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Lakers add eight new faces in hopes of return to post-season

'It is going to be interesting, it’s going to be fun, I really feel good about this year coming up with the change over we have'
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Lakers goalie Brent Moran is expected to carry the load with three goalies graduating this spring. File photo by Chris Dawson/BayToday.

It won’t be labelled as a rebuild, but the 2019-20 season for the Nipissing Lakers will be an opportunity to retool and reimagine themselves as playoff contenders. The team is coming off a season of missing the playoffs for the second time in three years and some of those moving on include; Talor Joseph, Jeremy Pominville, Domenic Graham, Erik Robichaud, Colin Campbell and Dylan Staples, who have all graduated. And while their presence will be missed, Lakers Head Coach Mike McParland says this can be an exciting time for returning and new players, because there are plenty of opportunities for big roles that need to be filled.

“Last year was the first year we had fifth-year guys here,” says McParland about Robichaud, Campbell and Staples.

“They were here a long time and they believed, out of loyalty, that they deserved some ice time and some special teams time and with those guys having moved on now, it’s going to open up some ice time for our young guys.”

It’s an exciting outlook for players like Gael Lubwele and Colby Tower who are both going into their sophomore seasons after scoring eight goals apiece and finishing with 17 and 18 points respectively.

“They were probably two of the main reasons why - up until the last weekend of the year - our power play was in the top five of the OUA. And now with the possibility of them getting more ice time, and bringing in some good young skilled forwards - if they can duplicate what we saw out of Lubwele and Tower, it gives us a nice breath of fresh air.”

But it’s easier said than done, as many players find out there is a big jump from playing Major Junior Hockey to University level hockey.

“It’s hard for a guy to step into the league and make a difference in his first year of U-sport hockey and so there’s an adaptation phase. For kids that may be coming up from Tier II they have to adjust to the speed and a lot of times the major junior players think that ‘well my careers done’ and then they get caught by how good and how fast these guys are and it takes them time to get up to speed as well,” says McParland.

To this point, the Lakers have signed eight players this summer:

Goalie Francis Asselin

Defencemen; Matt Franche, Devyn Mayea, Jacob Collins

Forwards; Brock Welsh, Matt Titus, Kyle Lewis, Jacob Hickey 

“We’ve brought in some guys who have had Major Junior experience, ranging from a handful of games to playing two years to four years,” says McParland.

Of the players leaving, three of them are goalies with Domenic Graham having played the most of that group, while it’s expected Brent Moran, when healthy, will assume the number one job between the pipes.

Robichaud, Campbell and Staples all played upfront, meaning there are at least three spots open depending on other players who may decide to move on or just focus on their academics at this point in their university careers. That trio was responsible for a combined 54 points which is a tall task to ask of any combination of newcomers to provide, but McParland likes the makeup already of the players they have recruited so far.

“We hope that the adaptation time goes by a little quicker,” he says. “Even in the spring, they all believed there was going to be more opportunities for them coming forward and they really believe that they can be that player, given the opportunity. So it’s going to be interesting, it’s going to be fun, I really feel good about this year coming up with the change over we have.”

While all of the newcomers will have plenty of chances to make an impact, on the back end, Mayea looks to be an intriguing pick up for McParland and his staff. He is listed at 6’4” 196lbs and a left shot. He produced 78 points in 105 games in his Ontario Junior Hockey Career and last season he had the most assists by a defenceman in the league and was named a Second Team All-Star.

Meantime, Jacob Collins is a Renfrew native that saw 199 games of OHL action with the Plymouth/Flint franchise and is considered a very responsible player on the blue line and can play a 200-foot game. He says in a press release, “I consider myself a 200-foot player that can score goals and help out defensively. I am really excited to be coming into Nipissing as a young player on the team and I want to be able to contribute offensively every game and help the team win hockey games.”

At the forward positions, Lewis could provide the club with an immediate dose of speed and energy. The Mississauga native is listed at 5’7” at 150lbs but is regarded as a tremendously skilled two way player with great vision. He accumulated 138 points in his 167 career games played in the OJHL with Mississauga and Oakville.

“I feel extremely honoured and proud to continue my hockey career as a Laker. I am excited to be a part of their highly regarded program. I want to put the effort in on and off the ice and prove we are going to be a contender for an OUA Championship,” said Lewis in a release. 

Other freshmen coming in that will have experience at higher levels of hockey are former OHLers with the Oshawa Generals Brock Welsh and Matt Franche, while Matt Titus played 62 games with the Mississauga Steelheads and Jacob Hickey appeared in 17 games in the QMJHL.

Nothing will be guaranteed to this new crop of players but McParland says there are opportunities open in all facets of the game, “our only guys we really have coming back that are older are Danny Desrochers who is a fourth-year guy and Harrison Harper (fifth-year player) and those are the two hardest working guys we have, so you have a heck of a good example set by our two older guys, leading the younger ones who already want to be here and make an impact and have positions of responsibility.”

“At the same time,” McParland added. “the new players have to look at how hard Harrison and Danny work and realize that that’s what it is going to take for them to make it.”

The Lakers open up the 2019-20 season with a pair of back to back games played in Oshawa against UOIT on Friday, October 4th and Saturday, October 5th. The home opener is the following weekend, when they hos RMC on Friday, October 11th and Saturday, October 12th.

 


Matt Sookram

About the Author: Matt Sookram

Matthew Sookram is a Canadore College graduate. He has lived and worked in North Bay since 2009 covering different beats; everything from City Council to North Bay Battalion.
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