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Season Preview: Breaking down every team in the OUA East
Toronto, Ont. (via Ben Steiner) – The 2024-25 OUA West season got underway over the weekend, and over the last few years, it’s proven to be one of the most competitive divisions in Canadian university hockey.
With the Ottawa Gee-Gees already securing their berth in the 2025 University Cup as hosts, we look at the entire OUA East striving for the other conference berths as the 28-game regular season begins.
We’ve arranged the teams based on last year’s standings.
McGill Redbirds looking to take one step further
The McGill Redbirds enter the 2024-25 season after a tremendously successful year that saw them win the OUA East regular season and take bronze medals in both the OUA playoffs and the University Cup.
This year, head coach David Uruqhart’s team will want to bring themselves one step further and push into the national final while getting to the OUA Queen’s Cup championship game. They’ll have to do so without premier defenceman Scott Walford, who graduated and appeared in NHL preseason games in September.
William Rouleau returns after scoring a team-high 14 goals and 37 points last year, alongside Brandon Frattaroli and Zach Gallant, who also scored 30 points. Eric Uba scored 34 points and signed in the German top league with Adler Mannheim.
The group will also look to maintain an elite level on special teams after a 34% powerplay and 89.2% penalty kill last season, the best in the OUA in both categories.
Outside of Uba and Walford, McGill returns with most of the core that brought them to the heights of 2023-24 and has also had time for the younger players to gel. Ahead of the official start to the OUA exhibition season, the Redbirds travelled to Europe for the first time since 2007, playing pro teams in the Czech Republic, including HC Kladno, the club owned by NHL legend Jaromir Jagr, who visited the Redbirds locker room.
With the time to gel ahead of the season and immense talent returning, expect big things at McConnel Arena this season for a team bound to contend for trophies.
UQTR Patriotes enter post Simon Lafrance era
The three-time defending Queen’s Cup champion UQTR Patriotes have the highest expectations of any team in the OUA, even after falling short of a national title against the UNB Reds in the spring.
Yet, they’re entering a new era this year. While last season saw them bring in 14 rookies, this year presents the first without veteran leader and top scorer Simon Lafrance, who scored 45 points in his final season. Yet, there’s still much to be excited about with the younger Patriotes.
Felix Lafrance comes into his third season after scoring 24 and 29 points in his previous two campaigns, respectively. At the same time, Conor Frenette takes on the captaincy after a 32-point season, the highest returning scorer.
Another major shift for UQTR comes in the crease, with the shift away from Alexis Gravel, who played 23 games in his final year with the program. Now, the role will be split among Charles-Antoine Lavallée, William Grimard, and Jonathan Brisson, with most of them going to Lavallée after he played eight times and won six games as a rookie.
While the 2023-24 season was the year of youth for UQTR, they still found success. Now, without their superstar in Lafrance, they look for further growth from the more experienced group and a fourth straight Queen’s Cup.
Ottawa seeking U CUP and a strong season
For any team hosting the U CUP, stacking up is always essential. While the Gee-Gees have only brought in five rookies this season, their experience and solid spine may just line them up for success in the conference ahead of the national championship.
After all, it’s always better to officially qualify for the national tournament through the usual means, not counting on the host berth. That means at least making the OUA bronze medal game for Ottawa this season.
Last year’s top scorer, Luka Verreault, returns to the Gee-Gees after a 28-point season in 2022-23, while top goal-scorer Max Grondin will look to build on his 15 goals from a year ago. Outside of those two, head coach Patrick Grandmaitre will lean on defenceman Peter Stratis and continued strong play from left winger Mathieu Desgagnes, who put up four points on the opening weekend.
While the Gee-Gees hope to improve on 96 goals from last year, they will continue to have a stalwart in net with Franky Lapenna, now in his second season, after posting a .942 save percentage in 26 games as a rookie.
The Gee-Gees have high hopes this season, and with a berth in the national championship secured, they’ll look to set themselves up as strong as possible to come away with two titles.
