Marcel Dionne returning to Leominster
NHL Hall of Famer to appear at Youth U.S. National dek hockey tourney
The 2023 Youth U. S. Nationals are rolling into the Leominster Dekhockey Center this weekend and will be joined by a Hall of Fame guest.
The three- day tournament kicks off Friday night and will feature Chipmunk, Cadet, Penguin and Beaver divisions, showcasing some of the best youth ball hockey teams and players from all over the country. Pool play take place Friday and Saturday, with playoff rounds kicking off on Sunday and concluding Monday with the championship finals for each age group.
In all, 26 teams will take part in the tournament.
And while the kids are busy pushing for titles, NHL Hall of Famer and friend of the Dekhockey Center Marcel Dionne will make his return to Leominster. Dionne, who played 18 seasons in the NHL with stints in Detroit, Los Angeles and New York, had appeared at the same tournament last year.
Dionne, an offensively gifted forward who scored 731 goals and notched 1,771 points in his career, will be on hand all day Saturday to sign autographs and chat with hockey enthusiasts. He’ll return to the rinks briefly on Sunday.
The 71-year-old was the second overall pick in the 1971 NHL Draft and scored 50 goals in a season six times. Dionne recorded 100plus points in eight season and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992.
The Fitchburg State ice hockey team has garnered a commitment from French forward Alex Bauvais, who played for the Eastern Hockey League’s HC Rhode Island last season.
In 44 regular season games for Rhode Island, Bauvais netted 17 goals and added 20 assist. In a trio of postseason contests, the 6-foot, 179-pound righthanded forward added a goal and a helper.
According to a press release from the EHL, the native of Boulogne-billancourt, France, is one of 35 players that have committed to Fitchburg State while playing in the league and will join a fresh
man class that includes six other EHL alumni.
Forward Graham Broadfoot (Protec Jr. Ducks), forward Jackson Collins ( Vermont Lumberjacks), defenseman Adam Nedelka ( Boston Jr. Rangers), defenseman Andrew Woloszyn (New Hampshire Avalanche), and both defenseman Isaiah Mckinney and forward Kris Zapata from the New Jersey 87’s have committed to head to the Falcons in the fall.
“The decision to play for HC Rhode Island in the Eastern Hockey League, was a very good one for me,” Bau
vais said in the press release. “I grew both as a player and as a person. I made great friends and the level of the game was very good. This
all allowed me to realize my desire to grow my game at the NCAA level and am very excited to take that step at Fitchburg State in the fall.”