The Senecal cousins: A Hockey Success Story

Marc Senecal (left) and Joel Senecal (right) are North Bay's scoring cousins. Photo's by Chris Dawson.

They may not be brothers but Marc and Joel Senecal might as well be. The two cousins have been the top scorers on both of North Bay’s AAA hockey teams this season.

Joel Senecal was recently named the NOBHL’s player of the month after registering 12 goals and 4 assists in a 9 game stretch for the Athletics in January.

“He’s a wonderful kid, he’s very, very quiet but he loves hockey," said Athletics head coach Glenn Cundari.

“He’s not fancy, he’s not a slick skater and all that but he works extremely hard and he’s a great leader, he’s our captain and rightfully so.”

Marc Senecal has been battling it out this year with teammate Lance McMahon for the scoring lead with the Trappers and has been one of top 10 scorers Great North Midget League for most of the season.

“Marc Senecal is a very good hockey player, he’s a skilled player, he’s a good puck handler,” Trappers Head Coach Larry Keenan said.

“He’s got a lot of confidence in himself and I’ve got a lot of confidence in him too, he kills penalties, he plays his regular shift, he plays on the power play, he’s 4 on 4, he’s 3 on 3, so Marc’s the type of guy you’re not afraid to rely on.

“He has his weaknesses the same as everybody else, but his commitment is there, his work ethic is there, and he’s a very valuable hockey player and he’s as good as anybody in the league.”

The outdoor rink

The cousins grew up playing the game together, even though Marc lives in North Bay and Joel grew up down highway 17 in Sturgeon Falls. No matter what community it was, they loved going from one outdoor rink to another honing their hockey skills and both chasing a hockey dream.

“Every time we got a chance we like to go out to the outdoor rinks, but we hardly get a chance now because we are so busy,” said Marc Senecal.

“But in the summers we usually go to the same hockey schools and we usually do similar training programs so we do stuff like that.”

Being a role model

Marc has also become a role model for the younger Senecal, something he’s really comfortable with.

“That’s one of the best parts of it,” Marc said with a smile.

“I really like the way he’s following in my tracks and he’s doing even better I find and I’m really glad to be able to help him and I guess sort of in a indirect way, motivation, yeah, it’s fun because he does so well, we do little competitions, we like to push each other, and do really well and improve as much as we can.”

Joel is pretty comfortable himself with following his cousin Marc’s lead.

“Yeah, all my life pretty much he’s shown me the way, he’s shown me some techniques and I’ve been looking up to him all my life,” admits the shy Franco-Cite student.

Sadly this might be the final season the two Senecal’s play in the same community as Marc or Joel could move on to junior next fall.

But no matter where they go, Joel will be watching and Marc will still be leading the way.