Queen’s looking for return to contention
It’s been a while since the Queen’s Gaels were an outright contender for the Queen’s Cup -- 2019, exactly. Yet, there’s hope this season after the team finished fourth in the OUA East in 2023-24, scoring 112 goals, the third-highest in the OUA.
Although head coach Brett Gibson’s team will miss last year’s two leading scorers, Jonathan Yantsis and Dalton Duhart, they will still be able to turn to Nolan Hutcheson, who put up 29 points in 24 games, and blueliner Owen Lalonde, who returns as one of the conference’s most dynamic defenders.
Overall, the Gaels have found their place in the high-middle of the OUA East through the last few years, and after major departures, it looks to be a similar outlook for them this season. Yet, after an opening weekend that saw them pick up wins against Concordia and York, they might have a higher ceiling.
Concordia hoping to push further into postseason
The Concordia Stingers have been looking to take the next step for a few years. While they qualified for the U CUP as OUA bronze medalists two seasons ago, they’ve seldom been true Queen’s Cup contenders.
After falling down the standings in the second half of 2023-24, the team returns in 2024-25 with leading scorer Mathieu Bizier and his ten goals and 28 points from last season, yet without Phelix Martineau, who had established himself as one of the OUA’s most consistent producers.
Often a fast and hard-forechecking team, the Stingers have one of the most defined identities in the country and will look to continue that through this season, hoping to make waves within the competitive OUA landscape.
Ontario Tech looks to take a step forward in new jerseys
The Ontario Tech Ridgebacks have gone retro with their new jerseys this season, but they will hope that their program's latest years continue to pave the way for success in 2024-25.
Leading scorer James White returns for his fourth season in the blue and orange after putting up 26 points last year. Cullen McLean and Gabriel Bernier will join him as the Ridgebacks bring back all three of their top offensive producers.
That returning offence is critical for the Ridgebacks after they scored and conceded 84 goals last season, and they will hope to turn that metric to the positive in their search for a higher run up the standings.
As is life for the Oshawa school in the OUA East, the travel is significant for the group, but with a primarily veteran roster, it’s nothing they’re not used to. Expect good things from the Ridgebacks this season; especially in their new jerseys.
Carleton seeking playoff return
The Carleton Ravens got a strong start in their 2024-25 OUA season, but whether that will be maintainable is challenging. After a dismal season that saw them miss playoffs in 2023-24, they return with hope, aiming to get back to the Queen’s Cup sweepstakes in the OUA East.
It will be tough, however, without leading scorers Parker Aucoin and Kieran Craig on the team this year. They will need to look to Nick McCrary to drive a line on his own and at least maintain his 20-point mark from last season. Meanwhile, Nolan Seed and Reese Belton hope to improve on 17-point campaigns in their second year.
Overall, the team was solid at both ends of the ice last year, finishing with a -7 goal differential. However, whether they get back into the postseason depends on whether other players can fill the voids left by Aucoin and Craig—and that answer isn’t too clear, even after an opening weekend win against the TMU Bold.
RMC looking to re-establish in new era
The RMC Paladins couldn’t have dreamed of a better start to their season. Yet, as always, it will be challenging for them to keep up with the rest in the OUA East. There may be hope for the playoffs, though.
Returning without the combined 62 points of Austin Saint and Chris Paquette will be a massive void to fill, with Devin Leduc’s 14 points from 2023-24 being the best-returning total.
The team’s win against York to start the season offered up a promising start, but a 9-2 loss to Concordia in their ensuing tilt capped off their up and down opening weekend.
York looking to learn further
Where to go with the York Lions? Since the 2018 Queen’s Cup title, it’s been tough sledding results-wise. And after a winless opening weekend against the RMC Paladins and Queen’s Gaels, this year’s start leaves much to be desired.
After scoring a conference-low 59 goals in 2023-24 and allowing 131, head coach Russ Herrington’s team will look to sort things out in any way. They can turn to their top three scorers in Brock McLeod, Owen Gilhula, and Thomas Lacombe, but without outstanding additions, it’s hard to anticipate much movement in the standings for this year’s York squad.