Relocated junior hockey team hopes to scoreinnew hometown
Lac St-Louis Revolution relocating to Pierrefonds after season in St-Lazare
Junior hockey is officially back in the West Island.
The Lac St-Louis Revolution of the Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League will makes its regular season debut Friday when it plays its 7:30 p.m. season-opener on the road against the Granby Inouk in Granby. On Sunday, the Revolution plays its official home-opener against the Valleyfield Braves. The puck drops at 1:30 p.m. at the Pierrefonds Sportplexe on Pierrefonds Blvd.
The Revolution relocated to Pierrefonds after one season in St-Lazare. The last West Island junior AAA team was the Lachine Maroons, who played out of Peter Morin Arena from 1995 to 2015.
The Lachine franchise came about after the Pierrefonds Lions, owned and operated by Peter Simpson, relocated there from the old Pierrefonds Arena.
Revolution team owner Dustin Traylen, who grew up in Dollarddes-Ormeaux, said he is excited about bringing a junior hockey team back to the West Island.
“We think we’re going to have a competitive team this year,” said Traylen. “We might not be at the championship echelon just yet, but we’re getting there.”
The Revolution missed the playoffs last season with a 10-34-5 record, but Traylen said the team will be stronger on defence this season.
The Revolution, coached by Eric Labrosse, has a handful of returning players, and Traylen is hopeful some of them will eventually make their way to a U.S. or Canadian university.
“We’re hoping to get at least one player to an NCAA Division 1 college next year,” said Traylen, who also operates the Brockville Braves junior A franchise in Ontario.
Although the Braves and Revolution play in different leagues, both clubs are geared toward developing their players for college hockey.
Traylen said firmly his junior AAA program is not meant to serve as a feeder for the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. “That’s not our model, ” he said. Traylen is hoping local hockey fans will come out to support the fledgling franchise.
“It certainly would be nice to get some support from fans in the West Island,” he said.
“I think people will enjoy the calibre of hockey.”