, but in life. I will be keeping up with all of their career paths, and I want to wish all of them, especially the graduating players, the best of luck with the next chapter of their lives”.